Ascending

I give thanks ascending was easier than descending, but it was a shock to face how feeble I have become while staggering a few yards along an uneven footpath to a perfect picnic spot with Mima earlier on. At one point I sank to my bum to avoid losing my balance and then didn't have the strength in my legs to push back up! For it unequivocally being worth the effort however. For the sunshine and fresh air, good food and company, wonderful views...and, above all else, larks trilling above our heads! 

Listing the limited range of birdsong I'm able to recognise the other day, I completely forgot larks (along with curlews) as even when I'm at full contemporary strength I'm so rarely anywhere to hear them any more. For the lift to my spirits that came from having years of contented strong limbed striding memories come suddenly flooding back. The old me, the young me...the me I think I'll always be inside...

I give thanks for good news re descending liver enzymes too, still on course to maybe reduce the steroid dosage a little more swiftly than originally thought pending next weeks tests and triage. I'm deeply grateful for the way these are restoring my health but won't be sorry to see the back of lack sleep, constant appetite and face like an obese hamster! 

And talking of ups and downs, I give thanks for the first time witnessing one of the park maintenance chaps watering the flower containers that decorate the bridge over the brook. How do they do it? They lower a bucket on a rope to fill from the stream below, of course! Don't know quite why this pleased me quite as much as it did, but if it makes you happy it isn't sad, right?