Signs of Progress

I had been sans internet since yesterday afternoon, so I started to write today's blog posting in Word, with the intention of copying and pasting to the blog site later.  However, shortly after I began, I saw the indication that my internet connection was restored once again, so I quickly switched over to the blog site.  There is something about seeing the framework for the blog site that helps me to focus.  The visual cues that I see, the orange block containing the white letter B, the title in the blue banner at the top of the page, the area for typing, all of these things help me, just like Pavlov's dogs, to know what is about to happen and to respond accordingly.

Yesterday, I made a to-do list that grew to 16 items.  I completed 12 out of the 16 items.  I don't know if I would have completed everything on my list if Lois hadn't worn me out, appliance shopping.  I know I would have gotten to at least a couple more things.  But by the time I got home, you could stick a fork in me.  I was done.  I had to force myself to stay up until 8 o'clock!  So, if I were to give  myself a grade, 12 out of 16 would be a 75, with 5 bonus points thrown in for the extra walking, to give me a total of 80 points.  In today's grading scale, that would be a B.  (When I was in school, 88 was the lowest B.  How times have changed!)

The sad thing is that we didn't really walk that much.  We only went to three stores.  I definitely need to work on my physical fitness.  My biggest obstacle is that I am stiff.  I can't lift my knees above my hips, and my back stiffens up.  I remember that Rich, my trainer, had me start out slowly.  Much more slowly than I would have done.  But I made progress, and I never got sore.  So, slow and steady it is.  I'm looking forward to the day when I can move!

When I got up this morning, I didn't have a clear picture of what I was going to do today.  I knew that I had some things left unfinished from yesterday, and I have my final group this afternoon, but that was about it.  But after giving it some thought, my list has grown to more than 20 items.  Some will take just a moment to do; others will take longer.  They are all things that apply directly to my goals for the next six months.  I am learning how to make a life, I think.  

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.  ~~Winston Churchill