Us: *walks to get coffee* *walks back*
Us: *realizes we didn’t bring our cane because it’s in our car trunk, & our car is in a mechanic shop getting fixed up*
Us:
Us: “Holy shit.”
Us: ... *shrugs* 🤷♂️ *keeps walking*
Nico (he/they; co-host, protector), casually to Ace (he/him; protector), in headspace but also spoken aloud: “Y’know, it’s a little odd but I think we have more endurance now because we rested. Because we usually drive everywhere now, so we managed to walk that whole way without a cane & without having to sit down to breathe. Our endurance got better when we accepted the mobility aids we can use [(car, walking cane)] and didn’t keep pushing ourselves. Mom always said we were ‘lazy’ and that if we rested ‘too much’ our endurance would go down, and that we have terrible endurance and could walk farther if we just walked more often, but...now that we’re walking LESS and using our cane basically everywhere, we’re...actually more capable of going long distances.”
Ace: *stumbles a little* *stops walking to stare at Nico in headspace*
Nico:
Ace:
Nico:
Ace: “Holy shit.”
Nico: *nervous he’s about to argue* “It’s true—”
Ace: *in shock* 😮 “You’re completely right. Holy shit.”
Nico: 😶☺
~
100% true story. Our endurance has INCREASED from doing less. We were, at least in part, just very exhausted & drained all the time from not resting enough. Our parents intentionally kept us fatigued all the time so we couldn’t run or fight back. ✌ (& being neurodivergent (autistic & ADHD + possibly more) we...never would’ve suspected something like that. “Gullible”.) ~Jason (he/him; emotional protector)
¿Was it only roughly 3 or 4 miles? Yes. ...But we used to collapse after a couple blocks without a cane when we were pushing ourselves. This is huge for us. ~Nico
Note: this was shared with permission from the headmates I’m front with & quoting. It was a private conversation, but Nico agreed (rather shyly) that it probably would help others too. Please respect headmates & their consent. ~Jason
~Jason, Nico, Ace