The feet hurt, the ankles are stiff, the hip pops and cracks and don't get me started on my back. But this post isn't just about early onset arthritis, it's about how all these aches and ills have been around for me for years but I'm only starting to do something real about it.

I'm slowing the hell down.

Instead of rushing hither and thither, I'm strolling, sauntering and sometimes stopping completely. In my experience, there typically will still be there even if I walk.

Before the pandemic it felt like if I didn't rush to that next thing then I was going to miss something. It would be unprofessional, or I wasn't proving myself and my grind. The same thing would happen on vacations as well. Over-planned and under-stretched I would rush from ride to ride, land to land to make sure I was able to "do it all".

I'll let you all in on a secret, grinding sucks. Grinding is how you wear things down that would have been fine for generations if left the heck alone. So I won't be grinding anymore.

I'm going to amble, to meander and ramble my way through my days. I'm going to be present both here and whenever I get to there.

If I so choose to rope-drop (iykyk), or have to sprint to make a connecting flight then that will be an exception or a singular choice and not a lifestyle.

So consider this post your permission to slow the hell down too. We deserve it, and our feet will thank us for it.