That's Much Better

To awaken with the same pain that you go to sleep with is not only frustrating but can literally drive one batty. Nothing was working - not Advil, not massaging it, not even staying off of it. Ironically, staying off of it made it worse because when I would step on it once again, the pain would intensify. Needless to say, I had tried everything - or did I?

As I have already written, when Greg was at his sickest, I would be at my healthiest. So, as I awoke to the gnawing pain once again, I took a minute to collect my thoughts. In the pitch black of the early morning hours, with Greg still asleep, it finally came to me. As said in the movie Hook (1991):

Smee: I just had an apostrophe.
Hook: I think you mean an epiphany.
Smee: Lightning just struck my brain.
Hook: That must hurt.

I knew what I had to do - I had to live as though Greg was sick. Okay, so it sounds a little strange but I don't mean Greg has to get sick - I mean I have to do what I was doing back then that kept me healthy. For example, in order to deal with the stress of his illness, I would do Yoga for 30 minutes every morning before I did anything else. I have been doing Yoga since 1997 and love it greatly but there was never any time anymore. So, I got straight out of bed, closed the doors to both our bedroom and that of our lab pups (so they wouldn't start to cry if they heard me) and heading for our living room. I then turned on a small lamp, lit a candle, and took 30 minutes to meditate, stretch, and do Yoga.

At the end of this time, I had a clear list of the things I would do to help myself get healthier. I would increase my fruit and raw vegetable intake as well as my long needed water intake. I would do Yoga every day for 30 minutes in the morning and push aside a mountain of stress factors I have on my growing plate. As I stood up from my last Yoga asana (pose), a smile came to my face. Although slightly sore, the foot pain was totally gone. I was also able to flex my fingers on my right hand that had swollen overnight due to the small but painful hand rash I have (due to the harsh winter weather). I was not cured but this was the first step in a change that is not only long coming but necessary for my mind, body, and spirit.

~Shan
http://www.angelcove.us