Back at it

February 3, 2019

Someone once described professional football as “twenty-two men on the field desperately in need of rest watched by twenty-two thousand in the stands desperately in need of exercise.” I’ not in the stands, but I definitely could use a little more exercise. I was doing pretty well until plantar fasciitis sidelined me for awhile. You would think that in retirement I would have plenty of time for the grunt and groan, but the only timeframe that has ever worked for me has been first thing in the morning. Once the day gets going, stopping to change clothes, work out, shower, then get back to work doesn’t work.

First thing in the morning is best, but I have more early morning commitments now than I had when I was working full time. The only way out of this dilemma seems to be getting up earlier, which means rolling out of the sack between 5:00 and 5:30 every morning. 

I’ve never been particularly athletic. That’s putting it mildly. When choosing sides for backyard baseball, there were girls who got picked before me. Name the sport; I was no good at it. But when I turned 50, God spoke to me. It wasn’t an audible voice, but I knew it was God because the thought that popped into my head was nothing that I would have cooked up. The conversation went like this:

God: “Your body is my temple, and I don’t like the shape it’s in.”

Me: “-Gulp-”

So I bought a set of exercise DVDs and started working out. It was pretty rigorous stuff, and I lost about fifteen pounds while gaining strength and energy that I hadn’t before known. Then came the plantar fasciitis. 

It has taken some time, but the feet feel fine once more, but I might as well be one of those 22,000. I need to get back to my workouts. Remember, I’m not much of an athlete, which means I’m not the greatest sports fan. But I’m doing my civic duty watching the Super Bowl tonight, remembering that old quote, and hearing God’s voice again telling me to get back at it. So although in retirement I prefer hitting the snooze, I think tomorrow will find me back at it. Am I thankful? Not in a happy-happy sort of way, but I know that in the long run, this is best, and with that, I am content.