A Week at the Beach

65MD and I had a most glorious trip to the beach last week.  It was a trip that seemed charmed from the beginning.  We flew out on Monday morning and in spite of the tremendous crowd at the airport we got through security and to our gate in plenty of time to rest there before boarding.  When we went to pick up our rental car, we learned that they were out of the compact cars we reserved so we got an upgrade and a deal on gasoline for $1.99 per gallon.  We brought that baby back empty!  Then the hotel gave us a free upgrade to a ocean side balcony room!   One night we went to a BBQ place for supper.  We ordered a meal to share.  It was enough for us to take more than half of it back to the room for lunch the next day.  When we got our bill, it turned out that particular meal was on special that night!  After that, we were beginning to expect upgrades everywhere we went. But the neatest part of the whole trip was the weather.

We knew when we left town that rain was predicted every day while we were planning to be there.  Afternoon showers often happen at the beach so we weren't concerned.  65MD even said he'd like to see a good storm out over the ocean.  He got his wish.  We'd just returned to our room after an early supper Tuesday night when a real rip, roaring storm brewed up.  We pulled our chairs up to the sliding glass door, that opened on to the ocean view balcony and watched God's fireworks.  It was amazing.  We were rewarded with a tiny rainbow at the end.

There were two more storms that came up during the week.  After one, we saw a full rainbow.  I don't know that I've ever seen a full one.  We tried to take pictures but we couldn't get far enough back to capture the whole thing.  I took three photographs to get the whole thing.  They do not do it justice. As we were standing there admiring the rainbow and discussing its beauty, it turned into a double rainbow!

We saw one more rainbow in the clouds on our last day.  Once again, it was a new sight for me.  The sky was blue with puffy clouds and the sun was shining brightly, and between two clouds, there was a rainbow!

We had plenty of sun and lots of time to enjoy it.  I even got in the surf and played in the breakers for a while.  That is huge.  Last year, I spent a lot of time in the pool because it was the only place I was pain free.  This year, I didn't get in the pool at all.  I was nervous wading out to the breakers.  I almost chickened out when the waves caused the sand to shift under my feet.  I don't do well on uneven surfaces.  65MD helped me out into the deeper water where I could actually jump!

We took lots of beach walks. Much like getting into the deep water in the ocean, it was hard to walk on the soft sand near the buildings.  Once I got past that onto the hard packed sand nearer the surf, I would walk all day.  On the one day the weather permitted us to take two beach walks, I got in over 16,000 steps.  Sadly, when I got back home and tried to take a walk even on the sidewalks, it was much more uneven and there is no way I can replicate that many steps.

I know that, under the right circumstances, I can get in a lot of steps.  Now, my task is to recreate those circumstances.  I have a couple of ideas - the school gym, which I haven't used yet, or the church building with its long flat hallways.  Both are close; both are free to me.  I just need to do it.

My goal is for the rest of the month to average 5000 steps per day, which will require at least one walk under good conditions or two short walks on the sidewalk.  If I accomplish that, I'll reward myself with some new underwear.  This is really becoming a necessity rather than a reward, so even though meeting my goal will require effort, it is quite doable.  For June, I'll make the goal a little more difficult.  If I meet that, I'll give myself a new dressy outfit.

Other rewards I'm considering are, a new casual outfit and a facial/new make up.  My goals will always be something I can control like getting in so many steps or taking a certain number of walks each week.  They will NOT be related to the number on the scale.  That will probably follow if I meet my movement goals, but it might not.  I can't let that dictate how I feel about myself.  I already know how it messed up my perceptions  at a young age.  I won't let it have that kind of control over me again.

And finally - THANK YOU!  I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I got from every.single.commenter on my last post.  I really considered taking it down as soon as I put it up.  I felt very vulnerable but there was no need for that.  The response was 100% positive.  For that, I am grateful.