I am reminded of the joke about the woman who wanted desperately to win the lottery. Day after day she would pray to God, “Lord, please let me win the lottery”…..finally the Lord whispered back, “You need to buy a ticket.”
How many times is that us? In my case “Lord, please let me be healthier and more physically fit…AKA lose weight.”
The Lord whispered back, “Sandy, get off the couch.”
Now seriously I do not spend much time sitting around on the couch but I didn’t give myself much time for exercise. I decided to go back to my youth to find an exercise I really liked.
For a few days I tried running, but running has not been my passion, ever. In sixth grade when Mr. Lingwall would line up the class on the Birch Grove sidewalk with his stop watch and clipboard I would hide out in the girl’s bathroom. He would send Kelly or Colleen to drag me out and then sigh as I gave it my all and still came in last. With classmates like Jimmy and Jeff what chance did I have?
Mel (I can now call him by his first name and not get a red 5…) finally gave up on my track career when I stopped to pull up my knee high socks in the middle of a 50-yard dash at the all-school track meet in Grand Marais! I was a much better reader but you don’t get cardio from the Boxcar Children series.
I finally remembered my childhood love of biking. When I was young I had a 10-speed bike. My brother Gary and I would fly down the Cramer Road at breakneck speeds on our way to the Temperance River for a swim in the canyons. My dad joked that our bikes must be broken because they never made the mile and a half ride back up the Cramer Road! We would call from the phone booth in front of Lamb’s store and beg him to bring the truck down to pick us up.
A few weeks ago I pulled my Cannondale Hybrid from the back of the garage and dusted it off. I bought this bike 18 years ago when Zoe was a baby. I had only ridden it a few miles a year so it was just like new. After the bike shop put on two new tires and greased the gears I was ready to go.
My friend Penny and I started slow, riding from South Haven to Annandale, stopping for a nice breakfast then pedaling back to South Haven. An easy ride with an hour break got the heart pumping but didn’t strain anything. She suggested we change up the route and take a lap or two around Pleasant Lake in Annandale. This was fun. A beautiful lake, a couple of steep hills and lots of company of other riders, walkers and joggers to smile and encourage me along the ride.
I put my face to the sun as I rode and I heard God say “Now, isn’t this better than the couch?”
The best place to find a helping
hand is at the end of your own
arm.
Swedish Proverb
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