A New Bridge

One of the trail loops in my favorite parks had been unavailable for several months due to the condition of one of the foot bridges.  Kris and I had been monitoring the rebuilding of the bridge all Winter.  We were thrilled to see the recently reopened bridge this past weekend.  It's a little thing, but we are delighted by all the trails at this park and to have one blocked off was disappointing.  So, now, we are able to approach the bluff overlooking the interstate via this bridge.  The other bluff overlooks a bend of the Meramec River as it turns from its East/West course to its North/South course heading for the Mississippi River.  At this point, it is about 12 miles from its confluence with the Mississippi

Kris kindly took this picture of me and my best four-legged friend, Lizzie, who is the most avid walker I know.  It was the rare day of about 60 degrees surrounded by days in the 40's and worse.  We had sun and clear skies.  That combination makes heading out for a walk that much easier.  A favorite trail makes it easier too.

I suggest you find a good walking friend or two and a great trail near your residence and forge onward, walking for your mental and physical health..



*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

It's Almost Spring!!!

Despite the mostly terrible weather in these parts, I have kept up a regular walking routine.  It so helps to have friends to walk with, who count on me for motivation as I count on them.  One friend, Kris, and I have fallen in love with Emmenegger Park which I've written about before.

We walked there this afternoon.  I'm mostly retired but Kris still has a full time, very demanding job.  Nevertheless, I have been known to nag her via text to flee the office and meet me on the trails at the park.  She's usually game.

We have walked in this park for three seasons.  This will be our first Spring there and I can't wait.  Fall was lovely in the woods - all those rustic Fall colors, the crisp air, and the hint of snow in the air.  Winter was challenging, but when the paths weren't icy, we trooped on.  Once all the leaves had fallen, we crunched them underfoot and continued to find new trails.  Summer was pleasant under the canopy of tall trees near the Meramec River.  Cooler than most places, sheltered from the sun, and meeting lots of other walkers/hikers on the trails.  Now, Spring brings the best promise of all!  Spring is my favorite season - so much to look forward to with Daylight Savings Time and more opportunities to walk outside without risk of ice or bitter wind.

So Emmenegger is our Go-To walking paradise.  Another plus for us is that there are no bikes on these trails.  While I'm happy to share the trails with bikers, they don't tend to announce themselves and we have had some near misses, so we prefer bike-free trails.  Best of all is that it's a place Kris and I both look forward to meeting any day we can!



*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Creating Motivation

 If the weather is not perfect or if you have too many items on your To-Do List or you don't feel fantastic, you might be in need of motivation.  Here's a great way to find some.  Make it yourself.

No, this is not really a crafting project unless you want it to be.  I found this picture of some decorated Mason jars, but any kind of container will work for this project.  You want to create a Motivation Jar for yourself.  That way, every day you need some motivation, you'll have it at your finger tips.

Make the jar something attractive and keep it somewhere you will see it every day - on the kitchen window, next to your toothbrush holder, or beside the TV.  Someplace you can't miss it. 

You must fill it with motivation!  How?  Keep reading.  Take each one of the lines written below, copy, cut each one into a strip, fold each strip, place in the jar.  Use paper in different colors to make it prettier.  Even better, cut out heart shapes and write (or glue) each slogan to a heart, fold, and place in your jar. 

Voila!  Motivation at your finger tips.

Here are your motivational quips:

Taking care of myself is #1 on my To Do List.

First things first - and I'm first.

One step at a time.  Start now!

Every journey begins with a step - or a thousand.

I won't give up.  I'm worth it!

It's gonna hurt anyway.

Progress not perfection.  Five minutes is better than no minutes.

Sweating is for Sistas.

Move!  Now!

One small step for mankind.  More steps for me.

I am beautiful just the way I am.  But, I can be even better.

Walk, don't run, right out the door.

Who's the most important person in the room?

Because it's good for me.

Sitting on the couch gets me NoWhere.

Step on it!

I get better, one step at a time.

I'm worth it every day!

Ok, that's enough from me.  Readers, please feel free to add your own motivators - and share them with us.

Open jar, take one strip daily, move!

*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Head Scratching And Anger - No, Despair

This morning was beautiful if a bit chilly, so I was able to walk outside for a couple miles with my best walking buddy, the four-legged Lizzie.  She suffers from too many days without a walk when the weather is too cold or the path too icy.  We both enjoyed our outing.

Later in the day, after my friend Kris was able to leave work, we met at a local mall to walk and talk. While the mall is not my favorite place to walk, it certainly has the advantage of being warm, safe, and accessible.

But, it was there that I saw one of the most awful sights I've ever seen - a kid in a stroller with a small video screen for his viewing pleasure.  It was all I could do to not grab his mother and shake her, screaming about how she was stunting the physical, emotional, and intellectual growth of her child.  Have we become so detached from our tots that we need to have them entertained by a cartoon on a screen while we toodle with them around the mall?  Or for that matter, do we really need those SUV's with not one - but TWO - video screens for the kids to view the latest toons so as not to disturb mom or dad or any other passenger?  I am outraged!

It's bad enough that our kids find their own way to the TV remote and the video game console, plopping themselves down to be entertained by some mindless virtual maelstrom having no basis in reality, no soul, and no redeeming virtue of any kind.  Well, I guess there is that teeny little benefit that the won't be bothering a parent for the next hour or six.

So, we wonder why our kids are all getting so fat.  We wonder why they don't do well in school.  We wonder why they demand more and more external forms of entertainment so they are never forced to deal with the realities of the world they will grow up to run!

If that mom with the kid in the stroller loves her child, she will encourage him or her to look around at the world as he passes through it from his toddler perspective.  She would engage in conversation with that child, building neurologic pathways in the brain for speech and some curiosity about all those new things s/he sees.  Further, as soon as s/he is able, she'll take him out of the stroller to toddle around the play area or run down the mall corridors, exercising those muscles s/he's certain to need as he matures.  Having a kid that plugged in to external, mindless visual entertainment is child abuse - plain and simple.  Don't bother to flame me or throw virtual rotten tomatoes.  I'm right here and anyone with a functioning brain knows it.

I've raised three kids and there were certainly many times - probably daily - when I wished they'd just shut up and leave me alone for a few minutes.  That's what books and playgrounds are for!  And naptime.

Please, please DO NOT plug your child or grandchild or any child whose care is ever entrusted to you into any form of electronic media on a regular basis - especially when there is an opportunity to allow the child to do some activity that will stretch his mind or her legs.  An hour of Sesame Street is one thing - a treat (maybe for you as much as the kid who will be totally engaged by it).  But, aside from that, stroller rides, car rides, walks, trips to the playground, and carpool are all opportunities to share the world around you with that child - maybe the only opportunities you'll have in an increasingly busy and plugged in world.  Take advantage of every opportunity to help a child do what his/her legs were intended to do - crawl, walk, and run - to do what his brain was designed to do - learn, evaluate, measure, question - to do what a child's ageing and development demand - a guide through this very complicated world s/he will have to navigate.

If you love that child and want to give him the best chance at success in life, take him for a walk and a talk - regularly.

BTW - this stroller looks like a rental (as Kathy G points out) but the one I actually saw was not a rental.  Someone paid big bucks for that awful thing!



*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

As If

Have you heard the term 'acting as if'?  It's the idea of fake it til you make it.  It's a way to look at yourself that you might not have thought of before.  It isn't a cure all - but it can certainly help one attain a goal.

How does this apply to walking?  Well, if you've read this blog for very long, you know that it's about more than walking - it's more about feeling well, about taking steps toward feeling better - in mind and body and spirit.

So, acting as if can help you if you've been derailed from your path to exercise or if you are just beginning it or if you might just be going through a rough spot.  When the going gets tough, the tough get up and take a walk!

So, if you don't think of yourself as an active person, now is the time to rethink that.  You act as if you are an active person.  How do you do that?  You get up and walk, even if it's only a few steps or for a few minutes.

If you are a person who finds no time for self care - overscheduled, overworked, just plain busy - then you may want to rethink how you schedule yourself so you can be a person who takes care of body and mind and spirit.  Acting as if there were more hours in the day?  No, act as if YOU are important enough to be at the top of your To Do List.  Act as if you are more important than the project, the memo, the laundry, the chores.  Because, you really are more important than all those things. 

Lots of the things on our To Do List must get done.  Maybe all of them must get done.  But, they'll all be done more efficiently and more happily if the first activity of the day or on the list is self care.  Self Care.  Taking care of yourself.  Do that as no one else can do it for you!



*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Oh, My Aching ______________!

Right now, it's my aching back.  This is new for me.  I have a variety of aches and pains, maybe more than the norm since I have fairly advanced osteoarthritis.  But, I try hard to not let these things define me or hold me back.  It does no good for me (or anyone) to give in to those aches and pains, to sit on the sofa, maybe feeling sorry for myself.  No good at all.

So, even with the new back pain, I've kept moving.  In fact, my back pain is the kind that is worse when sitting or lying down and better when standing.  How can that be???  So, I have a new regimen which includes lots of stretches before and after walking or other physical activities.  That does seem to help - but I want my old back back!

I am not very patient.  I'm a rotten patient for any doctor although I do try to follow through with what I've been recommended.  I have yet to have any tests since it seems clear that this pain is all muscular.  My husband is a physician and has diagnosed me for now.  Keeping my fingers crossed that it will fade away before long.

What do you do if/when you have aches and pains?  Do you walk/work through it or do you pamper yourself, hoping rest will cure you?  Of course, there are plenty of diagnoses which do require rest.  The old RICE - rest, ice, compression, elevation.  Sprain your ankle, RICE is required.  Overwork your shoulder, RICE is recommended.  I'm using some of that myself.  Heat rather than ice.  Stretching rather than elevation.  But, rest?  Can't seem to get any since the pain is worse while sitting or lying.

My mantra here is 'This Too Shall Pass'.  It certainly is true most of the time.  Please keep YOUR fingers crossed that this works for me!  



*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

Good Weather For Ducks and Geese

The weather around here has been mostly just awful and depressing.  I was out in the mess all day today, running errands.  Walked at the mall before a long day of errands and defensive driving.  It was gray, cold, misty, and ugly all day.  This kind of weather really makes it hard for me to get motivated to walk.

That's where good walking buddies really make a difference.  I have a friend I walk with on Thursday and Saturday.  Another I walk with on Sunday, Monday, and Friday.  Then, I dance on Tuesday and now Wednesday.  If I can't dance on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, I walk with my 'dance friend' instead.  That keeps me motivated better than any resolution or concern for doing what's 'good for me'!

So, if you are tempted to remain on the sofa, get a friend to walk with you.  That way, you can keep each other going, enjoying the walk better when it's shared.


*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.