Milestones
So, yesterday, my older daughter Ana (11) got her cell phone. She and her dad had been researching phones and plans all summer and he made her make a spreadsheet where she kept all of the data organized. She is perhaps the happiest 11-year-old on the planet today. I am pretty sure that she isn't quite touching the ground.
Today I also made the appointment for Ana to get her braces installed (?) er... affixed? There seems to be no verb for something that will immediately turn my eleven-year-old into a teenager--in form if not reality.
But perhaps the biggest milestone of all was mine. Yesterday, I took the first exercise class I've taken in well over a year and a half. (I've written before about my long journey through chronic pain and disability but in case you are new to the blog, here are a few links to the whole saga: Here's a blog post that sort of hints at it: Elvis Has Left the Building
So, then this happened: and then THIS happened:
And finally, THIS happened.
I am living a MIRACLE.)
Anyway, I met my friend Donna at the exercise studio. I was a little nervous but everyone was really welcoming, despite the fact that I was definitely the most out of shape person in the room. The class used these BOSU things--like half of a balance ball? --and spent a lot of time dedicated to core work. I couldn't do everything with my foot but I just modified as we went.
Driving home, I almost started crying. How far I have come in just a few months, you know? From thinking that I would be in a wheelchair to taking an exercise class --that's some kind of quantum leap. I bought the package that lets me take an unlimited number of classes. Because that's really the metaphor for how I feel--utterly, wonderfully unlimited.
(Except, of course, for the fact that my muscles are SCREAMING at me today. I was afraid that I didn't HAVE any core muscles but it turns out that I do and they are VERY, VERY ANGRY. Is it possible to be too sore to knit?)
Anyway, I am grateful beyond all measure --I feel like I am overflowing. It's going to be a long road back but I hope if I complain about it, you all remind me of this moment.
This is apparently the Summer of Milestones. Even though some of them are bittersweet, I could not be more grateful.
Today I also made the appointment for Ana to get her braces installed (?) er... affixed? There seems to be no verb for something that will immediately turn my eleven-year-old into a teenager--in form if not reality.
But perhaps the biggest milestone of all was mine. Yesterday, I took the first exercise class I've taken in well over a year and a half. (I've written before about my long journey through chronic pain and disability but in case you are new to the blog, here are a few links to the whole saga: Here's a blog post that sort of hints at it: Elvis Has Left the Building
So, then this happened: and then THIS happened:
And finally, THIS happened.
I am living a MIRACLE.)
Anyway, I met my friend Donna at the exercise studio. I was a little nervous but everyone was really welcoming, despite the fact that I was definitely the most out of shape person in the room. The class used these BOSU things--like half of a balance ball? --and spent a lot of time dedicated to core work. I couldn't do everything with my foot but I just modified as we went.
Driving home, I almost started crying. How far I have come in just a few months, you know? From thinking that I would be in a wheelchair to taking an exercise class --that's some kind of quantum leap. I bought the package that lets me take an unlimited number of classes. Because that's really the metaphor for how I feel--utterly, wonderfully unlimited.
(Except, of course, for the fact that my muscles are SCREAMING at me today. I was afraid that I didn't HAVE any core muscles but it turns out that I do and they are VERY, VERY ANGRY. Is it possible to be too sore to knit?)
Anyway, I am grateful beyond all measure --I feel like I am overflowing. It's going to be a long road back but I hope if I complain about it, you all remind me of this moment.
This is apparently the Summer of Milestones. Even though some of them are bittersweet, I could not be more grateful.
Comments
And for Ana, oh yes, that first cell phone is a wonderful thing. I got both my girls cell phones last summer (yes, Marissa was only 8, don't get me started) and they were the two happiest girls on the planet all summer. Congrats, Ana!!!
And, if you are using those same muscles to knit, perhaps you could video your technique. I've often wished knitting burned more calories. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.