BABY STEPS BABY!

I do not want anyone who reads this to think that I was doing ANY of this activity overnight. A couple of things you should know about me: I may be the least athletic person you will ever meet and I was always the last one picked for any team and that was AFTER kids who were absent, had moved to other countries, etc. When I got diagnosed with MS in 1999, I started walking one length in a pool, then two, adding a length each day. Eventually, I changed that to swimming. I have been somewhat active since 1999, but at the beginning of this year, I had just allowed life to drag me down and I was tired. Tired of having MS, tired of fighting, tired of everything. Nathan, Trisha and Jim were put in my life at just the right time for a reason and I started fighting again.

What I am saying to you is to just start doing SOMETHING but DO NOT OVERDO IT and DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED. Start small. VERY SMALL. Whatever activity is easiest to do, do it but don’t over do it. Tomorrow do A LITTLE more and increase it every day. Eventually (and not overnight) you will start to feel better and will be able to take on more. I am HORRIBLE about over doing things. That is not wise, as then you have to waste time to recover. I can not stress this enough. BE PATIENT, RELAX and watch and document your own miracles. Send them to me if you need or want a "congrats." Sometimes just having someone recognize your accomplishments no matter how small you think they are gives you the energy to push it a little more the next time. And trust me - there is no such thing as a small accomplishment.

So you do not get bored with my ramblings, I am probably going to try to limit my blogs to twice a week. I will try to post mid week and will likely post "Sundays with Jarvis" every Sunday. That is kind of how I am gauging my progression and I have become quite fond of my Sundays with Jarvis. I am going to ask Trisha, Nathan and Jim and whoever else wants to to share their wisdom as well as they see fit.

I have been blessed with an AMAZING team at VillaSport and the trainers all have more wisdom than I can ever hope to have. I call them Yoda or Yodette as the case may be. We can all benefit from their advice.

Just keep trying. Remember - "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow.'" Just don't stop trying. Eventually, and it does not matter how long it takes, you will not be trying anymore everyday. You will be doing.

Good luck and my best,

Trace