I always wonder if there is something I have done to myself or it is just the result of getting old. Then I remember it is Sore Muscle Day. Tuesdays and Fridays have the hour of training with Kevin in the morning and the half hour swim lesson with Ron. Wednesdays and Saturdays are the days there is always pain somewhere to be found in muscles that apparently had been in hiding. Last Friday I did two repetitions of 25 pushups. The last five in the second rep of 25 were not pretty, but I did it. That is nothing special for anyone who actually works out regularly, but for this 68 year old who hasn’t been exercised to speak of in multiple decades it is an accomplishment.
I am afraid the swimming remains an area of frustration more than progress for me. I just finished this round of lessons yesterday. It did not go very well. I am now in the deep lanes for the entire lesson each week, using no floatation aids. I guess that is progress, since before I left on the trip, I could be in the deep lanes with a small float belt, or in the shallow side without it. I can touch the bottom with the tips of my toes in the deep lane at the side of the pool, but when I let go of the end or side of the pool, my primitive brain shouts “DANGER, DANGER.” On a good day, I can swim the full length of the deep lane doing the Elementary Backstroke and the regular Backstroke. I have made it about two thirds of the way using the front crawl with breathing, but not today. When I get to the end of that full lane, my heart is pounding and I am breathing as hard as if I had just run the hundred yard dash at full speed (not that I could do that). I am not feeling very strong and brave, but I am not giving up yet. At least at the moment, I am planning on doing another round either before or after the September trip.
Tonight I am packing to leave for my 50th High School Class reunion. I have been getting appropriate clothes (that fit me now that I have a smaller belly) in hopes of looking good at the Reunion. That sounds ridiculously shallow. It is. I solicited help from Daughter Lisa, and from former Co-Worker Audrey in trying to pick out things that go together and fit
the various venues. I know very little about such things. We are all living in 68 year old bodies, so it is no small task to try to look good. Gratefully, we are no longer in high school
and have little left to prove. My role at the Reunion will be to lead a memorial of the 53 of us who have died. Somehow that puts things into perspective.
The trip will include visits with some of Mary Ann’s family and friends, as well as time
with my siblings and some in their families. The trip will include a stop with friends, one of whom teaches writing. I hope to get some help deciding what, if anything, to do with these hundreds of blog posts I have written. I am looking forward to visiting with these folks whom I have not seen in more than two decades. They both have a warmth and vibrant faith that nurtures those around them. Next I will spend time with Lisa, Denis, Abigail and Ashlyn in Kentucky before returning to Kansas.
I hope to spend a little time at the computer on this trip to continue working on the
details of the September trip. It is approaching quickly.
The Call to Live 