A Sunday Walk and Some Healing

While our cities are in turmoil with demonstrations of righteous rage, tainted by the violence of those whose only cause is chaos, and joined by those who are disconnected, naive, and just looking for an excuse for wilding, we decided to seek peace for ourselves. 

My Sunday started out hard, with pain that got me out of bed and only as far as my computer chair. There I caught up with your blog posts, Facebook, and a bit of the awful news, before gaining enough stability to hit the shower. A nice hot shower helped, as did a few stretches. After breakfast I worked down the list of physical therapy exercises I had rebuilt for myself the day before, returning to those that have helped to keep me mobile for years, eliminating those obviously hard on my back, and doing others tentatively to see how they would feel. I have about a 35 minute routine that I can now go back to, and doing these exercises really helped. 

Then I sat back down at the computer and composed and sent my email to my primary care doctor asking for help in getting a complete orthopedic evaluation. I was matter of fact about that PT therapist too. 

Tom and I spent about an hour in the garage working on a project that I will share in a future post. I still had an hour to sit in my recliner with the heating pad and read the Sunday paper before our 1:00 lunch time. 

My goal had been to get to the point where I could manage a walk, and I did. At about 2:30 drove over to the Des Moines Marina where we walked the length of the Marina, since the park itself was closed but there was parking at the closed restaurant on the other end. 

After two days of heavy rain, the sky was beginning to clear. Other people were out too, but we all kept a safe distance. 

We walked out to the end of the fishing pier,

Then we walked over to the beach at Des Moines Creek Park. 

 Families were enjoying themselves here, including a family of geese. 

Parents and kids were playing together without crowding. The sound of happy children was quite pleasing. 

We stopped and talked to a friend we met while walking back to the car. We covered about 1.7 miles in an hour's time, what with visiting and resting on benches in the sunshine. 

When we returned home we wiped the rain water off the patio table and I sat there for an hour, reading my book and enjoying the warm sun on my back. I felt completely at peace. My body seemed to be at peace too, at least for the rest of this day. Nothing is hurting for the moment. I am happy. 

I am ready to start all over tomorrow, hoping each day will be better.