Fit Mommy Friday: A Waterfall Adventure

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I’ve been spreading my wings and attempting more strenuous activities—sometimes not quite on purpose. 

Food:  Lots of veggies, especially broccoli.  This spring I started some broccoli seeds on my bedroom window sill, so we have fresh broccoli early.  The peas (ordinary shelling peas, as well as snap and sugar varieties) are almost ready, so we’ll soon be eating them.  I also avoided our cornmeal this week, and have felt quite good.  It probably is contaminated with gluten, so I’ll be making cornbread for the children and eating something else myself.

Exercise:  I had a  big adventure.  The children went swimming in a river with a small waterfall.  My friend handed me a lifejacket, since I’ve swum only a dozen or so strokes in the last few years.  I was able to make my way to the children without swimming since it was shallow.  But they wanted me to climb the waterfall with them.  Would I try?  Of course! (Hadn’t the doctor said I could be more active?  Hmm?) So, with the excited encouragement of the Little Misses, and a great deal of handholding and pulling from Mr 15, I made it up and rested on a rock.  Then I went down those falls, slowly and carefully, with my son’s help.  Fast flowing water is strong, and it doesn’t get tired.  I did.  At the bottom of the falls, I floated off in my lifejacket, resting peacefully, and that’s where I made my mistake.  I floated too far, and had to swim against the current to get out of the river.  Dumb, dumb, dumb!  Two days later, I was OK again.  Was it worth it?  Yes, but I should have gotten someone to push me to shore rather than trying to get there myself.  

Other than that, I gardened, walked around Food Basics, Walmart, and Zellers, and went for a walk in our little river.  A friend and I splashed after our kids, who went much farther, got brushed by a fish, found a swimming pond, played with an electric fence over the river (just how strong can the shocks be?), lost one croc, and caught three leeches.  We moms, on the other hand, wandered slowly, turned around early, recovered my croc from deep, deep in the mud, walked back through six-foot high golden rods, ate wild raspberries on the way, and then relaxed in the pool.  It only took me one night to recover from that.

Last year I read The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fighting Fatigue.  At the time, it seemed like a pipe-dream to be well again.  Now it seems possible, and looking at my notes (yes, it’s one of those kinds of books), I’ve decided to order it from the library again. It has a chapter on building up strength when you’re overcoming fatigue.  I probably need something a bit more planned and deliberate than climbing waterfalls with my kids and then crashing for two days.

I have not yet found a physiotherapist.  In fact, I haven’t even called one. 

Rest and Relaxation:  Those naps are my lifeline, especially if I’ve done too much.  The day after the waterfall adventure, I spent 14 hours sleeping, dozing, or attempting to do some light reading. By evening I was able to focus enough to read again.  The next day I could do little things, but spent a fair bit of my gardening time resting in the shade of the raspberry bushes.

Back to normal life:  I drove at night!  And it was OK, although I did get a bit sleepy after half an hour.  Praise the Lord!

Next week’s goals:  Be more systematic about exercise.  Find a physiotherapist.  Find an inexpensive source of gluten-free cornmeal.

To read the adventures of other Fit Mommies, please visit Got Chai?