Mark Twain

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do ...
Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Paying the Price

The last two months have certainly been strenuous and busy with "house stuff."  Sorting, packing, lifting, discarding, and generally shedding the stuff of decades sapped a lot of energy.  Each day I  worked for a fixed amount of time, then focused on routine stuff like laundry and cooking, and then collapsed for a rest.  Before bed I enjoyed an hour or so of downtime - knitting, NetFlix, reading.  I thought it was a pretty balanced approach.

But the "personal stuff" that helped to maintain my physical wellbeing was lacking.

I promised myself that once the lion's share of house stuff was done I would get back to personal stuff like walking daily, strength/stretching, and watching my diet.

Frequent conversations with myself argued that 10 years ago I could have done both - house stuff and personal stuff - at the same time.  But I have accepted the fact that now splitting my focus results in nothing getting done very well.   Probably a subtle age related phenomenon.  *Sigh*.

So the lion's share of the house stuff is done ... but I am now paying the price for ignoring the personal stuff.

Sunday morning I woke up with a back spasm.  No brainer - too much lifting and carrying.   It was my back's way of stating the obvious ... "See, you are not in your 30s - not even close - and if you do stupid stuff, I will be sure you pay the price."  Thank you, Mr. Back.  I got the message!

But carry on is what I chose to do (apparently I got the message but didn't learn the lesson.)

  • Monday - I tried to go for a walk but within 25 feet of my front door I turned around and came back.  Advil, muscle relaxants and rest were pretty much the activities of that day.
  • Tuesday - Walked down the street very slowly for about 250 feet - had one back spasm that buckled my right knee.  I returned to the house even slower.  Repeat Monday activities.
  • Today - Better.  Walked slowly around the block.  No spasms but my back is sore and it reminded me to keep my pace slow.   I stopped frequently to shake out stiffness in my hips and thighs.  Hard to know if that was due to lack of regular exercise or if it was a guarding action of surrounding muscles to the lower back injury.  A little of both I guess.  During those stops I enjoyed the view - and took some pictures.

But I am encourage.  Progress.



It is, however, appalling just how quickly you can lose physical strength and stamina after the age of 60.



Tomorrow??  More of the same - need to get my daily step totals up to 10,000 a day like I did for so many months before.


3 comments:

Paula said...

Hope your back is better soon. It is hard to admit we are getting older. That lily is certainly a beauty.

Retired Knitter said...

It is funny. I don't have a problem admitting that I am getting older. What I want is to be one of those older people who has stayed active. It is not so easy! :-)

Retired Knitter said...

Thanks Paula. I think I over extended myself in my enthusiasm to clean out this over burdened house. Doing better now.