Of Roses, Exercise, and Gym Memberships...

Day 6, Saturday, July 11, 2015

Okay, this exercise thing is already getting old. Just sayin'. Not to speak of the fact that I just paid $100 for the privilege of doing it. We paid $70 for a year's membership and $30 for a 12-class pass.

In spite of all my complaining, this may work out for the best in a couple of different ways. The good thing about this new gym membership is that it was the same price to sign me up alone as it it was to sign Mike and me up as a couple.  We're thinking that he may be able to do his own workout while I'm having my exercise classes on Tuesday and Saturday (assuming my employer works with me to let me off in time to make the Tuesday class).   Mike and I have been so focused on my health that we have not addressed his health at all, and we really should.

This is the third day of exercise this week. I went Tuesday, Thursday, and today, and I must say it does NOT get easier. It does NOT make me feel better after it's over. I am NOT cut out for exercise. But, I'm doing it because 1) I have been given this time off work for the express purpose of exercising, 2) I know in the long run, it could mean the difference in how long I maintain my mobility. This disease is all about muscle strength and muscle memory, so I can't afford not to do this. Besides, sometimes I do have an energy boost after exercising (apparently not today... I'm still waiting for it!).

Okay, I know I sound like a broken record about the exercise thing, so I'll move on. After exercise class today, we went to Qdoba, then I went over to Olivia and Aaron's Franklin house to see how their move to Shelbyville was coming. Turns out, they were almost ready to pull out for Shelbyville, so I stayed long enough to say hi to everyone, then headed back home for a quick nap.

After our nap, Mike and i took off for Shelbyville. Livvy had asked us if we would go pick up pizzas around 6:00 or so. When we got there, Silas was so sweet -- the second we walked in the door, he smiled and gave a little scream, and ran right to us with his little arms up!

We got home around 7:00 and made a trip down to the garden, which was rather discouraging. Many of our crops were all yellow, from all the rain, I guess. The weeds had grown up while we were waiting for the soil to dry out. To finish off the sad situation, the bunnies had been eating some of our just-ripening vegetables. Overall, it was just discouraging. We did have some nice cucumbers and hot peppers, which we brought in.
I think we're going to Tractor Supply to get blood meal tomorrow. I have heard that the scent of the blood meal keeps the bunnies away.

Those same mean bunnies have also been eating on my rose outside my bedroom window. It's name is Hope, and I am determined to keep it alive. I got it for $5 at Walmart at the end of the season this year. My previous rose died during the late rough winter weather last year -- it's name was Courage.

it might seems strange to name my roses and to have such an attachment to them (I cried when  my old rose bush died). The reason they are so special to me is because when I first got diagnosed with Parkinsons, it was late October, and the roses should have been done blooming. But not my little Courage rose. It kept blooming and blooming on into winter. Every single day after my diagnosis, I would get up and look out my window at my rose bush. I somehow felt that if it could keep blooming one more day, then I could find a way to make it through one more day too. That little rose bloomed into late December in an Indiana winter. Every day it reminded me that I could dig deep and find the courage to get through one more day, hence its name. It bloomed just long enough to get me through a rough time, and when it finally stopped blooming, I could see my way through to the next day. Last winter's late blast killed that rose, so we adopted this new one.

When we got this rose a couple of weeks ago, there was no tag to tell me what kind it was or what color, which just made it all the more appealing to me.  I name it Hope since I'm hoping to find new ways to attack my disease. One day last week, I saw that those mean bunnies ate off all the leaves and buds right down to about 6 inches from the ground. Today I was delighted to see that new leaves are growing and there's one tiny yellow bloom coming on. I'm going to try to baby it and save it (and keep the bunnies away).  After all, how do you give up on a rose named Hope? By the way, I was happy to see that it was yellow, just like Courage had been.

I've been all over the place with this entry, but it's late and it's the best I've got!

Time for bed!