Climbing Life’s Hills

Today was a beautiful day.  It’s November the 30th and it got up to about 63 degrees.  Since the sun was shining brightly, I decided I needed to take advantage of these few warm days because I know winter’s cold blast is upon me.  So I took off on my neighborhood 4 mile walk.

There’s a killer hill I must climb on my street to get to the flat road above where I do most of my walking.  It leaves me breathless and gasping for air as I climb it, then there’s a little cul-de-sac I walk around at the top of the hill, before having to climb another longer incline, not quite as steep as the first hill, but still a challenge.

Today, while climbing the second hill and while still trying to get my breath after the first killer hill, the pounding of my heartbeat reeling in my ears, I heard an automobile coming up from behind.  It was a black camper truck.  When it passed me slowly, the cute little bald-headed grinning man inside it stuck his head out the window, and said, “MOVE IT, MOVE IT, GO FASTER, FASTER, PUSH YOURSELF!!”  I smiled back, threw up my hand and waved as he pulled off, grinning away.  My first fleeting thought was that I know he didn’t want to hear a 10 minute lecture on why I possibly could not go any faster than I was going, because if I did, that would irritate my plantar fasciitis, that would then leave me silently cursing him while feeling the sharp stabbing and sometimes excruciating pains of that ailment, blah, blah, blah.

I kept trudging on.  I kept thinking of the bald-headed, grinning cheerleader.  That’s when it came to me that we all need people in our lives to “keep us moving”, to push us, to tell us to go faster…. to motivate us.  Especially this time of year, when the winds are turning colder, the sun is not as bright or as hot, and we feel it is just easier to stay warm and cozy under our covers than to get out and walk for exercise.  I completed my 4 miles, the sun feeling glorious on my back and shoulders, the cool breeze blowing my hair.  I felt rejuvenated.  The crunching of brown dead leaves under my feet again reminded me that winter is upon us.

I’ll try to remember the sweet, grinning bald-headed man when I’m dragging myself up that killer hill tomorrow.

Gail ♥

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