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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Weekend Away!

A friend of mine, whom I have known for just under 15 years, has a time-share condominium in Florida. It is in the next city over from mine. He invites my DH and I to come spend the weekend with him. Some years he couldn't make it but sent a letter to the company allowing DH and I to use the condo in his absence. It is a beach front condo and the sound of the ocean is just so soothing!

It may not be very far from my home, but just getting out of my own house for a short while is nice. He was in town this past weekend (16 Dec thru 19 Dec). Ron and I were able to go for the weekend this year. We arrived Friday afternoon and came home Sunday afternoon. It was just wonderful!

The condo has a whirlpool tub in it and I got to soak in it many times. It is amazing how much help those tubs are! The moving water gently massages my muscles, which helps them relax better than a heating pad does. It really helped a lot.

The only drawback was they no longer allow smoking on the balconies. Instead they created designated smoking areas on the ground floor, outside of the buildings at maximum distance from the elevator. So every time Ron or I wanted a cigarette we had to walk to the smoking area. When it got cold we went and sat in our car to smoke. This was more exercise than I was used to and as a result I ended up in a great deal of pain. Oh but it was worth it! It was positively wonderful to spend the weekend with Jay (our friend).

We talked and laughed a lot. Just enjoying each others' company. Instead of going out to a restaurant for dinner, Ron cooked a steak dinner in the condo. It was positively delicious! On Sunday morning we stood on the balcony and just watched the ocean (Gulf Of Mexico). It was so smooth, no waves at all. It is not often that this happens, usually there are waves in the Gulf. So I took a picture with my cell phone, as I forgot the camera at home. Perfectly still, gorgeous shades of blue, and we could even see fish swimming by! The fish don't show in the picture, but you can see how still the water is.


Since we got home I've been in bed with a lot of pain, but despite the pain I am trying to keep up the exercise. This weekend showed me just how bad my muscles are and I know this is not a good thing. I need to build my muscles back up. With stronger muscles, my spine and pelvis will get more support and in theory this should lower some of my pain. However, doing the exercises hurts like hell and I am afraid of that pain, which is why I haven't exercised much beyond some gentle stretching. I don't think I have much choice now, so I've started walking to the end of my street and back home. So far I haven't made it past 3 houses down before having to go back home. I also have to sit down 2 or 3 times on this walk, but that's ok. When I can do this easily, I will lengthen the walk.

Having that short break has done a lot for my mood and I had a great time! I got the 3rd Reindeer done and started the 4th (stitching), but mostly I just relaxed and got to laugh a lot.

Thank you so much Jay for sharing the weekend with us, it was wonderful!