This was taken before the invasionWhen I got out of the pool, filled with a squiggly mass of small bodies, I phoned Dan twice but there was no answer. I wanted to take my teacher self away from the group and go home, which I could see from the pool. I decided to walk. Yes, I chose to walk, an activity I dislike very much so now you know how ready I was. But I had to get there unassisted as I didn't have my trusty rollater; my walker on wheels.
I packed up my big, plastic, yellow pool bag with my two large and now wet, towels, topped off with 2 noodles; big pieces of spaghetti that float. I was delighted when the pool noodles fit nicely; horizontally just under the bag's handles. I was set and my objective was in sight.
The distance to my house is only a quarter of a mile as the crow flies, but that particular route would take me through rough, not so level, empty building lots with rocks and stuff; definitely not very Lexie-friendly. I would have to stick to side walks once I navigated a grassy field. That field reminded me of my cross country coaching years when I walked the same kind of areas on a regular basis. Uneven surfaces have always been hard for me but the difficulty has skyrocketed.
With those days in mind I set my first goal; the side walk that lead home. It was like I was listening to myself coaching middle school cross country athletes. Back then, my co-coach ran with the kids up front and I rode my recumbent three wheeler at the end as we snaked through neighborhoods and parks. There always seemed to be one kid that trailed well behind even the slowest kids. We ended up side by side and became buddies. We played games to survive the workout.
We'd pick a landmark no more than two blocks away and that was our goal and once we got there they could walk. When we reached the spot we picked the next goal and so we plodded up the hill that was part of our daily run. I never had an athlete that quit to walk more than a few times. I coached them to pick them up and put them down in a slog; a slow jog.
No, I can't even slog so I set off on the walk home, walking. My bag was heavy and cumbersome. Walking unassisted, totally off balance was not going to be fun, but I knew I'd make it.
When I reached the my first goal, the side walk, I set another; the stop sign in the shade. I did stop in the shade but only to re assess my handling of the bag and shifted it to my good side. I continued on, setting, reaching and resetting goals.
I made it home but it was not easy or fun.
We'd pick a landmark no more than two blocks away and that was our goal and once we got there they could walk. When we reached the spot we picked the next goal and so we plodded up the hill that was part of our daily run. I never had an athlete that quit to walk more than a few times. I coached them to pick them up and put them down in a slog; a slow jog.
No, I can't even slog so I set off on the walk home, walking. My bag was heavy and cumbersome. Walking unassisted, totally off balance was not going to be fun, but I knew I'd make it.
When I reached the my first goal, the side walk, I set another; the stop sign in the shade. I did stop in the shade but only to re assess my handling of the bag and shifted it to my good side. I continued on, setting, reaching and resetting goals.
I made it home but it was not easy or fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment