Earlier this spring we started a morning walking routine.  We set the alarm half an hour earlier and used the time to refresh, invigorate and hopefully help me lose some weight.  My back started bothering me, so we quit.  In the meantime we have discovered I need some surgery on  my lower back and I have used that as my excuse not to keep walking.

Well, with surgery looming and a long recovery period, I realize I need to be walking now, while I CAN, to get in the best shape I can before my October surgery.  So I reluctantly broached the subject last night.  To say Dave was THRILLED would be a vast understatement...he leapt on the idea like I'd just figured out how to spin gold.

So this morning we started up again and I am full of questons.  Dave sent me a chipper message just now, asking if I got the same lift to my day he did with that simple change to our morning routine.  He feels healthier, ready to take the world on, happier.   These are all the things you're supposed to feel when you accomplish a walking habit.

Me?  Not so much.  I can't stand that alarm, let alone going off even EARLIER than usual!

Walking is very hard on the arthritis in my left foot!

After our first morning walk, I could barely climb the stairs at work!  THAT had been my daily exercise: skip the elevator and walk up and down the three floors.  Today I arrived at the top with aching legs and completely out of breath!

Walking does not make my bad back feel better!

I have been crabby all morning!

My back hurts!

I want to nap!

Ending each complaint with an exclamation mark is supposed to make me sound more positive about this change in my life but I don't know...still looks pretty negative to me.

So I looked it up.    There's actually an article titled 8 Astonishing Benefits of Walking! (The exclamation mark is theirs.)

Believe me, I am ready to be astonished, ready to tackle the world just like those football players in a huddle!  But...

The rest of the article is missing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't carry this attitude with me, this is what's LEFT of me after getting up early to walk.  When are all those positive things going to happen to me? 

It's a good thing I'm stubborn; otherwise I'd have to quit just to make a statement.