My Time

7,000 steps was my goal for some time in September...I never really set an actual date, but thought if I could get to that step count sometime during the month, it would be my personal gift to myself as my birthday falls midmonth.

So a few days ago, when I stepped on the treadmill in the morning with the thought of doing 6,000 to 6,500 steps, I figured I would up the incline through a bit more of the steps to build towards that goal...I either follow one of the set mountain terrains the machine offers, or if I choose to do my own on any given day, I keep the incline alternating high-low, with it high 1/2 of the step count.

As I got close to the 'end'...I did not want to get off...simple as that...I had a busy day ahead...work waiting on my desk...a list of 'to do's' for my husband who had left for what was supposed to be a several days long work trip (thankfully, he ended up getting back home that same evening), and a myriad of personal work goals once the regular workday ended. I am creating a line of painted art prints, so every spare minute I can gleam is poured into that. But I didn't want to quit...

Nearing the 6,000 mark, instead of slowing down and dropping the incline, I sped up a bit...when I got to 6,900, I finally went to a walking pace, and a few steps past 7,000 I stopped. I was winded, needed a shower, lol, but I felt good!

Since then, I have allowed myself the enjoyment each day of 7,000 steps. And it is enjoyment...hard to explain on some level, but the time I walk/jog I am learning, is 'my' time. My time in the moment...I can listen to whatever music I choose to pour through my headphones, I can get lost in my head...dreaming of all sorts of things...

I am a fan of quotes, usually the more thought provoking the better. Then sometimes, something worded very simple will roll across my desk, and I will be as awe struck with it as I sometimes am with long, eloquently written ones...so will leave you all with this today...not sure who wrote it, but I find it fitting...“Whatever you choose, you might as well enjoy it. It is your choice.”...simple, but so very true.

Pine Mountain Steps

From the very first week that I decided to do this, I knew I would need to 'go the extra step' to make it work. I live too many miles out of town to drive into a gym every day, at least with gas prices being what they are, and also the simple fact that I am a homebody...I did the typical gym membership years ago, when I was homeschooling my then two teenagers, and while I stuck with it for the course of the membership and my daughter's high school years, it was always a chore to get motivated to go.

So how to make it work, but not get bored?  I have a pretty nice treadmill, which I actually like, and my son did not take his nearly new weight bench with him when he enlisted...the Army more than provides adequate workout equipment, lol! These two combined would be a great start...but I knew I needed something more...but what?

I am fortunate enough to live not overly far from Pine Mountain...one of the world's largest manmade ski jumps...and to get to that jump, years ago, a set of steps was erected for the jumpers to use to get to the top of the hill! Years of wear and tear pretty much did the original steps in, but several organizations pulled together to rebuild them, better than before. Atop this same mountain, also sits the U.P Veteran's Memorial I find this very fitting considering one of my major reasons behind my goal.

The first time I 'walked' the steps, I thought I would literally die...the second time was a little bit easier...but each time I am aware of the benefits being reaped, both physically and emotionally...no gym membership could provide me with the soul searching I get each and every time I take the first step, or the 500th, or match the magnificent view from the top.

I plan to get some photos of my own of the steps, but until then, here is a link to a news article about the Dedication of the new steps at Pine Mountain

8,001 Steps

The first step I take each day is for my son...

You know how things go...you grow up, get a job maybe, add a husband to the mix and then, eventually, a kid or two. Maybe not always in that order, but you get the gist of what I mean.

Then one day, one of those small children that you gave birth to, that you adored from the minute you set eyes on him or her, that you have coddled and yes, spoiled...well, they come to you and tell you they are going to talk to a recruiter and would you like to come with.

That first talk to the recruiter turns into his signature, followed by your own, as he is not yet old enough in the eyes of the legal system to commit to something so huge on his own...yes, you don't have to sign, but then, that would be an admission of failure, which is not something I did...I did not fail raising my son...my husband and I succeeded...we rasied a smart young man, and if he was ready to commit at the age of 17 to serve his country, then who were we to stand in his path.

First, let's back up a bit...I won't bore you with the nitty gritty details, but I want to fill in a bit of background for the few years before that day that he came to us asking for our support at the recruiter's office. I hope this will explain a bit of why I want to do this...8,001 Steps...

He was just a boy the day his dad was injured in a logging accident. That accident was followed by a long year of recovery for my husband, where the two of them formed a very strong bond on top of the one they already had. A few years after this, I ended up having some serious health issues, which included several surgeries and hospital stays...if you ever meet my son, ask him if I was a good patient and he will have a grand old time telling you I am the very worse patient you will ever encounter, period! I think that his relationship with us was molded greatly by the trials we endured through these years...we had his back, and he had ours.

He was always ready and willing to help get my husband out to his hunting stand, on days when my husband might not have been physically able to make it, even when, as a then teenager, he surely had better things to do, like hang with his friends. He would forgoe sleep to fill bait buckets and bait the bear my husband so loved to run with his hounds. He also was often right next to my husband when tracking those very dogs on a 'hot' bear. The first tattoo my son had inked into his skin, was a bear in honor of the 500 lb plus one that charged him and my husband...it was an emotional day for them both, even if as 'guys', they were not willing to admit it at first...when you ask them about that day, they both agree that his dad's first words to another fellow hunter, was 'get my kid outa here'..his dad was not in the best of health yet, with a leg that did not always work the way it should, but he had his kid's back and wanted to first protect him. That boy would grow into the man who would always, in return, have his dad's back!

As the mom, looking at the bond the two of them had, one might think I would feel left out...I never did. He was our third child, but at the same time, our 'only' child, with our other two both older, and already living as adults. I could always count on him for a trip to the movies or to play hooky and drive into the city with me to go to a museum... I have an aversion to going to lunch by myself, but due to my schedule, getting someone to go with me last minute is not always easy...that was ok when he lived nearby. On his busiest day of school, no matter how many friends he was with, if I called and asked him to meet me at Peking for Chinese, he was there in a heartbeat. He never once told me no, though he might bring a friend or two with, lol!

So, jumping back to now...two years plus after signing on that dotted line, my son has been through basic training at Ft. Benning, followed by AIT and ASI, also at Ft. Benning. From there, he was assigned to his first duty station, Ft. Stewart.

Shortly after getting settled in, he called us to come for a visit. Come now, he said. Don't wait. I want you to know where I am living, what I am doing. So we rented a car and went...I was exhausted! I had put on weight...quite a bit...since my surgeries the years before.

Add to the tiredness I felt, the talk about his possibly deploying, made me realize that I could not keep on this path. I needed to get healthy. I needed to be at my best to 'have his back' in the coming months and years. So, I made a vow the second day of our visit with him, as I sat down for the evening, that I needed to get healthy once again. Not just for him, but for myself, for my husband, for my other kids and the loves of my life, my grandchildren!

I work best when I have a plan...8,001 Steps...it is close to 8000 miles from my home to Afghanistan, or so Googel, says, lol. From this, my plan was devised...until he deploys, I will work on building my stamina and strength, and if he deploys, I will walk a minimum of 8,001 steps every day he is over there. The first step each day, now and then, is for him, and each step after that is for me, to get healthy, to get strong, so i can always have his back, if he every needs me.

I am almost six weeks in, and my daily step count is 6500. I have also decided to add a few extra workouts to the mix, and walk the steps at Pine Mountain a couple times a week.  ...I would say to wish me luck, but I don't need luck, just perseverance...i.e., steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement...well, I have the purpose, several times over...one of their names is Cody!