Hills

These are my feet yesterday morning getting ready to go tackle that hill. My feet really wanted the flip flops! Don't mind the paper shreds. One of my cats got into it with a paper towel. She really showed that mean paper towel!
First of all, I would like to say that I have a whole new respect for people who work out at gyms. When I see women out and about in their workout gear, they look so easy, breezy, carefree. They make it look easy, and I admire that. I on the other hand, need some practice. I tackled the hill around 6:30 or 7:00 A.m., so it was still dark, and I like it that way. Those spandex leggings are no joke. I felt like a field roast sausage in casing, and I worried about what type of underwear are you supposed to wear? Like I said, I'm walking up a hill, so my bum is really out there, you know? I also feel like the leggings were tight in some areas, and oddly baggy in other areas. It's spandex, so I guess baggy is the wrong word. More like saggy. There are sags in weird areas. Am I alone in my fears and anxieties about workout gear? I can say this, it would have to be a world wide emergency for me to be seen in public with this get-up on! After a few minutes of weird anxiety, I told myself to shut the eff up. The point of this adventure is not to look cute.
You know how there is the in your face spicy food that hits you right away, and there is the spicy food that creeps up on you, sometimes long after that first bite? Well, this hill was a slow burn that crept up on me. One second I was thinking to myself "this hill isn't really that big of a deal", and the next I realized I was very winded, and almost had to stop for a breath! I couldn't believe how quickly things changed! I made it to the top, and continued my walk for a little longer to catch my breath. I felt very sporty. the walk down was also a nice cool down.
I had some errands to run yesterday, and when I got off the bus, I looked up that hill and said, "you did that!" It feels great, and I think this will be an easy habit to get into.

I saw this card yesterday at Trader Joe's, and I had to buy it for my wall. The picture isn't the best, so if you can't read it, it says "She planted and tended until wild beauty took root." That's what I'm trying to do for myself. Plant and tend to myself, so I can be the most beautiful version of myself. I'm talking about what matters, the inside. Replace wild with inner.
I've done a lot of self destructive things in my day to get that "high" where you just feel so good you can't think about the bad. But nothing ever feels as good as taking care of yourself, and keeping promises you make to yourself.
I don't know how long it's going to take for this hill to be easy for me. But I'm going to enjoy the journey. There is no way I would be able to do this challenge if I were still smoking cigarettes, so this will be good in helping me keep up the good, smoke free fight!