Last Saturday I had the best strengthortunity, thanks to the lovely Miss Kiska-boo! I had been lazy and the weather was really bad (really poor excuse) and I had failed to pick up the dog poo. The sun was shining and I spent 30 minutes squatting picking up dog poo. Thanks Kiska, I needed that!
Sunday I was able to walk for 20 minutes at the airport over uneven terrain it was amazing. Most days, however, I still struggle to use the strengthortunities in front of me.
When I had to close my private practice in 2014 due to a lack of referrals I went into a significant depression. I was still able to get myself out of bed and go to work but everything was a struggle. After the fracture of my left tibia at age 13 I had failed to completely rehabilitate my left leg. Prior to my clinic closure, I was, doing really good pushing myself to work on the weakness stepping up on the curb with my left foot 75 times in the morning while walking around the library parking lot. I was also climbing the Streets-of-San-Francisco type hill on the end of our block.
While depressed for the past 6 years I stopped doing any strengthening and have chosen weakness. It is hard to face my own behaviors, but it is necessary. Using my hands to get up from a chair means that I am choosing weakness.
In the last 6 months or so I have been climbing out of this depression. So, thanks to Kiska, I appreciated the strengthortunity in squatting. Most days I still ignore those that come my way, but after the poo pickup party last Saturday I realized that I need to be squatting every day. Now, I try to touch the floor with my thumb at least 10 times a day. I anticipate that it will take me a while to finish climbing out of the depression and to get my strength back. For now, I see my light at the end of the tunnel.
A recent Facebook post about the Nisqually quake that occurred 19 years ago reminded me that Eric and I were driving across the Agate Pass bridge on Bainbridge Island heading to Seattle during that quake. We figured it out when there was a line of cars pulled over with drivers walking around their own cars trying to see if there was damage that caused the shaking. With that Facebook post and the coronavirus looming large it has made us get our pantry in order. Next we move on to water storage. My husband, Eric found this water storage system from Amazon.com that looks like it might be a good fit for us. Yipee, a strengthortunity for my arms! I can hardly wait.