The last six-ish months were really not good, Chez Bossydog. Sophie started to have more intestinal issues months ago, and morning walks stopped and were exchanged for veterinary and janitorial duties.
Since this year began, I usually had animal care stuff to do before logging in to a morning meeting, so even 15 minutes of morning yoga, let alone a 30 minute walk, just wasn’t in the cards. Working from home was just like the office, but without the commute and with frequent grossness. I’m grateful that I was able to do it, and be here for Sophie to the end. The end would have come months ago if I hadn’t been able to manage the meds and special foods and the constant cleanup and the vet visits and getting up in the night. I was able to give her every chance to get better, and I’m grateful I got to try. But it did take a toll on my own health.
My diet changed because damn, the situation was depressing and I was tired! I was already buying and cooking chicken for Sophie’s special diet, and it was just easier to use the chicken breasts I was already buying to supplement her diet for my own meals, instead of sticking to the plant based meals that I know really do work best for me. From there it was a short slide back into more processed foods and the mindless convenience of the Standard American Diet.
So, little time for exercise, my plant based diet was an extra burden, lots of stress at work and at home, which led to too much wine in the evenings to be able to fall asleep, then get up at 5:30 and do it all over again. Then I badly sprained my damn ankle, and it still twinges now and then.
My ankle is MUCH MUCH better, but I still feel it a bit now and then, like a mild bruise, mostly because I didn’t seriously follow up with the exercises to help it flex and get stronger, and I need to focus on that if I’m going to walk 20k+ steps at Disney a few times a week.
All in all, it wasn’t a good time, to put it mildly. I still have the COVID lbs. to deal with, on top of the 10 that I was already trying to lose before this started. I can’t afford to buy a new wardrobe, I gave all my money to the vets and Chewy.com. (So not kidding about that.)
Chewy is an awesome company btw. The other day I found a full, unopened $50 pack of heartworm meds I’d bought for Sophie back in April. So I called Chewy to ask if I could return it. The very nice woman looked up my order and said, “I’m crediting the price back to your card, and you can donate it to a shelter. I am so sorry about Sophie.” The shelter where I adopted Ellie will be getting small beds, her leftover prescription food, and the heartworm meds.
So now I have plans for August, plans that will require a lot of walking in the Florida heat, and I know I’m not ready for that shit. I need to train for it, because Grandma’s been sitting on her ass in the air conditioning way too much for the last year and a half.
AND registration opens on Tuesday morning for the Wine & Dine 5k. My daughter and I are going to do it (assuming it doesn’t fill up in the first minute after registration opens). I have a personal goal of doing all the 5k races this year. The runDisney races are wildly popular for a reason. They are an absolute blast. I haven’t been able to do one since 2018. I had been signed up for the Star Wars race in 2020 that was canceled.
21 days until my 30 day break begins, 25 days until Disney blockout ends. My 21 day plan is simple, because I really am starting from nearly zero: at least 15 minutes of yoga and 10 minutes of meditation every morning, plus a daily 30 minute walk. Clean up my diet. Get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
21 days of just doing that much will be taking more steps to get healthy than I’ve managed in the first six months of this year. It’s a start.