For the most part I wasn’t in too bad of shape this morning after my first snowboarding experience last night. As the day went on it felt like the legs of my pants were not quite feeling right. At one point in the afternoon I took a closer look at what was going on and was shocked to find my knees were both pretty swollen. They didn’t hurt, but they were definitely not looking good. Usually I work at a standing desk and that extra work coupled with the snowboarding experience last night left them a little worse for wear. I grabbed a couple of ice bags, sat down, and elevated my legs while I worked. In no time the swelling was already starting to subside.

The ice bags reminded me of a time a long time ago (like almost 20 years ago). Way back in the day when I weighed a lot more than I do now we took a trip to Glacier National Park. After our hike to Iceberg Lake I was pretty much in tears because my knee hurt so bad. The hills and trail had left my knees all beat up, especially the downhills.

My knees were terrible back in the day due to a variety of reasons. They would hurt after almost any physical activity. After awhile I just got used to the consistent pain. It really sucked.

The way my knees feel today is nothing at all like they used to feel. Today the only sensation is the feeling of them being swollen and almost stretching the skin above and below my kneecap. No pain, but just enough of a reminder to take me back to the memories of what they had been.

After losing 60+ pounds and changing my running style my knees have been fantastic! I’m so fortunate to have had both a condition that was curable AND found the solutions to fix them. Since those two changes I’ve been able to hike without issues, run marathons without pain (in the knees), bike as much as I want, and have pretty much no limitations (I’m still hesitant to put the broom ball shoes back on).

Today my knees may be a little swollen, and I’m thankful that they are. Thanks to the swelling I’m reminded of how blessed I’ve been to have had such knee health since the issues I used to have. The sensation of swelling reminds me to be grateful for the normal lack of swelling and lack of limitations I’ve had due to my knees.

Thanks!!!