This last week sure was a long one, it seemed. There are several reasons for that, starting with me hurting my back. Last weekend, I worked outside pretty much every waking hour. The weather was really pleasant, and I enjoy beautifying the outside of the house.
I pulled weeds, and trimmed rose bushes, and accomplished a variety of things that don’t seem like much but have a habit of piling up, making the to do list very long.
On Sunday late afternoon, I was sitting in the yard taking a break. All the dogs (and several cats) came to sit under the tree with me. Hank wanted to be silly and paw at me with his front feet. Those feet contain some crazy sharp, cat-like claws. So, to distract him, I decided to pick up some pecans from the ground and crack them open to feed to the dogs.
Of course, that got all the dogs sitting at attention while I picked out the meat of the nut. Soon I ran out of pecans that I could easily reach. Feeling too lazy to move, I strained to reach four that were just beyond my feet. It was no big deal; I have always been flexible.
After I fed those to the dogs, I went inside the house to get some water to drink. Before I went back outside, I folded some clothes that were in the dryer, and moved the wet clothes out of the washer into the dryer. While I was pulling clothes out of the washer, I felt my lower back seize. It was a sensation that I had never felt before, quite like that.
At that point, I decided that I was done pulling weeds. It was very uncomfortable to pick up the tools I had left on the ground, and to put everything away. While I was cooking supper my back just seemed to get tighter and tighter. By the time we went to bed, I knew that I wasn’t going to work the next day.
Monday I spent resting my back, stretching, and running a few quick errands. I probably should have stayed home, but the car needed gas and I didn’t want to drive to work with that little gas.
Tuesday, I went to work expecting to stay late for an after-hours project being done by some contractors; I was supposed to supervise their work. It was no surprise to me that they cancelled due to the impending storms. The work was rescheduled for Wednesday night.
Wednesday morning, I was feeling pretty tired because my back was not letting me sleep very well. Nevertheless, I went to work prepared to stay late for the after-hours project. Between my regular day shift and the overtime work, I had a few hours to rest; but I sure was exhausted when we left at 12:30 in the morning.
The contractors didn’t finish their work so we planned the same schedule for Thursday night as well. Thursday morning, I was even more tired from not sleeping well.
Now, one would think that I would have taken the time to see my chiropractor; I had Monday through Thursday to get over to see him. I managed to talk myself into not worrying about it because every day my back seemed a little better on its own.
Well let me tell you, it was a mistake not to get an adjustment (and I knew that all along). It just seemed too inconvenient to take the time to go get the treatment that I knew I needed. I can’t tell you why people do things that don’t make good sense, but I can tell you that even health coaches are guilty of such things.
My tender back has limited the things that I can do, and makes me have to slow down in general. I will definitely be going to my chiropractor on Monday. We are getting ready for a big inspection at work in two weeks, and I have to be able to get a lot of things done next week. Plus, we will be going on vacation the week after next and I don’t want my back giving me a hard time then, for sure!
I hope your weekend has been enjoyable so far, and I pray that next week will go smoothly for you.
Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
