Monday, September 26, 2011

Oh, what we learn...

A very heavily loaded couple of days. Successful, but heavily loaded.

Sunday, for the first time in months (maybe even a year's worth of months) I did a Home Repair Project: replaced a light switch. You wouldn't think it'd be that tough, because I guess it was... I sacked out for at least a couple of hours, immediately afterwards. Then I did the dishes... and the standing up for as long as the dishes took, pretty much ate all of my ability to stand for the rest of the day. And night.

Today, four classes, a meeting, shopping at two stores that are so close together, they share walls—the walking around which took an unbelievably long time, the "just plain walking"—and a bunch of after-hours computer diddling. And at the end of the day, not even enough energy to have dinner, much less make it.

Should I be pleased that I was able to do "so much" today, after being unable to do nearly anything all summer? Yeah, probably...

If I wasn't so tired.

Damn, just living takes a lot of energy. Much less walking, like what it takes to go through evan a small store... the amount of energy, and time, that just walking takes, is just plain huge.

I used to be able to walk at race-walking speed. Now it takes me ten full minutes just to walk from my office, across one two-lane street, and get to my car.

Does it bother me, this not being able to walk the way I used to? I dunno... but I'm constantly surprised, if not dismayed, at how "not walking" has changed my life. And how much the simple act of walking means in day-to-day, hour-to-hour living.

The life with M.S. is full of surprises. We learn the most amazing things, don't we?