(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - You don’t really appreciate the little things, especially being healthy, until you’re not. At least I don’t. I haven’t been going through today’s routine, arms raised, saying, “I got both!!! Both nostrils work and are unplugged!!!”

But the next time I’m in the throes of a cold, allergic reaction or whatever else makes my nose heavy with congestion, I’ll be praying for a day like today.

You know those moments when you turn over in bed and for three breaths you can use both sides of your nose, until snot slides into position on the pillow-side of the nasal cavity, and it’s back to misery? S-not good. Not debilitating, but relentless in it’s annoyance. You can’t wait to be healed.

When you sprain an ankle you vow to do things like run, or stretch as soon as you can. You’d give anything to be able to run. Then you wake up one day and walking happens without hitch. You could go run, but the playoffs are on, and even though you don’t like hockey, you pretend you were born in Canada, cut yourself a quick mullet, pour 12 ounces of maple syrup into a mason jar and settle in for the evening. Ok, sorry. That was wrong. I really do like Canadians and Canada itself. It’s incredibly clean, beautiful and I didn’t meet an unfriendly one during my drives through. I take it back.

Speaking of Canada, the first time I drove through solo, I locked my keys in my truck. I had just used two loonies to pay for my first shower in four days at a campsite outside of Smithers, and was getting Blitzkrieg-ed by mosquitos while I stared at the keys which sat on my seat. I would have given anything to get in there at that moment. Such a simple thing, remembering to have your keys with you when you lock the door, but until they are locked in, you don’t reward yourself for such an obvious task being completed correctly.

I broke in without breaking in, which was awesome, and a feat I’m not sure I’ll be able to replicate with the same results, but it happened and I was incredibly happy. My next big wish was that I wasn’t 72-inches of human brail and scratching incessantly. That took a few days.

The whole point of this, is that right now my left ankle is swollen and a little sore, but it’s the stiff Achilles that is the most annoying. I can walk fine, but certain movements are painful. It’s stupid and aggravating. Please Monday bring the ability to hop and cut and run. I promise I’ll go to Ward Lake after school and run, just because I can. Probably.

Exercise – whether it be hiking, lifting, running, CrossFitting or playing pick up basketball – is inherently dangerous. Injuries will happen, it’s just a matter of what will cause it. You can do whatever you want to try and prevent them, but it’s an inevitability. As much as it’s frustrating, it certainly is worth it compared to the inactive alternative. And if life didn’t remind us what it feels like to be on the mend, we wouldn’t appreciate being healthy, when we’re not, of course.

Jeff Lund ©2015

Jeff Lund is a Teacher, Freelance Writer, living in Ketchikan, Alaska
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @alaskalund
Contact Jeff at Email – aklund21@gmail.com

http://www.jlundoutdoors.com

SitNews ©2015
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

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