If My Legs Could Talk

Ray's legs here!

Hello. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. I say that because I don't know what time it is where you are as you are reading this. I thought I'd share with you all some thoughts I have about recent events.

Today I am happy because for a couple of days in a row, the sky has been free of forest fire smoke, making it possible to get outside for walks. Can I get a hallelujah?

It has been so rough not being able to get out for walks because of the air quality not being safe and COVID-19 making indoor walking not possible. It was almost 2 weeks without a walk.

Making my protests known

After the first couple of days, I didn't like that I hadn't been out for a walk, so I decided that if I protested, I'd be able to get out for a walk. I started simple, a little ache here and there as a reminder that I wanted to walk.

When that didn't work, I decided to ache more frequently and increase the pain. Still, Ray didn't cave.

She tried walking around the inside of her tiny apartment and walking in spot, but I was not willing to compromise. Day 5 of my protest and my demands not being met, I kicked up the pain and frequency of pain even more.

I needed to walk

I thought, Ignore this, baby. However, I forgot how powerful Ray is, and she still didn't cave to my demands. I was still not satisfied with her compromise of walking around inside and walking in one spot. She even tried bouncing around on her toes, and it was still no good; I needed to walk.

Ray kept checking the air quality every couple of hours, every day, hoping for a break in the smoke. Finally, after almost 2 weeks, there was the first break in the smoke. Ray quickly got ready for a walk and out we went – wahoo!

Finally getting outside felt great

It felt so great to be walking, even if it was just a small one. The next day, to my delight, Ray checked the air quality first thing after waking up and saw it was clear skies. Despite how incredibly rough it is on Ray to leave the house an hour after being awake, she headed off to the park.

At first, we just sat on the bench, but after the first round of medicine on the go, we were able to do a lap in the field. I was absolutely tickled pink, but Ray needed to nap after that.

Seizing the opportunities

It's now been 3 days since then, and there has been a tiny window each day of clear skies, allowing me to get out for walks. I've decided to ease up a bit on the grief I have been causing Ray because of being able to walk a little bit for so many days in a row.

Now, if only we could go for a little swim, that would be fabulous. For now, I will work with Ray instead of against her.