Lesson learned

So I've been AWOL from the web for awhile.
This spring I was pretty sick -- a crazy "perfect storm" of health concerns -- shattered shoulder requiring surgery to install a metal plate and 14 screws to put me back together, and then 2 weeks later my appendix had some issues and had to be removed.  Some day I'll give you the long version of events.  For now I will tell you I was several months recovering and have returned to good health.

When I get philosophical about that time I think those dark months were meant to bring me some life lessons, some of which I will share here eventually.

For now, I am going to share the one practical thing that came out of the whole mess.
I call it the "30 min. dash."

When I was first out of the hospital it was still quite wintery and it wasn't safe for me to walk outside in case I slipped on the ice or snow.  The problem was walking was part of the recovery plan; starting with just a five minute walk and working up to 30 minutes at a stretch.  I improvised.
I set the kitchen timer and walked around my two-storey house -- around the basement, up stairs to main floor, around the main floor rooms, up the stairs and around the second story.  While I was on the prowl I would straighten or tidy small things as I went.  If something needed to be put away upstairs, then I just carried it with me on my walk and put it away when I got to that floor.

Know what I discovered?
I discovered that my house got tidy, really tidy, really fast.

So even now, I set my timer and continue the walk and tidy "dash" as an easy way to keep the house looking good.  In truth, I can get it in shape in 15-20 minutes, depending on how much Girl has left laying around.  Sometimes I keep going for the 30 minutes just to keep moving, and to give me time to reflect on how far I have come.  Lesson learned.