October 9 - Red

A refrigerator magnet. And good advice.

The message

The Universe sends me a message every weekday morning. They're always personalized, which makes me think they're just for me, but I bet if you've signed up for them you get the same message the same day I do.

No matter. The messages are thoughtful and entertaining. They nearly always make me smile. I don't remember them 10 seconds after I read them, but for that moment when I'm reading, the possibilities are endless.

I probably should have read yesterday's message before I left the house to go buy something to wear to the funeral tomorrow.

You have noticed, Debbi, that people usually do see past appearances?  

Which basically means that on any given day you can wear any old thing and they'll still get your goodness, feel your love, and know you rock.  

Fear not, they really see you -    The Universe 

Still. You don't want to go to a funeral wearing an old t-shirt and pajama pants, right? And besides, I have a big dinner to go to the end of the month and needed something appropriate (and blue) for that, as well. So I found a well-fitting pair of black slacks and a couple different-and-appropriate tops. And since I can't just go to the nearest major town for one thing, I also stocked up at Sam's Club. You can't have too much coffee here in the Middle of Nowhere.

Right now someone very important to me doesn't appear to be "getting my goodness, feeling my love or knowing I rock." That makes me sad. But it doesn't make me want to bend over backwards to be something I'm not. If these notes from the Universe have taught me anything in my drive-by readings of them, it's this:

I'm enough.

And you are, too.

October 8 - Angle

Using the mirror image option of an app called fxCamera, I shot a brass
bedpost (top) and a lampshade (below) to fulfill today's prompt. I think
using this app would produce angles from a photo of an orange! Hmmm ...
there's a bag of oranges in the fridge.

Settled

Until I woke up this morning, I'd decided to continue with the training plan, skipping Week Four entirely and moving right on into Week Five.

This week's plan looks quite doable, physically, and it would get me caught up and able to finish with everyone else on time.

What that tells me is that I really want the training to be done so I can move on and do my own thing.

(I failed to mention yesterday that I have run much longer distances in the past – three half-marathons and the Army 10-Miler. I've taken a long break from running and am using the Up and Running program to ease back into it.)

I learned this morning that there's been a death in my family, in Ohio, which will mean another trip, another blip in the plan, and emotionally I just don't even want to think about overcoming it.

My cousin – just a couple years older than I – has been ill for many months. While his doctors had initially given him (and our family) a lot of hope, in the end they just put him through a long and painful ordeal, trying this and that and the next thing until they'd run out of procedures. He died at home, and is finally at peace.

What I've learned from the short time I've been following the training plan is that I still love to run (it's really jogging, I'm not fast enough to call it running), and that I can run a continuous mile. I can do that with or without a plan.

My husband is fanatical about his daily walk. If he misses his four miles one day he makes up for it with an eight-miler the next. I never want to be that rigid about exercise.

But I want to be consistent about it, and safe. Comfort has always been my racket. If I can get fit(ter) comfortably, then that's the plan for me.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments and encouragement. I really appreciate your taking the time to add your voices to the ones in my head.

October 7 - Light

Serendipitously, my Scrabble rack contained just the right letters to
fulfill today's Fatmumslim Photoaday prompt.

The dilemma du jour

Do I keep doing the Up and Running program, even though I've been advised to repeat week three and everyone else is beginning week five? Or do I put the program aside indefinitely and wait for the various aches, pains and maladies to exit my body.

Keeping in mind, of course, that on my next birthday I will qualify for Social Security benefits. The aches, pains and maladies, just like the hits, will more than likely keep on coming.

The program, if you're not familiar with it, consists of eight weeks of guided workouts with the eventual goal of running a 5K. I used to run and I love the idea of running again. The program was the bridge meant to close the gap between then and now.

But when I wake up on a Sunday morning with unexplained pain in my upper right arm, a creaking right hip and a general fatigue that I attribute to travel+illness, the last thing I want think about is following a running regimen.

That everyone else has lapped me already is a minor thing. It's not like I've registered and paid money to run a 5K the final week. But it's definitely a thing.

I can walk a 5K in less than an hour. I can walk five miles when I really want to.

Do I really need to run?

October 6 - I'm thankful for

Electricity. 'nuff said.