This year I’ve had an unusually bad time with illness. I’m one of those healthy, robust people who strut around saying, “I never get sick!” while my friends and family sniffle their way through our mild Queensland winters. Truth is, I treated my body SO poorly for so many years, and have only just made it into the healthy weight range in the last couple of them. Exercise was a non-option for me until recently. Now it’s a major part of my life. I love running, I love aqua and swimming, and I even love boot camp! It’s social, and it makes me feel strong, powerful and happy!
Which is why I was so surprised when I was struck down with virus after virus these last few months. Several of them were those violent tummy bugs that almost pop the eyeballs out of your head and make you wonder if you’ll ever be interested in food again. And there were the flus – headache, body ache, hours upon hours of dozing in front of “The Morning Show”, moments of lucidity interspersed with complete drop-outs, all to the soundtrack of Larry Emder’s unintelligent comments on world issues. Awful.
Now it’s warming up. The Jarandas are in full bloom, the chooks are laying again, and swims are on my mind. I’ve been told by a few that I should take it slow and easy getting back into exercise. Which I have. Sort of. Actually it’s been hard to get motivated, so I was super happy on Thursday when I forced myself out for a 5:45am run and was faced with this:
I’ve had my eye on this beauty for a while. She was looking about ready to burst on Wednesday night but I was still surprised and delighted on Thursday morning when I was rewarded for my early morning motivation! This bird of paradise only blooms in spring and we get 3 or 4 tops. Once we move, I’ll have to pick up a potted one for the new courtyard. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she!
I also returned to my aqua class Thursday and received such a warm welcome from all the lovely ladies (and there were three GUYS! What’s happened while I’ve been gone!), I wondered how I hadn’t managed to pop in a bit more over the last few months. The workout was not too light and not too tough, perfect for me to ease back into it.
Dinner was a delicious salad of red quinoa, black beans, chorizo, corn, fresh coriander, tomato and avocado. Super yum!
Delicious!
Is there anything you’ve stopped doing for a while, that you’re getting back into? Craft projects, book clubs, sport? What motivates you to get started again?
Oh, and here’s a couple more perspectives on my stunning bird of paradise:
Isn’t she beautiful?
May I be Frankie with you? 