Oh my goodness. You know that old adage “young and stupid”. Well how about ‘older and stupider’ might be one to go by as I get on in years. Not a good word mind you – stupid – but I really was being ridiculous. Seriously. What I think I can do and what I can do now are two different things. Big time. I don’t mind getting older but my body is taking it badly. Hahaha.
So last weekend, Friday evening to be exact, the top left part of my arm went crazily sore. I could not even lift, rotate, or extend my arm. To make matters worse, I like sleeping on my left side and it was so painful I had to lay flat on my back barely able to turn my body. WHAT in the world DID I do? I know I studied the human anatomy when I went to university way back when but I really do not remember how one muscle connected to the next. Well, believe you me, every muscle in my upper body seemed to be connected. I even had to take my right arm to move my left arm upwards. Turning over, my stomach muscles went to my left arm. Ow ow ow. I felt like a big baby.
You do not realize how one takes for granted the body and its natural movements going about your day. Putting on clothes or brushing teeth or turning on a tap or opening/closing the door or changing a diaper or going for a drive. Never mind little ones jumping into your arms to be lifted up. The muscles of the body are a machine but one that cannot take for granted. At all.
So ice ice and more ice. Then Biofreeze and A535….did not do a thing. Those freezer bubble beads with a strap on it only go for so long. I resorted to the lunch bag freezer ice packs placing it right on my upper arm. Numb became my new norm. And holy lightening the ice pack going under the tender part of my arm….jumping joly ranchers….brrrr cold. Really cold. You do not realize how tender you are under the arm until you put ice on it. I was laid up literally for two days with day three I could actually move the arm. Of course my granddaughters who are 2 + in years did not care for me to be laying down so getting up and going outside….they grabbed my left arm. And naturally if Rara is up and about then she can lift them up to.
This reminded me so much of when I tried mussel socking. Have you ever done that? Well I respect those who do that on a regular basis here on the island. It is a traditional fishing job to be done. So when you eat the mussels, enjoy each morsel and pay the price. Hopefully not too ridiculous in cost but the work behind the plate before you….let me say it is hard. Or maybe I just overdid it. For mussel socking is repetitive in action. There are three actions in the socking – putting 6′ sock on; filling the 6′ sock with baby mussels from a pipe filled with water and baby mussels; and then folding the filled sock into a container, folded in half. Two are easy to do and I did not pick that one. So after 4 days of constant putting mussel sock on pipe, my right forearm swelled to unbearable (did not notice it initially). I could not even lift my granddaughter who was just over 1 at the time. Needless to say, I quit and I have never quit a job in my life. Granddaughter over doing a physical kind of activity (met some really nice people too who were younger and older than me doing the job for months). Felt badly but it was my own fault. I should have mixed up doing the three parts to the mussel socking.
So getting back to me being a tad brainless in my actions of thinking I can do anything. Sheesh. It is not a can do or not. Why, is the question to me? Well I was thinking with a can do attitude in which I get on a roll with an idea of what I want to do, and then I just do it. And I did. Do it. But what I forgot in the process was that I could have asked for help. I am not as young. I am not as strong nor do I use those muscles very much. Lifting my grandchildren or pulling them on a wagon over rough terrain is not the same apparently. So the pull and yank and manoeuvring was not smart. In other words, I should not have picked up two large patio stone slabs from under the play set, drag them up and over, and place them strategically beside each other…jiggling and jostling them so they are flush. I wanted to create a space for an art area outside. Voila!! They were heavy and yes it was a bit of a strain but goodness I did it last summer. Am I slowly losing body strength? Nah. Just no.
I had to rack my brain of what I did because I did that in the morning. For the rest of the day I was fine. Obviously not as the pain came out of no where. And it hurt. Man it hurt. So what did I learn from life lesson….ask for help. Now that is a big to do because I am so independent. The reality is that the mind is so much more younger than the body. LOL. Not a big surprise and not going to pretend otherwise. However, I like physical activity and I want to be active. So mind over matter (seasoned body) is grateful for a youthful mind. “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” – Mark Twain
Right now I am thinking…woohoo. All is in working order and I want to keep it that way. Do I wish my body was as youthful as my mind seems to be? Yep. But alas, I need to get on board and be a little more attentive to the nuances of getting older and wiser. LOL. Or ignore and just do. I am betting I’ll get myself into more trouble again very soon. Too many things to work on and do. Never mind the climbing and crawling and tugging and walking and running that goes with taking care of two active stubborn delightful 2 year olds. Yikes!! And do not even get me started on my 11 year old grandson.
Thanks grandkids for making me feel youthful. Just let me think of easier ways to make fun things for your pleasure. Blessings.
Let us pray for those who are in need especially those ill or sick.
Karenpondering 