Today was an absolutely gorgeous day.  It was around 68 degrees.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and there was a cool breeze.

Normally, the terms “exercise” and “Pamela” don’t co-exist in the same air space.  However, I was feeling a bit energetic today for some reason and after a rousing game of Scrabble with my mom (she beat me by six points), I decided to go for a walk around the lake near my house.  Yes, me!  A walk!  Outside even!

This is the same lake that I used to play at as a child.  So, as I walked around it, it felt a bit like a trip through memory lane.  It’d been years since I’d walked all the way around it.   I saw the areas where my brother and I used to fish, or play on the playground, where I lost my glasses in a three foot snowdrift while sledding when I was in about 4th grade (my dad actually found them), where my best friend and I would sit after class in high school doing our homework or discussing what we wanted from our lives, the bathrooms where my high school biology teacher was arrested for public indecency involving another man.  Ah, memories.

As I walked around the lake, I realized a few times, “hey, I’m passing people!”  Me!  Of course, when you’re overweight, you always feel that as you pass them, they’re just staring at your huge butt jiggle on by (especially when you’re going up a hill).

I did four laps around the lake.  I’m not sure how far it is, but it took me about 35 minutes from my front door back to my front door and I was walking really fast.  So, I’m pretty proud of myself tonight.  I have to admit I’m a bit sore.  I’m used to doing my walking on flat surfaces.  I’d forgotten how much a varying incline adds to your workout.

Dodging the goose poo and the little kids watching the baby ducklings seemed to almost be a sport in and of itself. 

I hope wherever you are in the world, that it was as beautiful a day as I had here.