Up, down, one, two, three, four...

...and so it has been going...for almost two months.

Yes, I made a deal with my doctor, I could not start work every day, until I exercised for at least 20 minutes.  Sure I thought..THAT'S going to work.  I figured I would placate her and said something like "Sure, you call me every morning, and yes, I will exercise."  We both had a good laugh over that. Then, I jokingly said, well at least write me a note that says I have to exercise before I can go to work.  She said,  "Yes, I CAN do that...and, she did."

Okay, I decided would give it a shot, I would give it a try for a couple of weeks.  If it worked, great...if not...well, two weeks (in my opinion) was giving this a 'good college try'.  I printed out her note and taped it to the bottom of my computer monitor.  It reads.

"Zazzle is your reward time each day AFTER you had done your exercise.  Have fun!!

So, I started exercising.  The first day I over did it, I exercised for 20 minutes.  The next day I had pain in muscles I had forgotten I had, and I had not used for years.  So, I cut back to a 10 minute program I still hurt, but the note on my monitor was like a nudge from my shoulder angel and I decided to try ten minutes the next day. too.

To my surprise, my muscles seemed to enjoy the workout, and I increased my time to 15 minutes. The days flew by and before I knew it my two week trial was over.  I considered quitting, after all I had accomplished my "good old college try".

That morning when I went to work, I saw the note from my doctor, I felt proud of myself and I realized her note was exactly the incentive I needed to spend time exercising.  Before I knew it I was exercising 25 then 30 minutes every day.  I began to feel guilty for even thinking about taking a day off.  At the end of the first month I'd missed only two days.

I sent my doctor an e-mail telling her of my progress, and I presented her with a deal, IF I was still exercising at the end of six months, she was going to have to buy something from my Zazzle store. To my delight and surprise, she agreed to the deal.

On November 8th, I will have completed my second month.  As of this morning I've only missed four days of exercise.  Oh, there are days I want to skip, even quit my exercise program.  Then, I think about that note from my doctor taped to my computer monitor.  I know she would be disappointed if I quit.  And, I know my shoulder angel would be very disappointed in me too.  I would be disappointed in me.

So, every morning I get up, feed my furry creatures, turn on the TV and begin...up, down, one, two, three, four....

Thanks, Doc.