It’s day 23 of NaBloPoMo and two days until Thanksgiving! I know we’re all thinking about what we’re thankful for, but sometimes those lists are fairly predictable: of course we’re all thankful for our health, our families, having a roof over our heads… etc. Lately a few things have come to my attention that I’m truly thankful for- and I’ll bet these won’t be on anyone else’s list.
1. My right foot.
I think I’ve written plenty on this blog about my “difficult” left foot. The plantar fasciitis, the peroneal tendinitis, the shockwave treatments, the pain of stepping down first thing in the morning. Last time I was at the podiatrist, he was telling my about a patient who had plantar fasciitis in both feet at the same time.
I can’t even… how did this guy get out of bed in the morning? I rely heavily on my good foot, as I can hardly put any weight on my left foot for the first several minutes. If both my feet were affected I would literally have to crawl. Ever since my doctor told me that, I’ve been marveling at how perfect my right foot is- I mean, considering everything that could go wrong. It’s working perfectly! Thank you, right foot.
2. Sidewalks
We live in an incredible area for running. We have miles and miles of wide, asphalt sidewalks. I can do a three mile loop, a four mile loop, or a six mile out-and-back without ever having to run on concrete, or the street. I’ve combined loops to make a long run, and I can also run on these sidewalks almost all the way to a trail (I do have to run about .5 miles on either the street or concrete if I want to get to the trail.) I can also run on the grass next to the sidewalk if I want- I haven’t been doing that lately because I feel like my foot needs a more stable surface.
Thank you, to whoever had the brilliant idea to build these sidewalks in our neighborhood.
3. My left thumb.
What? Another body part??? Well, you see… around the same time my foot issues started (April of 2020) I developed “trigger thumb” in my left thumb. It’s a condition where the joint locks up and you either can’t bend it, OR, if it does bend it gets stuck in the bent position. Arg. The only treatments I know of (that work) are steroid injections or surgery, so I decided to do nothing and see what happened.
Well… a year passed. How in the world, you might be wondering, did I live with that for a year? Well, I could still move my thumb towards my other fingers- I just couldn’t bend it. Some people wear splints so their thumb (or finger) doesn’t get stuck bent, but my body took care of that for me- my thumb looked like a fat little sausage. The swelling kept the thumb from bending at all. Luckily I still had my good right thumb. Texting was probably the hardest thing, but other than a lot of typos, I managed to function.
Just as I was starting to think I needed to go to the doctor, my thumb started to slowly, slowly loosen up. I started doing a little “therapy” on my own, because after not bending for a year, that joint was REALLY stiff. And now… it’s totally normal. I’m in awe that I have two working thumbs! Every time I bend my left thumb, it’s a reminder that my body can heal itself. Thank you, thumb!
4. Sunshine
Autumn is hard in Florida because… well, we don’t get one. Everyone else is talking about amazing weather and leaves changing, and usually it’s still in the 90s here. But now that everyone’s talking about the cold up north, I’m reminded why I live here. I need lots of sunlight to be happy. I grew up in the midwest and I’ll never forget those cold, gray days. Thank you, sun!
5. Denis Morton
Ha, well he might be on a few people’s list. The Peloton app for sure is making a lot of people happy. If I had to actually leave my house to go to a yoga class, there’s no way I would be doing it every day (or at all, to be honest.) The fact that I have hundreds of classes to choose from and can do it in my bedroom, for only $12.99 a month, is crazy. But Denis deserves a special shout out. I haven’t tried all the yoga teachers, but I tried a few and when I found Denis I just stuck with him. He understands me! He understands that my hamstrings are super tight, and that my adductors have no flexibility at all. Thank you, Denis!
Do you have anything unusual you’re thankful for? Anything on my list that’s also on yours? (I doubt it!) I hope everyone is having a fun and festive week!
25 Responses
This is a great list!
I am also thankful for sunshine. I live in the Midwest so any day, no matter how cold, that has blue skies and sun? Yep, that’s a good day! 😀
I’m also thankful for hot chocolate…it goes well with the cold! 😜
Ha, those are two great things! The problem with the midwest is that there just aren’t enough of those sunny days- but when they do come, it’s amazing.
Love your specific list, Jenny!
I’m incredibly grateful for our balcony in our new flat in Cape Town. It has a view over a small harbor and the sea beyond. And it has wrap-around windows that protect us of the wind or rain which we can open when the sun shines.
We spend most of our time here and use it as an office, dining area and lounge. It’s perfect!
That sounds amazing- I would be grateful for that balcony as well.
BTW I think my comments are disappearing on your blog again. I don’t know why- i didn’t use to have that problem. I told you I had the same issue, where every one of Kim’s comments was going to spam. Only hers- no idea why.
I have found your comment, Jenny! It was in the spam folder. No clue why it always lands there!
I’ll see if there’s anything I can change in my WordPress account.
Fall is so overrated in the north…a few weeks of cooler weather and then it’s just cold and dark. Hooray for Florida!
Ha ha… I’m sure you’re right. I don’t remember appreciating fall when I actually lived up there!
Ha ha! Denis comes highly recommended (ahem, I may have joined the Peloton wave for a 2-month trial). That is weird about your thumb, but I’m glad there was a happy ending to that dilemma. Although I think I would miss the change of seasons if I lived in the south, I certainly am not a fan of the frigid cold we get in the Midwest. ARGHHHHHHH. Give me sunshine, everyday!!!
Oh we have sunshine! But you’re right- the tradeoff is we don’t get the change of seasons. Oh well- you can’t have everything. I’ll be interested to hear how you like Peloton!
Oh, I love this list of unusual things to be thankful for… and all warranted!
We sometimes forget what a miracle our body is if it works correctly, so I can see how your thumb and foot made it on this list.
Denis is a no-brainer. I love his cycling and yoga teaching style!
And sidewalks and sunshine are perfect for running, if you ask me. (We have lots of sidewalks, but it’s an old neighborhood with trees, so a lot of the sidewalks are uneven/have buckled from the roots and I have to be careful when I run not to trip over them).
BTW, kudos for sticking it out with NaBloPoMo for 23 days already. You’re amazing!
Thank you San! I appreciate the fact that you organized our little “faction” of NaBloPoMo!
Those endless sidewalks sound lovely!
I love that you’ve picked these “unusual” things; it’s wonderful when less obvious things become sources of deep gratitude. And I’m always in awe of how our bodies function.
I am one of those people up North currently hating my weather (we had a GLORIOUS fall; sunshine and beautiful leaves and mild temperatures and now everything is miserable, rain for days, temperatures below freezing and snow today – ugh). Enjoy the sunshine and no ice on your sidewalks. My glory days of fall are officially over.
Oh yes- I’m really appreciating our weather. It’s really hard to be up north right now.
I grew up in a rural area and, when my husband and I started looking for houses, I put sidewalks on our “must have” list for neighborhoods. I walk everywhere and now that I have a dog, I really walk everywhere. When I was growing up, it was hard to leave my house because I couldn’t drive and walking on the roads was dangerous. So I absolutely feel you on gratitude for sidewalks!
I grateful for veterinary specialists. My dog has been seeing a neurologist for about a year now and I didn’t know that there were veterinary neurologists before then, but I’m so happy that this vet cares about my dog and takes such good care of her!
Aw… I didn’t know there was such a thing as a veterinary neurologist either! That really is something to be thankful for- that someone went to all the extra trouble to specialize in such a thing- you never appreciate these things until you need them.
I love a good list of unusual things to be grateful for! I am really grateful for a nice walking loop around my apartment complex (it’s just over .5 miles) and that I’m a short drive from myriad parks for long walks if I need a change of scenery!
Having a walking loop around your apartment complex is huge- you probably walk a lot more than you would if you always had to get in your car and drive somewhere.
I like Denis Morton!
It’s very November-ish around here, quite grey and cold. Your photos look beautiful. I love running outside but when it gets cold it’s too hard on my joints, so I will look forward to that in a few months. For now – treadmill!
A lot of runners hate the treadmill, but I don’t mind it. I don’t have one though- there’s not much reason for it in Florida. I’ve had some good treadmill runs at the gym though!
Yes on the right foot. That one is normal
Many bike paths that are flat. Never struggle to find a place to do long runs.
Lights at my college campus. One safe place to run at night.
Working from home so I can often sneak out a run
Great idea for a post.
Yes, those are good ones! Funny that I said no one would have any on my list, but you do! We’re both thankful for our right feet.
Unusual things are the best because they are an added value.
A place with all those sidewalks is the runners’ heaven!
Yes, it really is! I usually take them for granted but lately I’ve been appreciating them.
These are some really cool things to thank fun for. I’m currently really thankful that my parents are fully vaccinated and caught covid now and not 10 month ago. Still scary but much better.
That is something BIG to be thankful for! Glad everyone’s okay.