Daily Success February 16 – Outstanding. Lots of exercise, a tiny bit of YouTube maintenance type work, almost zero impact from the Internet Monster, even my whiskey cooperated a bit. Cue my happy dance.

Yesterday

Yesterday was an easy day with almost (emphasis “almost”) no Sam angst. The result was good exercise levels, including a very good session on the bike. Walking is still a problem, however, with 0.43 miles on the treadmill all I could do before the lower back pain began in earnest and started down my left leg.
There was also a session with Monika.

The main takeaway, however, may be the dog that didn’t bark. The weather was rainy, but my lower body and leg pain levels were well below the ibuprofen threshold. I was going up and down the stairs with no major difficulty and no feeling that the handrail was a big deal. Is it the Jacuzzi? Monika? Dr. Sheikh and his needle? Or possibly, just possibly, being off the statin?

Today

Today began with a notice from the ShareFile system that Sam has added me to a SAGEbot folder. Does this mean that he is seeing sweet reason or that he has decided to push through and see if I throw a major bomb? Today may well tell the tale as he has had time to digest my “I’ve had it with your resistance to reality” message last week.

Poli-Sci and Spanish await. Exercise, too.

The Future

I put a picture from 2022 on my computer desktop. It’s a “nothing special” picture, except to me. Just posed in front of a wonderful, but far from unusual landscape. It was next to a paved road, easy hiking, no major grades. A fellow peregrino offered to snap a photo and took some.

Nothing special. But I love that picture of me and love looking at it. That’s the guy I want to be again. I want it so much; I can feel it when I look at the picture. I want it so much; it drives me to Dr. Sheikh and Monika and Dr. Higgins so that I can push through the pain and be there “just one more time.”

But I know that “one more time” can never be enough. The day will come when I can’t have it, but the day when I’ll have had enough is probably never going to happen.

The Gathering approaches.