Here we are again. We frittered away the beautiful autumn months last year because there were so many things to do, from the Apple Festival to the Bridge Day to the Air Show to all the many and miscellaneous arts and crafts fairs that pop up during everyone’s favorite season of the year, leaving no time for exercise and fitness.
We felt bad about that, mainly because we had promised ourselves to be active and energetic during the summer months, but that resolution lasted only about as long as it took our flowers to wilt in the heat and humidity, and for our good intentions to be washed away with the dripping perspiration from our foreheads.
Spring was an option, of course, but this year’s was a particularly rainy, dreary spring, with puddles on the sidewalks and mud everywhere. Who could go out in that?
And, really, we deserved a rest after those long, cold winter months with grey skies and only intermittent sunshine, which even then was weak and pale and not warm at all, not to mention that hectic holiday season that zapped all of our energy, and there was certainly no time to work out unless we count hauling those heavy boxes of ornaments out of the attic.
So, basically, it’s another year gone by, and all that resolve to go outside and exercise in the fresh air and wide open spaces has evaporated like a snowflake in July, faded like a daisy in December.
But – here we are again.
And it really is autumn. The trees are just beginning to turn, and the sky is blue. There is a hint of crispness in the sunrise that wasn’t there before, a briskness in the evening breeze that makes us think of campfires and cookouts.
And, yes, there are a million things to do, from the community yard sales to the riverfront concerts to the chili suppers at every church and school … but this time, we are determined.
So we reach for the sweater and the leash, and the dog is absolutely delighted and so proud of us as we walk him down the street or around the block or – well, since we’re out anyway, we might as well make the grand swing around the neighborhood.
And the next day, we feel so good about ourselves that we park in the far corner of the lot and walk to the office, and we choose that salad instead of the greasy burger for lunch. And then on Saturday, we go to the Farmer’s Market – which we’ve intended to do all summer – and browse through rows and tables of fresh vegetables and fruit. Then, before our resolve weakens, we go home and fix a healthy lunch, and everyone eats it and nobody complains, and you wonder why you haven’t been doing this all along.
So maybe we’re not ready for a 5K just yet, or maybe ever, but we know these small steps are at least taking us in the right direction.
And like that little meme on Pinterest says, no matter how slow we go, we’re still lapping everyone on the couch.
And here we are, again – doing the best we can.
