Better to Laugh

 After the huge disappointment of hurting my foot last week, I am slowly recovering. Baby steps are definitely not just for babies; healing is quite an exercise in patience! It also requires some creativity.

Last week I limped around and did as much as I could around the house, taking a lot of breaks to elevate my foot. Since I am also rehabilitating my shoulder, swimming for exercise was not a choice. Every night I iced my foot, which felt really good, actually. I pretended I was at the spa getting pampered; it was more fun than thinking about my hurt foot. 

As my last post stated, I was not able to run in our church’s 5K on Saturday morning. Sunday morning my foot was still sending out shock waves if I bent it too far. Sunday afternoon we celebrated Father’s Day at my mom and dad’s. Half of the group got into the pool and were having a wonderful time. I couldn’t stand it; I had to get into the water. I used a side stoke move with my arms and right away felt pain in my shoulder. I then tried dog paddling, which worked. Talk about being humbled, reduced from swimming 1200 yards free-style to dog paddling. Sheesh. We started playing water dodgeball; I felt a twinge in my shoulder again as I wrestled my husband in the water for the ball. I figured I had better back off before I really tweaked something. Then, a miracle! I dried off and got dressed. I was walking around and realized: I am walking normally and my foot doesn’t hurt! I guess the water therapy worked. I didn’t go out and run a few miles, but I held out hope that things might be getting better.

Today, a week after my injury, I ran/walked a half mile (one-tenth run, one-tenth walk). I could feel a little burning, but nothing extreme. Then, I went swimming for 15 minutes. I proudly swam with my kickboard, knowing that things are getting better.

I still have a lot of baby steps to go, but today I felt like a toddler. Hopefully, I will soon feel like a teenager (minus the acne and mood swings).