One Thousand Push-Ups

Last Thursday I played tennis for an hour and a half. It was only the second time I've swung a tennis racket in over two months, and the first time I was able to play for any length of time. And my clavicle felt fine. In fact, it was my legs, not my shoulder, that was sore for the next two days. But it was a good sore.

(My actual x-ray.)

So the good thing is my clavicle is showing signs of healing. Because my shoulder is permanently deformed, with the broken bone bulging out and making a little bump, I've decided to start lifting weights. Maybe I can cover up the deformity with muscles. The first step is to do push-ups, which can be done quickly without any equipment. I started two weeks ago and struggled to get through ten of them. Since then I've been slowly upping the dosage, and last night I was able to do 20 in a row. It felt great!

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When I was in high school, I suffered a particularly demoralizing loss in a wrestling match. I was a senior, the defending conference champion and a state qualifier, when I ran into an upstart junior named Mickey during a dual meet. He caught me off guard and beat me. It was such a big win for him that he jumped into his teammates' arms after the match, and they lifted him up.

After moping around for a few days, I decided I needed a new strategy to beat him. So I devised a plan to do 1,000 push-ups for Mickey. Over the course of a week, I counted out each and every push-up I did and kept a written record of it. I was in the best shape of my life and could do about 100 of them at a time. (Not the wimpy 20 that I did last night.)

I met Mickey three more times that year, and beat him every time. During the regional finals I even made him cry. (Not because he was hurt, but because the score was so lopsided.) When I beat him a week later in the state consolation finals, we ended our friendly rivalry with a hug. I'm not proud of making him cry, since he was a pretty decent guy, but I am gratified that I set myself a goal and achieved it.

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Now, almost 20 years later and coming off a broken clavicle, I think it's time for another 1,000 push-ups. One Thousand Push-ups for My Clavicle. I've been keeping a running tab of my total, and in two weeks I've managed to do 90. I have a long way to go, but I am able to do more each time. My shoulder hurts a little when I do them, but after a few minutes it feels fine, so I don't think I'm doing any damage to the clavicle.

If only rehabbing my emotional state were this easy!