Wendy Greenberg is a Walking Connection Member and Participant in A World Wide Walk.

Walk Day 3081!! 

An amazing accomplishment!  

To walk that many days in a row without missing a day!  Well, I must admit due to a medical emergency that caused me to receive 20 units of blood, that caused 3 broken ribs from CPR that put me on a ventilator for 12 hours ... my family said that day I died and was revived was not a day missed but a day my life paused! So technically as soon as I came back, within hours I was shuffling past the nurses station, walker in hand but I was sure not to walk any less than 10 minutes which was my goal from the beginning!  I might not have taken as many steps that day but I was alive and up walking for 10 minutes! 

My lifelong journey was inspired by Jo Ann Taylor, August 4, 2011, 3081 days ago at the Grand Canyon.  I admired her for being able to stick to her commitment to walking!  I knew about her walking goals for almost 2 years but I wasn’t yet ready.  Everything changed that day at the Grand Canyon and I made my personal commitment to walk a minimum of 10 minutes a day every day for the rest of my life.

At the time my youngest son was just beginning to recover from a serious bout with depression and my gratitude for his health was what got my journey started......one step at a time.   There is always a factor in making excuses, whether it’s being sick, being tired, even the weather!   One thing that made those difficult times attainable was a conversation I had with Jo Ann in front of her cabin at the Grand Canyon!  I hope I have this correct but even if none of the details are right.....I got the message loud and clear!!!! She told me she was in the hospital with a foot injury and somehow walked in place by her bedside for 10 minutes and YES that counted. 

That helped me not only make the commitment but allowed me to stick to it all this time!!!! I also learned that I could be creative no matter what situation came along. When I had a broken foot and couldn’t walk I got my walking done in the pool!!!! And yes that counted!  There was another incident in which I was in the emergency room waiting for a hospital bed and had no way of getting up to walk so I did a bicycle move in my bed for 20 minutes feeling that I was cheating but I was moving, I wasn’t going anywhere, but I was moving. So yes that counted too! 

Many days the weather has been bad so my house became my walking zone-- up and down the stairs and hallways and round and round the kitchen island!   That counts too.  Then I changed my goals and instead of my minimum of 10 minutes a day I went to a minimum of 10,000 steps a day and that challenges me a bit more every day!  All in all you need your own reasons and goals to make something work!  Having that jump-start and ongoing support from Jo Ann was an absolute lifelong gift!!!!  Find your goal and your support system and JUST Keep on moving!!!!!

Began walking August 4, 2011

Click here for more info about our upcoming trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.