V.E.

All week, Dan suffered.

Cold feet and hands reached for his warm body under the down comforter.

"Argh!" he grimaced as I snuggled into bed. I groaned, "You're SO warm. How can you be, when I'm always so cold."

"What you need is Vigorous Exercise," he prescribed.

I knew he was right. It'd been weeks since I'd made time for regular walks, proper diet and a good night's sleep. I'd been burning the midnight oil to get "it" all done. Now I was paying the price – a flare of my lupus symptoms: cold extremities, a facial butterfly rash and joint pain.

The topper came Thursday night. Isaac brought home a T-shirt that I'd ordered personally from his team captain. I looked in the bag and found one sized XXL when I'd asked for an XL.


Mistake? Or was someone trying to tell me something?

Rather than put me out, the incident motivated me.

Friday morning, I took Moose on a brisk walk down the gravel road, past the mile marker and almost two miles into town.

There I was forced to stop.

Like our pre-
schoolers at work, Moose sought attention when mine wavered. He took off through the woods to kick up his heels at the kenneled dogs in the daycare yard. What a ruckus! Worse yet, I think Moose was grinning when he finally heeded my call and was leashed.

We

turned

back.

Moose pulled me along on such a workout that I wondered whether I was drenched AT ALL from the drizzling weather.

Later that night, Dan was rewarded as he climbed into bed.

This time warm hands and feet reached out to meet his warm body.

(Yes, I was in first!)

"I took your advice,
Dr. Dan!" I said. "V.E."


"What?" he puzzled. And I said, "Vigorous Exercise."


"Aaaaa-ah!"