Taking back my life

Over the past few years, my life has shrunk. There are many things I can no longer do - hiking, biking, camping, skiing, vacuuming. I have decided it is time to take back my life.

I used to go for a daily walk, rarely skipping a day. A habit started years ago. I would walk in the rain and snow and heat and cold.

In the spring of 2007, I was working at a small company near home. I started walking at lunch with a co-worker once or twice a week. I left the job but kept walking weekly with her, through cancer treatment. We would walk the steep hills to keep in shape. We kept going. Some weeks would skip because one of us was traveling or busy, or my back hurt too much.


Two winters ago, she and her husband started spending two months in Utah to ski so we stopped for the time. Last winter she went for her two months in Utah, we walked once after she came back in the spring. Then my back started hurting more, and my hip (bursitis). We haven't walked since.

I have gone for a few walks since then but nothing as regular as I used to. I do go to the gym and do an hour of cardio three times a week as well as weights and stretching. But long walks result in bad effects - including hobbling home and spending a few hours or a day in bed. I find I don't have the stamina for it. My muscles aren't used to walking any more.

I am determined to start going for regular walks again. I do need a day of rest after working out. But I have a plan. A dastardly plan. My husband has no idea what he is in for.

We are going to go for a walk every weekend. We have started already. We went for a walk at a nearby wildlife refuge last weekend. And on Saturday we went for a walk in the wind and cold on the hills around our neighborhood. This coming weekend we will go for another walk.

I want to walk enough so that we can go on hikes again, something we really liked to do. One of our first dates was a hike along the edge of a cliff on western MA where we got hit by a thunderstorm and literally soaked to the skin. I would love to be able to hike like that again. It may take a while but I do want to hike again. I enjoy being out in the woods. Its part of taking back my life.

I am tired of watching things I enjoy slip away. I'm taking back my life. And maybe I'll lose some weight too.