Right, have just got home from a walk along the seafront from Shanklin to Sandown. Hooray! I actually found somewhere to park today in Hope Beach car park. Might be something to do with the brisk wind, dark clouds and overnight rain, but there weren't many people on the beach today! It seems the vendors at the beach cafe's at both the Shanklin and Sandown ends had seen the weather forecast and not opened up, their loss though, as the two cafe's on the promenade were both doing a reasonable trade, obviously made of sterner stuff (or needed every penny they could make in the current financial climate) So far today I have walked 5421 steps which is very good for me and I think my Nintendo DS Health Coach will be impressed. Mind you I was really struggling on the way back as it was head wind and wearing my MBT Sandals makes the walk that bit harder. I was just beginning to think that this fitness lark is not all that it is cracked up to be and I had taken on too much, when suddenly I remembered a poem that had been an inspiration to me in the past. Whether it was my Guardian Angel sending me the thought (I like to believe it was) or not, it spurred me on to get back to the car when MS fatigue had nearly got the better of me. I'm sure you know it. I have printed it here for you all to read but if, like me, you have MS, it may well inspire you too.
Don't Quit
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!
Anonymous
