Ears and Eyes

Earlier in the day, I was wondering how I was going to make it at the gym Monday night.  The usual menopause insomnia and fatigue had plagued me the night before, despite the fact that I did get a few good hours of sleep.  Sometimes I feel tired in the gym and push on, but other times, like last night, I'm able to shake it off.

While walking through the park to get to the field house, I saw a little boy who looked familiar.  "Nico?" I called out to him, and he stopped in his tracks and looked at me.  I waved to him.  Nico is one of the children who regularly attends my church.  Jesse, who used to be an intern at my church, and who's also a friend of Nico's parents, saw me and waved.  I guess he was watching over Nico.  Nico has often played with Jesse's young son Emmit. 

And it was a good thing I was able to keep the tiredness at bay as I sparred with both Taheerah and Ursula (Renee and Amy opted not to spar).  Ursula only did one round and she was done. I was in the ring for two rounds with Taheerah, who got in a few good shots to my stomach.  Trying to be slick at one point, I covered up my mid-section, but left my head wide open.  Taheerah clocked me in my ear with her right hand.

A pop to Nathaniel's eye from Jacob ended the sparring session they had.  But Kenny, who had gone into the ring earlier with him, and Ray, who had observed their pairing, had nothing but praise for him.  "He's got a lot of heart," Ray said, while Kenny exclaimed, "That mother------ kept coming despite taking hits!  I have to give him his respect!" 

Ray helped Jimmy along while they sparred in the ring, encouraging Jimmy to throw more hooks.  Alan was trying to keep his eyes on them as well as all the sparring that went on, while keeping an eye on the damaged ring.  A few times while Kenny sparred, he kept stepping over the rope, and Alan would gently push him back onto the playing area. 

In the photo above, Jacob spars with Kenny (who's facing the camera).

I got the name of the cream that Ursula recommended for helping with arthritis pain: it's called Arnica, and I'm going to look for it tomorrow.  My knees felt pretty good today.  Taheerah had seen me out with my bike a few weeks ago.  "I have rode as far as Highland Park, but these days, it depends on how my knees feel," I told her.  I've only rode my bike once this season, but I'll need to pull it out more beginning next month as part of the training plan for the tentative fight I'll have in September.