Twice in just the last week, I’ve stepped out and accomplished things I couldn’t have done just year ago.

Mind you, I’m a slow loser. This time last year, I was about 60 pounds heavier than I am, now. We were headed to Cozumel for vacation. Because of the condition of my knees, my walking was quite limited, and we traveled with a folding wheelchair so we could still get out and do what we wanted.

I don’t walk quite like this, but would if I could!

I was already just under 60 pounds into my weight loss, then, but most of my physical improvements have been since then. I could walk short distances, but the last thing I wanted to do in a foreign country is to push myself to the point of pain. Not on vacation.

Shortly after that, my daughter got married. After her wedding, we went to pubs in the downtown area; my husband pushed me, once again, in the portable wheelchair.

This past Wednesday, I had a meeting to attend in one of the restaurants we visited during that after wedding celebration, and we parked behind the hotel we stayed at last year. After the meeting, my husband and I walked from the restaurant to the parking area. While at first I wasn’t sure, at all, about walking that distance (mind you, it’s less than a quarter of a mile), I did it. I did it fairly easily, too.

I’m pretty sure these days, if I took my time, I could do that same pub crawl without assistance; I’ve gone from using a wheelchair to a cane to walking without a cane or brace in a year. And last weekend, we met friends for a downtown dinner and then to a minor league ballpark — another unknown that resulted in more walking than I expected, and I did just fine.

I’m truly surprising myself, finding I can do more things that I originally think I’m capable of doing. I am quite literally taking small steps, but they are important ones. I can’t wait to see where my abilities take me, next.