Serendipity.

It’s been long overdue that I’ve written since my return from my Mt. Mitchell summit in September. Let me explain. Upon my return home in the fall, a lot has happened in my life. For one, I returned to the workforce, part-time that is. I’m learning some new skills in my post-retirement retail position which has been very interesting indeed, though I still consider myself retired. 

Among all of the 2020 and year-end distractions, I left my personal Facebook account for a while. I mean seriously, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it.  I’ve also adopted a new personal rule; if we are ever in disagreement with one another, let’s talk in person about it, or at least let’s talk on the phone. The second rule simply starts with “Unfriend”. Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me, and I choose love over hate, and I don’t have time for it. My wife and I also moved in December. Unfortunately not to the mountains just yet, but the move should create more personal space for us to explore life further. Getting closer to RV living! 

So, if that’s not enough for you? My doctor had suggested that it was time for me to experiment and to leave my current treatment of Methotrexate to try a less invasive treatment and see if my Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) could stay under control. Hell, why not!  I’m on top of the world, I climb and walk on top of mountains, I’m in the best shape of my life, almost to the point of conditioning when I ran a 30-mile Ultra. However, about two months into the new treatment, I had to tap out. The constant pain was just unbearable. My creativity and the desire to write was gone and my daily thoughts began to involve trying to figure out how to mask the pain so that I could just perform simple life functions. 

In short, I’m now back on Methotrexate and my RA responded quickly to it and I should be back into controlled remission very soon.  In fact, I’ve now returned to the gym, returned to walking/hiking, and managed to lose weight almost to my High School days. To top it off, I actually ran for the first time in years, tears of joy flowing.  Maybe I should resurrect my Running Duh blog? Ok, let’s not go crazy. Most of all, getting pain-free got me thinking, dreaming, and finally writing again.

Personally, 2020 has been an amazing year. Save it!  Your perception is your own reality, not mine. If you didn’t come out of 2020 learning something or something about yourself, you missed the point of this deranged exercise in life. So, what’s next…Well, I guess you’ll just have to follow along because, I’m back baby! The trail calls…Never ever stop trying to Be_again, and again, and again.