April and Ron Bezenah own a book of 100 hikes in the Central Willamette Valley. Near the front is the complete list of hikes. And to the right of some of these hikes, Ron and April have made a check-mark in black pen. This check-mark means they have completed the hike. It counts as a memory that they have shared together. The check-mark represents something they have done.

“I still cannot believe that I got April up here,” Ron says as we stand on the top of Dome Rock, the summit of a five-mile assent. Ron says this because, for a long time, April simply could not have done what she has just done. April Bezenah used to be limited–she smoked, she was inactive, she was overweight and diabetic. Ron and April stand besides each other and pose for a picture in front of Tumble Lake which rests cold and beautiful a mile below them.April says the turning point came when her doctor told her she could sense the beginning of emphysema. April began taking Group Active, she changed her eating habits, she received the support of those around her in her Fitness Coach, her husband, her co-workers, her friends.

April began walking on a path and she has not looked back. The trail of her success has twisted and turned and switched back and forth, but it has always stayed steady in the direction of her goals.

As we begin walking down the hill, April stops to look at flowers and locate their names in a reference book she brought along. Ron talks about how much it means for him to see his wife doing what she wants, when she wants. “Some of the trails in the book that I have done by myself. I marked those in pencil. Now, we get to mark over them in pen.”

April asks if we are ready to run. Ron grabs hold of the straps on his backpack and follows behind April as they run down the hill. They jump over roots and shuffle up to switchbacks and crash through the overgrown ferns and bound over the fallen evergreens.

The numbers in April’s story are important. Over the last year, April has lost over 85 pounds. She is no longer diabetic, so she takes zero meds. She has not touched a single cigarette since she quit. But, as she runs through the woods near Detroit Lake, what seems truly important is seeing April Bezenah move, to see her exercising (even though she would never calls something so fun exercise), see her being the person she wants to be.

April Bezenah is doing what she wants, she is with her husband and they are experiencing a beautiful life together, one day at a time, one hike at a time, one penned check-mark at a time.