Today was Queen Elizabeth's birthday, and is a National Holiday here in New Zealand. I'm never quite sure why royal birthdays in England are celebrated as they are here, but Kiwis definitely love their holidays.
Since our office was closed, we took a drive over to Albany to return some shoes to the Sketchers store there (Note to self ...do NOT buy shoes because they are cute if they are not comfortable to your feet! You would think I would know that by now. But these were really, really cute. Oh well.)
Afterward we took a long walk at Long Bay Reserve. The tide was way out so we were able to follow the cliffs and climb up some rocks to an area that is often under water. That took us to another, more secluded beach and then to a spot called "Granny's Bay". We left the beach at that point to hike up a mowed grass trail through a grove of cabbage trees, then up a hill to a spot where we could look over the whole area for a long, long way. It was gorgeous. Besides that, it felt really good to get out and get moving again.
During our time in Samoa, and then after during our wonderful visit with my sister I got out of the habit of being sure I walked 10,000 steps each day. I sleep better and just FEEL better when I make sure to get some exercise each day. Lately I've been spending a lot of my free time in the evenings sitting in front of a computer working on family history for various friends. I love doing that work, but too much sitting is not a good thing.
When we first came back from our trip to America in January it was summer here so days were long and mostly warm. I often would get up early and walk to Lake Pupuke or to the beach first thing before work or we would take long walks in the evenings after supper. That just is not happening now. Our days are much shorter this time of year and it is often stormy and cold in the early mornings. So I've let my daily walks fall by the wayside.
Making lasting change is hard. I was working so hard to get stronger, more fit, and drop some excess pounds. I was doing great for quite some time. Then I slacked off - with good reason, perhaps. But it was oh so easy to lose sight of my goals and all those hard won healthy habits. Now I feel like I have to start all over again.
It reminds me of the principle of repentence. We set spiritual goals, character goals, life goals and work toward them. We make progress. But all to often, we fall back into old ways. We slip back into the "natural man".
Whether physically or spirituallly, I am grateful for the chance to begin again. I keep striving and trying, knowing I will stumble at times. The important thing is that I continue to get back up.
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