I realized today it has been over a month since my last blog entry! Where does the time go when you’re having fun?
Fun? Interesting choice of words. It seems that first walking trip to town was the one and only using the backpack. I immediately began having what amounted to nightmares about the experience, and anxiety attacks forced me to abandon the approach on every subsequent trip. I feel as though the pack is an invitation to trouble. It seems like wearing a huge sign that says “Ask me if I need help”!!! Of course the very last thing I want or need is people asking if I need help.
So, I’ve resorted to plan B. That means more frequent trips, buying only what I can comfortably carry home in a couple of shopping bags each time. On average, I have been walking to town once a day since late December. Occasionally I accept a ride from my DLS worker and I get to skip a couple of days. Sometimes I get behind due to weather or other important duties (shoveling snow from the drive, removing snow and ice from roofs, and so on) and then must make two errand runs in a single day. On one or two occasions I have fit three trips (nearly 15 miles total) into one day. I am not looking for pity! Remember, I chose this lifestyle. I will make it work!
I found out just how out of shape I was, despite having been using the bicycle all summer. I was sore, constantly tired bordering on exhaustion, and had blisters on both feet for the first three weeks. It is getting easier now. My body is getting accustomed to the routine, and I am “remembering” some tricks of this game. Remembering? In truth it is more like rediscovering quite by accident. What sort of tricks? The obvious, mostly! For example, periodically rotating the arm carrying goods so that for a time the palm faces forward, then for a time it faces backward shifts the load between muscle groups. This in turn reduces fatigue, allows carrying more weight with fewer tedious load swaps from one arm to the other. Tedious? Trust me, when you’re wearing very thick insulated gloves or mitts to prevent frostbite in sub-freezing, windy conditions, swapping a load of two or three plastic shopping bags from one hand to the other without setting them in the salty slush underfoot is tedious. 🙂
Fringe benefit! I’ve lost a few pounds!
Hi Paul,
How great to see more posts from you!
I really like what you wrote, thanks for sharing it. It reminded me of that idea of life giving you lemons, and you making a lemonade. I mean, you have to walk long distances, often, and under difficult weather conditions, and with effort and persistence you turn this out – not easily, is true, but you do – into something rewarding, and also positive to your health. Well done!!
In an even more general way, it makes me wonder if our issues (anxiety, depression, or whatever they are) may not be used as a means to challenge ourselves and turn us into better people somehow. I know this may sound waaaaay too positive a spin for conditions that are so annoying and unfair, and feel more like shortcomings than blessings, but what the heck…I guess I am in a positive mood today!:)
Anyway, again, well-done!! And thanks for the tip about rotating the arms when carrying goods. One of my anxiety caused phobias is fear of driving. I don’t drive, I don’t even have a driver’s license, so I walk a lot and need to carry heavy groceries often. Therefore this tip was very useful. By the way, I did not give up on one day being able to drive…I’m working on it, very slowly it’s true, but I am not giving up.
Well, on to read your next entry!
Best wishes,
Nadia
Hi Nadia,
I hope the trick of rotating the arm works for you. It allows me to carry about twice as much weight with the same amount of arm fatigue.
It’s nice to see you in such a positive mood! Keep it up! 🙂
Good luck with your driving. Hang in there, and keep working at it. I have accomplished some things I never thought possible, so I’m a believer in persevering and continuing to strive for our goals.
Best wishes,
Paul