The Tyranny of 10,000 Steps and Why I Walk for the Shock

I've been away from this blog for quite some time.  I'm glad I'm not trying to make a living from it!!  The last few years have been sad and stressful in ways that I never could have imagined.  The term "heavy with grief" was meant for me.  Grief has made me heavy.

So now to the tyranny of 10,000 steps. I'm trying to walk off some of that grief.   I'm wearing a FitBit now -- that little bracelet that has a tiny computer that monitors your steps and sleep patterns.  I really like the sleep pattern part because there are some nights I think I barely get any sleep, then when I log on to FitBit the next morning, I see that the night was not as bad as I thought.  FitBit lets you know how restless you are in the night and also how many times you are awake.  So now I know, I'm getting at least seven hours of sleep, sometimes more. My perception of time is different in the night . . . the minutes slow, I lie there in the dark, my cat walks across my face, the dog snuffles in his sleep, my husband rolls over peaceful in his sleeping.  Sometimes to me, it feels like hours are ticking by, when apparently it's just minutes!

The goal for the day with a FitBit bracelet is that its wearer walk 10,000 steps everyday.  That's fine if the weather is good and one can complete part of the goal in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.  Also, it's good if one has flexible time to do this in.  Well, it's August now and the temperatures are rising toward 100.  This morning my husband and I took our longest walk which puts about 6,000 steps on the FitBit.  Then I put a wash on the clothesline -- that put more steps on the FitBit.  And, I don't mind anymore when I forget something because I tell myself that walking back to get whatever I've forgotten will give me more steps.  Today my goal was 10,000 steps before 10:30 a.m. and the heat of the day really sets in.  Well, I'm at 9,640 steps.  I'm pretty close but I'm also tired. I hope that just the rest of the day will add those remaining 360 steps because there are other things I want to get done.

David Sedaris did a really funny piece in The New Yorker a few weeks back about his FitBit.  He's up to over 30,000 steps a day and cleaning up the English countryside while he's at it.

Oh, and why I walk for the shock?  When I reach 10,000 steps, there is a pleasant tingle that comes from the FitBit -- a really light vibration, not a shock -- but that's what we tell our grandchildren just for giggles.  When I feel that vibration on my right wrist, I know I've reached at least one goal for the day.