Therapy and Psuedo-Therapy

There have been a number of things this past month that have made me feel "normal" again. ( I know many would argue that I have never been normal...) Between having a baby and nursing that baby every 3 hours and throwing out my back, I have not been able to do a lot of the things that help me feel like something other than a slave to my house, children, and aging body. I started physical therapy for my back and it has been wonderful! No miracles or anything, but definite changes and relief. This means I have been able to RUN! Woohoo! I haven't run since before I was pregnant with Lucy. It feels great (actually there's a whole lot of jiggling going on that doesn't feel so great!) , but hopefully my back will hold up and I can continue to pound it out on the pavement. It feels fabulous! I also mowed the lawn yesterday, which takes me back to my teen years and is totally therapeutic! A few weeks ago we gave Sam a bottle for the first time so I could go to the temple with our Relief Society sisters. It was so needed! I hadn't been to the temple since Dec. and was in need of a spiritual boost and was greatly filled. Next we had a girly night where two friends came over and we made dresses for our girls. It was so fun! It made me remember that yes, I can do something other than change diapers and pick up all day. Lucy totally didn't need another dress, but turning a couple of pillow cases into a dress for her was what I totally needed! Date night with my hubby was also pretty sweet. Byron owed me a date from FOREVER ago because I beat him in bowling, thank you very much! This means he had to arrange babysitting and decide what we were going to do. Dinner and a movie is an all time fave, but lo and behold, he came up with something better: dinner and shopping at the outlets! And not shopping for the kids (well a little) but he said it was shopping for me! With being fat and pregnant for 18 months out of 2 years, not to mention the postpartum fatness, it has been a long, long time since I have shopped for myself. I didn't find much, but the fact that I could shop kid free and with someone to show off to, it was a blast! Book club is also mega-therapy for me. I love, love, love to read and escape in a good book, but I love going and visiting with the girls even more! I came home from the last one and Byron said, "How was it?" I said, "great, but my back hurts. I think I sat in the same spot too long." He said, "Yeah, well FOUR hours is a long time." I said, "Duh, it wasn't FOUR hours! OH MY GOSH! I was there for FOUR hours?" Sorry, Elizabeth, we stayed a loooong time, but truly, it makes me a better woman. Maybe not the next day when I am so tired, but I continue to find myself chuckling over past book club conversations and it just makes me happy. Each of these things has made me feel whole and well again. Hallelujah!