A few weeks ago when I was at Aubrey's, we went on a walk one morning. It was a beautiful, Fall morning. The sky was blue (which they say is rare in Seattle), we saw 4 deer, the smell of crispness was in the air and when we finished I felt so good. I told Aubrey that I felt such joy because of this simple walk. It has been an entire year since I've been to the gym on a regular basis. I haven't skipped out on the gym like this for this long since I started going 15 years ago. I have been doing bands, walking and weights at home, but I haven't been doing any classes.
Over the past year I've been experiencing an increased heart rate (like a resting heart rate of 150, it is so much worse with exertion) which then leads to shortness of breath and if it's really bad I almost puke. What's nearly as bad, is my legs have been swelling, sometimes so bad that I can feel my pants tighten throughout the day. The swelling is always worse on the left side. And for nearly 2 months I've had the worst sciatic pain on the left side that radiates all the way down my leg to my foot. The pain is always worse at night and especially when I'm in bed. But every morning the swelling is nearly gone along with the sciatica.
My nightly routine includes pain meds, motrin 800mg, a muscle relaxer, ice, a TENS unit, stretching, massage and sometimes heat. These methods help temporarily, but the pain never goes away; that is until morning. It suddenly came to me yesterday morning that the reason the pain is so bad in the evening and not in the morning, is because the swelling is gone in the morning. Which means the swelling is causing something to press on the nerve giving me pain. I have been praying for this to resolve and know that the answer to my prayers is a simple solution (which I believe came by way of inspiration) to the sciatic pain; do what I can to prevent swelling. When I'm not working I guess I must keep off my feet, read books and watch Poldark, which mom, dad and I have been watching in the evenings this past week. It's our new favorite series; thank you Amazon Prime for allowing us to watch episode after episode!
I'm reading a fantastic book called, Option B. In it she says, "Writing about joyful experiences for just 3 days can improve people's moods. We can savor the smallest of daily events. When we look for joy, we often focus on the big moments...But happiness is the frequency of positive experiences, not the intensity. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Rather than waiting until we're happy to enjoy the small things, we should go and do the small things that make us happy. Happiness is the joy you find on hundreds of forgettable Wednesdays." And so I will start this new series of documenting the small things that bring me so much joy like a walk in September with my college friend in Seattle.
Over the past year I've been experiencing an increased heart rate (like a resting heart rate of 150, it is so much worse with exertion) which then leads to shortness of breath and if it's really bad I almost puke. What's nearly as bad, is my legs have been swelling, sometimes so bad that I can feel my pants tighten throughout the day. The swelling is always worse on the left side. And for nearly 2 months I've had the worst sciatic pain on the left side that radiates all the way down my leg to my foot. The pain is always worse at night and especially when I'm in bed. But every morning the swelling is nearly gone along with the sciatica.
My nightly routine includes pain meds, motrin 800mg, a muscle relaxer, ice, a TENS unit, stretching, massage and sometimes heat. These methods help temporarily, but the pain never goes away; that is until morning. It suddenly came to me yesterday morning that the reason the pain is so bad in the evening and not in the morning, is because the swelling is gone in the morning. Which means the swelling is causing something to press on the nerve giving me pain. I have been praying for this to resolve and know that the answer to my prayers is a simple solution (which I believe came by way of inspiration) to the sciatic pain; do what I can to prevent swelling. When I'm not working I guess I must keep off my feet, read books and watch Poldark, which mom, dad and I have been watching in the evenings this past week. It's our new favorite series; thank you Amazon Prime for allowing us to watch episode after episode!
I'm reading a fantastic book called, Option B. In it she says, "Writing about joyful experiences for just 3 days can improve people's moods. We can savor the smallest of daily events. When we look for joy, we often focus on the big moments...But happiness is the frequency of positive experiences, not the intensity. How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Rather than waiting until we're happy to enjoy the small things, we should go and do the small things that make us happy. Happiness is the joy you find on hundreds of forgettable Wednesdays." And so I will start this new series of documenting the small things that bring me so much joy like a walk in September with my college friend in Seattle.
No comments:
Post a Comment