Pandemic Changes

 After my last knee surgery in Apirl of 2017, I was anxious to get back into the gym.  I worked out nearly every day.  Mostly the weekdays. But I would average riding 6 miles at least 5 days a week.  I would ride for 25 minutes and maybe lift weights.  Maybe I would swim for 25 minutes instead.  I was fit.  I was active.  I was in the best shape of my life.  I went on trips where I would walk for up to 7 miles a day without any kind of assistance.   It was an amazing time.  And just before the pandemic shut it all down, I started noticing that it wasn't so easy to walk a long distance anymore.  I went to Disneyland and didn't last a day.  By the second day I was finding reasons to go back to the hotel earlier than the rest of my family.  All evening shows are out of the question.  By the third day, I was riding a mobility scooter.  Oh the freedom I found.  Not only could I get places easily,  I got on rides easier too.  No fast pass needed.  Just get in the handicap lane with your entire family.  I got a lot of terrible stares when this fit looking lady was rolling around on a mobility scooter with what appeared to be minimal walking restrictions.  Sure, when I don't have to walk long distances, I'm fine.  Only weeks before this trip, I lost my father to cancer that he was only diagnosed with only a month before he passed.  And just before the pandemic shut it all down, my daughter had a baby.  We were all shut down together with a little one.  I started baking.  I became sedentary.   I didn't even bother to ride my bike.  I bought a bike attachment which soon proved to be a massive waste of money.  Then I did buy a stationary bike but admittedly have lost my motivation to be consistent.  For a lot of reasons but I find them to really just be excuses.  Going through the changes of social norms, we all got used to sitting around and eating.  And during this time of shutting down, I was handed the menopause process.  How I have changed even more beyond physically.  I stopped caring about wearing make up, dying my hair, wearing bras, and everything else I find a superficial reason to waste more time in my life that I truly didn't actually care about.  However,  I do have to have my nails done professionally now because they are constantly breaking.  My hair went from a well manicured and maintained vertical bob to a now mid-back length salt and pepper (brown with streaks of grey) that I have recently covered with purple.  Now we are all trying to get back into the habit of getting to the gym regularly and traveling again.  I never get on an airplane without a cane.  I have an impressive cane collection.  They all go with different types of terrain and fashion.   My doctor is moving away next month. That means I get the added task of finding a new family doctor that I will need to educate them with what PVNS is.  I'm just grateful that I can still walk and do most things.  That PVNS does not control my life.  And that I'm not in constant pain.