Taking Our Time

Mile Marker 15:

Sometime life presents you with “aha” moments, sparkles of brilliance, and sure signs that you’ve hit the big time.  But more often changes are subtle, only revealing themselves when you look back and realize how far you’ve actually come.

Mile 15 was the slowest mile so far.  But also the sweetest.

Last December, my sister and brother-in-law sneaked my baby niece into the hospital to surprise me.   What was even more surprising was that they’d driven 500 miles from Vermont to do it!

At the time, Riley Cate was still pretty bald, was just learning to sit up by herself, and played a mean game of Peek-A-Boo with my bedsheets.  Smiling toothlessly, she easily convinced the nurses to let her stay a while.   We made bets about who would walk first, me or Riley.

I won, but only by a hair.

Last weekend, Riley Cate accompanied me on my 15^th mile.  And, as easy as 1-2-3, she taught me how she operates!

1.     Take time to stop and smell the flowers. ..and pick up sticks…and dig in the dirt….and look at leaves…  Riley Cate keeps busy.   She toddles around quickly, but she also stops A LOT.  She likes to examine things – see them, touch them, and of course, taste them!  And while I’m pretty sure I’ll never go back to chewing on nature-y stuff, I’ve been starting to take notice of things in a new way.   These months of recovery have forced me to be still.  When I returned home from the hospital, I marveled at the vibrant colors around me.  I watched the seasons transform my parents’ backyard from winter to spring to summer in a way I never noticed during my 18+ years of growing up there.  Now, I notice beauty even in the most unlikely places.  Cute kids, funny-looking dogs, flowering gardens....They’re really everywhere!

2.     Fall down.  Get back up.   Repeat.  Riley Cate is the poster-child for working toward mastery.  During our walk together, she bottomed out no fewer than three times for every ten steps.  The grass was uneven and crunchy.  Curb cuts were like climbing and descending small mountains.  Brick pathways formed obstacle courses.  I felt her pain!  But she is a determined little thing.  Let me do it myself or I’ll never learn!  She screeched when we tried to help her.  Now, with each new activity and exercise, I'll strive to match Riley’s persistence.  Whenever I learn a new skill, my PT Deb says, “Ok, get ready to do some PROBLEM-SOLVING.”  Her belief, and Riley’s also, is that there are no tasks that can’t be done, only those that haven’t been puzzled out yet!

3.    Know when to say when.  Riley and I are both still working on this one.  As a toddler, Riley gets crabby and puts up a fight when the adults know she really just needs a nap.  In a way, I do the same thing.  I’ve always been on the move.  Relaxing does not come easily.  Maybe Riley’s got some of my genes.  I’m tempted to plunge full speed ahead into my “normal” lifestyle, when sometimes even getting dressed pushes me to the point of exhaustion.  Riley’s pint-sized tantrums remind me that my body’s still in recovery mode.  I need to get used to a new speed -- one that includes rest time.  We scoop Riley up and put her in the stroller.  I need to do this for myself.

When I think back to where Riley and I were last winter, we’ve come a long way.  Progress has been gradual, and we’ve both still got a long way to go.   But that’s ok.  We’ve got time.