Tonight, my knee surgery paid for itself.

Tonight I jogged.

For the first time in I'm not sure how long.

Years. And months.

At first, I simply walked next to my lightly jogging friend. This has been our routine for almost a year now. She'd jog slowly so I could keep up. Not running. Because I wasn't physically able.

But tonight, my knee simply said, "Go."

And I started lightly. Picking up my knees. Feeling my feet spring against the road.

I pushed the earth down, behind me, and propelled forward.

I had a pace, a cadence. And I followed it.

I jogged for blocks. Despite the wheezing. Despite the light drizzle.

Step for step. Beat for beat. Inhaling. Exhaling.

A shot fired through my side. A cramp. I haven't had a side cramp in years. And months.

Because I wasn't able to run.

My side hurt. But it also felt so good.

I called my parents. I called my boyfriend. I wanted to buy a billboard and tell all of Dallas, "Hey! I jogged tonight!"

I'll give my knee the day's rest I'm sure it will demand come morning. And then I'm going to jog again.

Bring on the pain.