Encounters at the Gym

i really like my gym...it's small, small enuf for me to "walk" around (read "hold on to my trainer" - lol) and do what i need to do.  I mentioned one time before that this woman walked up to me and told me that i am her inspiration.  She tells herself, "if she can do it, so can i!"...and i swear she's there everytime i'm there, sometimes i meet her there and leave her there too!  i never ever thought i'd ever get to the point that i'm at where i actually look forward - nah, i don't look forward to it - enjoy working out. lol

anyhoo, so i'm also learning that she's not alone.  couple weeks ago i was leaving and as i was walking out, a woman who'd just pulled up said something along the lines of, "aw geez!  u're leaving???  i missed u, i missed my motivation" :-)  it's nice to hear those kinds of things from complete strangers.

Last nite, i was walking out and, in the gym is one place that i ALWAYS move aside to let people pass.  so this man was behind me and i moved aside for him to pass but he refused, told me to take my time and keep going.  well as we got to the door, he started tellin me about this man who "heals everything" blah, blah, blah...when i asked him the man's name, he said, "i don't remember" - ok guy!! anyhoo, we continued talking and don't u know it, his brother has MS too (what are the odds)!  He talked about the fact that he admires what i'm doing (out there in the gym staying active) because his brother is the complete opposite and stays at home and does nothing (there are differences; his brother is in a chair and is in pain some days).  he said that he really tries to get his brother to go out and do stuff but nothing works.

i've said this before and i'll continue to say it, "MS is a wretched disease", noone can be blamed for how they deal with having it (or any other disease for that matter).  Yes, maybe having a positive attitude is a good thing, but that isn't easy - nor is it easy to maintain ALL the time.  Now, i didn't get into any other details about his brother, but there's just no telling what he might be going thru at any given time that might make him feel that the best road for him to take is to stay at home and do nothing - it's his choice.