Weekend update

It's hard to get back in the swing of things when you've been on vacation, but that's what I'm trying to do.

On Wednesday, I went to George's clinic outside at the Holyoke Canoe Club for the first time since my surgery. I actually held up just fine, with help from George, who said I was playing well, and from my tennis friends, who seemed glad to see me.

It's really fun to be there, with everyone joking around and not taking themselves too seriously.

I stayed for about two hours, with breaks in between talking to friends, enjoying the late-summer sunshine glistening on the Connecticut River just past the courts. Watching the U.S. Open reinforced the basics, such as following through and moving your feet.

I left before the final hour or so of play, thinking I'd be wise to quit while I was ahead. I went home to walk Maddie but didn't get very far. I turned back and crashed on the couch, walking her later after I had perked up.

Thursday I did some interviews for a story I am writing, and yesterday, after doing this and that, decided just as the sun was setting that I needed to go for a run. Joe asked why. I didn't know; you'd have to ask my feet. I went about a mile, walking up a few hills. It wasn't my first time taking a little run. Last week in San Francisco, I jogged along the bay while Nancy talked to her yacht club friends.

Today I returned to yoga, also for the first time. I told the teacher I might not do everything, but, with a little help from my favorite prop, the wall, I went through all the poses without any stress or strain. Then it was back to the couch for a long nap, me on my side and Maddie dozing on her side. Every now and then one of us would open an eye and look at the other, but we kept going back to sleep.

I had to get out of the house this afternoon to do some writing at the Thirsty Mind for an upcoming post on my Newsmax Health blog. If I am one of the world's worst packers, I am also one of the worst unpackers. I can't seem to get it done all at once. It's like when the kids come home from college. Suitcases explode all over the place. Besides that, bills are waiting to be paid. And as if I didn't have enough house-keeping to do, I decided it was time to remove all the half-used bottles from the refrigerator so I could clean it. The bottles are still in the sink where I left them

But better opportunities presented themselves. By nightfall, the rain had stopped, and it had gotten balmy. Maddie and I took our walk then.