This was my final day of Jury Duty. Because I went to court this morning, I missed our normal walking time. Daughter and I thought it would be nice to try and get an afternoon walk done in celebration of the end of Jury Duty and the continuation of our fitness goals for the day. We embarked on our walk at 4:02 pm and upon arrival at our "special place" we found a very different dynamic. Instead of finding the "Top O' the Mornin'" crowd of cheery hearts hungry for fitness, friends and fellowship, we stumbled upon those poor so-and-so's who worked all day at a job they hate, drove home in bumper to bumper and needed to get this walk/run done so they can get dinner made, get to bed and do it all over again tomorrow. No offense, but this was a very different crowd. These people didn't smile; well, not naturally. Some were no-nonsense, get-out-of-my-way-I'm-trying-to-walk-here individuals, while others were there with their designated walking partner to blow off steam with every step, so forget any response from them to my "Hi, how ya doin." We also encountered families with kids or pets on the path and in the park. Fathers trying to train their sons to throw the football correctly and pet owners who were taking their pets for the Cesar Millan prescribed walk that all good pack-leaders perform daily. Apparently, some of those pack-leaders were not so responsible because on one of our laps, I saw that someone's pet befouled the walking path with no attempt at clean-up, something the AM crowd would never allow.
Maybe it wasn't just the PM crowd that made my normally heavenly walk a hellish trek. I found that with every step I took, I was feeling a kind-of energy hemorrhage which was foreign to me. It was a chilly afternoon so I did feel the stiffness and soreness that comes with age, however, I fully expected to walk that off after a few minutes of cardio which increases circulation and provides a sense of well-being. Perhaps my jubilance over the completion of my jury duty assignment and celebratory sugar fix was to blame. In addition, I was up frequently throughout the night before taking care of a sick grandchild. It seemed that with every step I took, my legs got heavier, my breathing got more laborious until I even felt wobbly and wondered if I could finish the last 2 laps with daughter who in contrast, was jogging and thoroughly enjoying her time on the path. I watched her almost effortlessly, like a gazelle glide down the straight stretches of the path with an air of tranquil beauty. She seemed to channel some ethereal plane that translated her to heights unknown, well, unknown to me at the moment. I was awestruck at her exuberance. Why was I in agony,while she was in bliss. I did not want to quell her enthusiasm so I completed the remaining laps and hobbled over to the car for a quick stretch before abandoning this awful place to take refuge in a hot shower and oversized sweat shirt.
Needless to say, this walk was very different from the majority of my experiences on "the path of life." When I perused my past blog posts, I wondered who that "crazy lady" was and what was she drinking?
I will say no more signed, The Mother.
Progress: 1 hour without vomiting, voiding or evacuating. Success ! Until next AM walk.
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