Where Credit is Due
Well, TV commercials have replaced their images of warm, gooey cookies with talk of diets, and we’re back to that morning commute behind the school buses. The holidays, sadly, happily, mercifully, are over. And here in Pennsylvania, it’s cold outside. You can’t just jump in the car and go because winter doesn’t work that way. Winter is beautiful and refreshing but it requires a little more effort than that.
And speaking of effort: A friend of mine went back to work this month after eight months off due to a car accident. Imagine that--sitting, standing, reaching, fetching something off the printer—even with something like a minor pulled muscle these tasks aren’t easy, let alone with major injuries.
We’ve all done short-term breaks--the first days back to the gym after some time off, or the first days back to work after the flu… There’s a learning curve for our bodies and minds. When I worked for a nonprofit in Pittsburgh, we had brave clients who headed into the workforce after time away, and they all needed to build up to that eight-hour day. They’d start with a couple hours or a half-day at first, and would build up the stamina for eight hours. It’s a simple thing to take for granted; but really, it’s not easy to work eight or more hours in a day or to go to school and sit still all day long. These things don’t just happen automatically. We practice them.
I like to make lists in my head before I dash out the door in the mornings. It’s an old habit from my waitress days: You think you can cram 100 extra steps into every trip to the kitchen/dishroom/bar in order to get it all done. So here I am: Make a sandwich, take my vitamins, put on socks… and I mentally add up how long each task will take and keep checking the time to see if I can add putting the dishes away or scribbling down some swirling thoughts.
Cue the Rocky theme
As I race around the house, though, the Rocky theme starts playing in my head as I think through all the movements and muscle memory it’ll take to get these things done, and I’m usually pretty awe-struck by it all. A cut on your hand or a sore knee will slow you down. I do the mental math. When those things heal, I recalculate the math and have extra time.
We tend to forget how much we do every day and how the small things can add up to big things. So wherever you are in your journey this early in 2025, give yourself the gift of a little grace. Celebrate your wins, even the little ones. You’re more extraordinary than you realize.
