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| Isn't the fall the most beautiful thing? Yes, the colors are amazing and next comes snow. Wha hooooo! |
It has been a real experience moving to Colorado. I haven't been able to keep up with my postings as life has been very scattered lately. Starting off with ending up in the emergency room the next day after I arrived to having an operation 4 weeks later. The blood loss really did a job on me. When I was in college I had an extreme blood loss but recovered quickly enough that I did not really notice it. BUT, once you are over 60 it seems to be a new agenda. I was down and out for a few weeks. I did go out and try to hold up a happy face but ooooooooooo so little energy. Then, the blood loss caused an iron deficiency. I didn't find out about that until after the operation. It takes a bit longer to get blood test results here. So off to the health food store to get some Hemaplex. Then I realized I needed more oxygen and ordered some liquid oxygen to put into my water. This threw off my magnesium so I added this. After all this stuff I am finally not aching all the time. I am at my best right now, since this all started.
I have been walking in my neighborhood, with my new found walking buddies, and have started to work with the Wii. I am excited about my reduction in my weight and have begun focusing myself to drop into a new 10s before thanksgiving. I am now back to my 1998 weight. Yeaaaa. Today I started the Wii fitness to back up the walking. I need more exercise with my upper body. I did my waist today. I started a Yoga class last Thursday and hope to continue (the teacher said she will be off and on available for the next 2 months due to classes she is taking). I am also job hunting and networking at events to find a job.
All of this activity plus having family around more than I have had in 15 years, has been keeping me busy. My goal is still for my walk, I just don't know if I can make it next spring, may have to be next fall. One thing about all these changes in my life is I seem to be more flexible about when I go. Before it had to be in cool weather and no rain and now I am shifting to 'whenever'. I love this new flexibility. I am also experiencing positive and negative thoughts. I have always been a person who may bitch a bit but always went back to the positive shortly. So I maintained a positive belief system. But there has been an underlying fear that has brought about things I would prefer to not have in my life. I have been struggling with changing this for a few years now. This trip is part of this. I am scared to take off to a foreign country all by myself and try to make all the things happen that has to happen to be able to walk the Camino. I have traveled a lot but always with others (in foreign countries). There was a sense of safety with another person along, whether it is true or not I believed it. But now I am going to hit 3 countries and walk all by myself and find my way by myself. I am scared I will walk so slow that the Albergues will be full by the time I reach them and then I am scared I will have to sleep on the ground outside by myself with nothing but a sleeping bag. More stuff running around my head and creating subconscious belief systems and messing up my life.
Sunday I visited the Unity Church here in Ft Collins. They have a hilarious minister named Lynn. She keeps you in stitches as she shares each week. This week she talked about the time in her life when she was lost in negative thinking. Hummm synchronicity?! Well she told the story of her dumping all her stuff on a minister friend and at the end of her tirade the minister looked away from her towards the window and smiling said. "O look, the geese are flying." And, she just smiled and continued to enjoy the geese flying over head. Lynn said it took her a bit to get what she was trying to teacher her. But suddenly she understood the the minister was trying to tell her to refocus. Something about her story and all the laughter, it hit home. I am now practicing re focusing every time I think a negative thought or I hear a negative thought. If this works I will be slim, trim, vibrant, healthy, youthful and athletic by spring and will have income, time to take the walk and a special man in my life. I don't want much do I? Smile. It is about time I get some good loving in my life.
Buen Camino
b
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI believe that with all your preparations you will have a joyous Camino. I too exercised prior to the Camino using the Jilian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout video. I was most grateful for the quad-development. Upon return, I restarted the workout but at level one, and was surprised by how sore I was. Guess if you don't use it you loose it.
I finished the Camino on October 20 and during the 41 days of hiking, it only rained for about 20 minutes, just a shower. We walked in Sept-Oct and loved the cooler weather, fewer perigrinos, beautiful autumn scenery.
I recommend that you give yourself plenty of time. Without a strict deadline, you can pace yourself better and quit early to ensure a bed in an albergue, if necessary. During our walk, we had no problems with over-crowding.
"Ultreya" is a Spanish word meaning Onward! It was in common use by pilgrims to greet and to encourage one another along the way.
Ultreya and buen camino.
Jane
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information and loved knowing no problems in the fall as I do enjoy the cooler weather. I will keep in mind the idea to stop earlier. I was thinking that many of the Albergues closed the end of Sept and it would be slim pickings in October or November. For that reason I was thinking I would not be able to do it in the fall. But if they are staying open then no problem.
Thanks and I will use Ultreya as well from now on. Happy you had a wonderful Camino and will look for your blog to read all about it.
Ultreya and buen camino
b