5 (Unusual) Things I’m Thankful For
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!
A Word Upgrade
Hello everyone and welcome to day 22 of NaBloPoMo! Lately I’ve been thinking about how powerful words are… how the simple act of using one word rather than another can change everyone’s mood in a moment. A couple different times lately when I’ve asked someone, “How are you?” they answered, “Fantastic!” I noticed that hearing the word “fantastic” gave me a little jolt of pleasure. Either the person was extremely happy in that moment, or they had made the conscious decision to spread positivity (I suspect the latter, because in one of the instances it was the person taking my order at Chipotle, and I don’t imagine that’s a job that sparks spontaneous joy.) Either way, I’m trying to incorporate “fantastic” into my vocabulary. And another word I’ve been embracing is “perfect.” To start with, I use it every time I do a massage. At some point in the massage, I ask the client to turn over. They also have to slide down to a slightly different position on the table, and you’d be surprised how difficult this is for people. They drag half the blanket with them, they frequently end up diagonal or way over to one side of the table. Some people have trouble turning over at all. When they’re finally turned they’ll usually say “Am I okay?” and (if they’re anywhere near the position I want them in) I’ll respond “You’re perfect!” Again, it’s funny what a little jolt of pleasure that gives me. I think it makes the client feel good as well- sometimes people will respond happily, “Oh! Good.” Sometimes they’ll even say “Oh, I’m perfect!” I could have said “you’re fine.” But why say “fine” when you could upgrade it to “perfect?” A third word I’ve been trying to incorporate is “astounding.” This one is a little more difficult. My Peloton yoga teacher used it the other day. He was explaining different ways you could modify a difficult pose- basically he was saying to do it in whatever degree you’re capable, but if you’re able to do the entire pose, “astounding!” I thought, ooh! I want to be astounding! And I want to use that word! The definition of astounding is “surprisingly impressive or notable” so it’s a little harder to insert into an ordinary day- I can’t really tell the Starbucks barista that my drink is astounding, or tell my client that they’ve turned over “astoundingly” without sounding like a kook. But I’m trying. What about you? Do you have certain words that you love to use? Have you ever noticed someone using a certain word and the effect it had on you? Have an astounding (heh heh!) day!
Weekly Rundown- Happiness.
Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Weekly Rundown, hosted by Kim and Deborah. It’s also Day 21 of NaBloPoMo, hosted by San. It was an exciting week, filled with the anticipation of Thanksgiving and of course the main event, my son’t arrival home from college. I ran four times, and while the mileage was low, I appreciated every single run. Any running is better than no running! And I continued with my month of yoga, doing a Peloton class every day with Denis Morton. Here’s how the week went! Monday Started the week with a 45 minute power yoga class. Tuesday Three mile run in the morning. I’m loving these bright mornings! Later in the day, did a 20 minute power yoga class. Wednesday 45 minute power yoga class in the morning. This was a great class- lots of side planks and half moon poses (hello, glute medius!) Thursday Started the day with a three mile run. 20 minute power yoga class after work. Friday A quick 2.25 mile run in the morning. After work I did a 30 minute power yoga class. Saturday I noticed two things this morning… one was that instead of mixing it up, I had done a power yoga class every day so far this week. The other was that my left hip flexor was slightly… wonky. Not injured! But I could just feel it, and I think it’s from yoga. I did a 30 minute slow flow class for a change. I also felt like I needed something slower because it was an eventful day! After yoga I went to work, and after work got together with friends we haven’t seen in almost a year. AND THEN!!! My son came home!!! He’s home!!! Hugging him was the best feeling in the whole world. He didn’t get in until 9 pm, and then we stayed up late talking. Happiness. Sunday Got up early and did a five mile run before the kids got up. This was the first Sunday in quite a while where I wasn’t sad not to be doing a long run- five miles was just fine. After all the great runs I had this week, this one was a slog. I felt like I was running through molasses, and I also felt my hip flexor. Eep. For that reason, along with the cheesecake revelation, I decided to change up my yoga class. I had planned a hamstring focus but instead did a 20 minute arm focus flow. I think it was a good decision! And now…. off to make waffles! I absolutely love the week of Thanksgiving, and having my son home is an enormous treat. Are you getting excited for Thanksgiving? Anyone else have kids coming home this week?
My Least Favorite Christmas Songs
I have a confession to make… I’ve been secretly listening to Christmas music in my car. On November 1st one of the radio stations started playing Christmas music 24/7. I outwardly agreed with everyone that it was too early, while happily driving around town singing along to “Feliz Navidad.” BUT! I have a few Christmas song “pet peeves.” The first one is… “Last Christmas” by Wham. I’m sorry. Very, very sorry, but I can’t stand this song. I know it’s wildly popular… why??? The lyrics… the melody… it’s just so inane. I don’t think it would irritate me so much if I didn’t hear it all the time. And the last thing we needed was ANOTHER version of it, Taylor Swift. In 2016, George Michael died on Christmas Day, and I briefly felt guilty about trash-talking his stupid Christmas song. I’m sorry he died, but I still strongly dislike this song. “All I Want For Christmas” by Mariah Carey. Once again- sorry. I don’t actually dislike this one as much as “Last Christmas” but it irks me that it’s the most requested Christmas song. I mean… it has a pleasant little melody but other than that it’s nothing special. Once again, I hear this song WAY TOO MUCH. I don’t get it. “The Christmas Shoes” by NewSong. I would actually listen to “Last Christmas” and “All I Want For Christmas” all day rather than have to hear this song once. The lyrics tell the story of a little boy whose mother is dying. He wants to buy her some shoes so she’ll look beautiful “if Mama meets Jesus tonight.” No. Absolutely not. As a mom, I absolutely can’t hear a song about a boy whose mother is dying. My second biggest fear in life is dying and leaving my kids without a mom- and I especially don’t appreciate being reminded of that fear on Christmas. I’ve always said this song should be banned, and maybe enough people agree with me, because I don’t hear it very often anymore. In addition to being banned, I think NewSong should issue an official apology to moms everywhere. But I’ll settle for never hearing it again. How about you- do you have a least favorite Christmas song? Do you like any of the songs I’ve mentioned? What do you think of the shoe song?