It Was Inevitable

Summer is officially here, folks. Oh joy! My little darlings and I have looked forward to swimming with friends, consuming copious amounts of ice cream, making many trips to the library and spending lazy hours with good books, watching movies late into the night while we all snuggle on the couch and so much more. All my kids love school, but after 9 busy months, we are all so ready to not be tied down to a strict schedule for a while.

I, however, in the midst of all this summer merry-making had one serious personal goal I really wanted to attain during these next 3 months: given my calendar is now clear of most activities, appointments, lessons and carpools, I wanted to take the opportunity to proactively focus on fitness.  For a couple months now, things in my closet have felt a little tighter than they should, and despite keeping a pretty stiff pace day to day, I have just felt sluggish and not as good as I probably ought. Those of you who know me well know that I LOVE to contemplate the idea of exercise a whole lot more than I enjoy starting the actual exercise itself. But I had already made a verbal commitment to those who are closest to me that working on my own personal fitness was at the top of my “to do” list for June, July and August.

I had no intentions of trying to achieve an Elle MacPherson-like physique; that, as my dear friend Steph broke it to me gently, is impossible simply because well…God made her tall, and me, not so much. I can do nothing about the fact that Elle is 6′ to my 5’4″. I’m glad Steph pointed this out to me…after all, that’s what friends are for, right? To help you deal with reality. Thanks, Steph, because we both know that were it not for the shortfall in height, it is almost certain that after a rigorous summer of exercise I could totally stand in for Elle. Ahem.

No, I just wanted to do the best I could do with the body and abilities God gave little old me. And I can tell you that starting from a place of almost no regular exercise, one cannot help but improve the status quo. So, in spite of feeling suitably intimidated over how sore my body was going to be, and how much pain I was likely going to be experiencing a matter of days, and despite bemoaning all the ice cream cones I would likely have to forego in the pursuit of my clothes fitting nicely again, I was ready. Ready to bite the bullet and get back into better shape.

Well, sadly…I think I am going to get a lot more friendly with the status quo for the next few weeks, because for now at least I have had to say farewell to my lofty fitness intentions. This morning while simply attempting to walk into my bathroom, I missed the doorway and instead smashed into the doorjam in a most horrid way, fracturing at least one toe in the process. Not sure if the toe next to it is just bruised or also broken, but it really doesn’t matter. I have broken many toes in the last 12 years and this is about as bad a break as I’ve experienced. No P90X, faithful elliptical workouts, or trips to the gym are in my immediate future. Bummer.

I gotta say though, if one has to break a toe and be laid up, I am blessed to have some of the sweetest folks around to lend a hand and help cheer me. Like this little guy, who despite not finding the ice pack he wanted to give me for my poor toes, quickly reached for the first handy cold thing: his yogurt drink, which he faithfully held on my foot for as long as I would let him. Oh my heart.

And even though I’ll be sedentary for a little while to come, I did manage to find a really awesome personal trainer to work with me. Her name is Tia. She is snappy, wonderful, and tastes delicious! Here she is with her sidekick, Joe.

Joe T. Garcia to be more precise. I hear he’s pretty fabulous to work with too. While Tia and Joe are working with me, I think it might be practical to look for another personal goal to pursue. So maybe, just maybe…I might work on getting back into the blogging thing. We’ll see…

 

Updated to add:

A visit to my PCP the day after my little run-in with the door jam netted me a pretty set of x-rays confirming a triple break in my 4th toe. The complexity of the break and its proximity to a joint necessitated a visit to a very cool Orthopedic Surgeon who at least for now has told me that he thinks the breaks will heal without the benefit of surgery. What a relief to this Momma! I am on a cool new drug called Vimovo — rolls off the tongue in a lovely way, dontcha’ think? Unlike most anti-inflammatory meds, it contains an ingredient to minimize the most unpleasant side effect I experience while on these drugs, that of my stomach being ripped apart by all the “stuff” in them. Good times, y’all.