Day 14

Day 14 : Showing gratitude is the way to go

Last night I Facetimed my husband and chatted with him for a long time. I ended up going to bed very late so I totally slept in this morning.

I fed my kids late breakfast and then asked my mom to look after them. I headed out to Chikara CrossFit for group training.

Today was a MetCon day. We did warm-up and started the WOD.

It was 20 min. AMRAP in team of 2

  400 m run

  3 wall walks

  AMRAP wall balls

So one person runs 400 m while the other does 3 wall walks and wall balls until the running athletes comes back, then take turns. I was teamed up with Olcay, a woman from New York. It was my first time doing wall balls since my shoulder injury, so we picked 8 LB ball.

It was a pretty brutal WOD. When the 20 min was up, I collapsed. I thought I was going to puke. Coach Shingo was like "Wasn't it awesome? You should come to this kinda day more often!!" Sorry but I'm more into strength training. Oh well.

I stayed after the training for a while just bonding with other athletes. It was also cool to see that everyone mopped the floor where they sweated and wiped the equipment they used. Must be a Japanese thing.

They are doing a 6 week in-gym tournament. I was invited to join this weeks WOD. I talked about our winter classic. What an awesome event that was!!

Coach Otoya asked me if I would come tomorrow again. Also he asked me if I could come in the evening because that's when he coaches. Very tempting. But right now my legs are very very tight and sore. And I'd rather be home for dinner with my kids. Hmm...

Today was the day when I really felt the importance of surrounding yourself with like-minded people.

I got a gift for my awesome husband today. I'm sure he'll appreciate this.

I left the gym and headed back to my home station. I was wiped out. I spent some time at a coffee shop, collecting myself. Then I decided to stop by a book store. I thought I should get a guide book for Hakone for my dad. There I found this gem.

A Japanese translation for Wheat Belly. WOW. I haven't read the original book yet, and I know it's not everything you need to know, but I figured this might be a good start for my family here.

Then I hurried to the hospital to see my dad. He had a fever today and didn't have much appetite.

He told me that one of his friends from high school visited him this morning. Mr. A suggested him that my dad should get his back looked at at a different hospital where there is orthopaedic and dialysis treatment as well. Personally to me, what my dad needs is NOT another medical treatment but a decision that he would work toward health. So here's what I said. "I understand you are in pain and you want to get rid of it. But going to a different hospital will not solve the problem. No drugs, no surgery will magically remove the pain. You have to decide to get better and give what the body needs. People can help you but you have to do the work." I promised him that I'd talk about it with my mom and other family members.

He told me that he had a needle today. I asked him if it was for the fever, and he didn't know. Again, I told him that he need to be more interested in what goes into his body and why he's getting it.

I gave him the guide book that I bought. I'm not sure if he'll ever read it, but it really doesn't matter.

Today's big question from me was this.

"Why do you think that I come to see you so often?"

He said it was because I wanted him to get better.

I said "Yes, that's true. But it's not just that. The biggest reason is that I want to thank you. I wouldn't be who I am now without you. And also I believe that you can get better. I want you to think the same way. I want you to believe that you can get better."

I also added that I'd rather have him at home than at the hospital. It'd be so much better if he was home when I came home. 

I worked on his ankles and legs, but I decided not to add resistance today. He had a fever and it was draining him a lot.

His dinner came so I left.

I think this is how I'm going to approach him for a while. Without him, I wouldn't have existed. And I am thankful that he brought me to this world.