A Tired and Worn Body
In less than a month I turn 33 years old. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the early birthday gift to remind me of this impending milestone.
33 isn’t really a big deal, in my mind. Yes, it’s approaching the mid-30s, but the thought of it has yet to strike me as problematic. What has struck me is how my body feels more tired and worn these past few years as I’ve crossed over into my 30s. I realize this is not all that unique — all of us age and feel the effects.
Newspaper clipping of me playing ball as a child
I also realize, though, what great bodies and minds we’ve been given as human beings. Given enough time, effort and training, we can adapt to most anything. As a child I learned to write with my feet at a young age and I often participated in neighborhood games like baseball and football by holding the bat or football between my shoulder and chin and throwing the baseball with my feet.
However, as I get older, I’m becoming more aware of the body’s ability to wear out when you use it for abnormal purposes. The past couple of years I’ve experienced pain in my right knee; my predominant leg. I use this leg for most daily activities such as eating, shaving, etc. and the bending and flexing at weird angles has been hard on my knee. The doctor has asked me to limit my activities with that leg (climbing stairs and the like), but I really don’t have an option to significantly cut down on motions where I bring my foot up to my head or mouth.
This is one of the harder facts of life for me — my body is wearing out quicker than most due to the daily strain of reaching, grabbing, and clutching that I do with my feet. I’ve got physical therapy exercises that would help as well, but I rarely complete them. At some level, I still like to think that I’m invincible. That is until my knee starts throbbing after a long week. (Typing is not a helpful action for my knee, either. See the note about the illusion of invincibility just above!)
So, weekends like this one are most welcome. The past couple of days my parents visited from eastern Washington and that meant extra help and a relief from some day-to-day tasks. I used to think of this as being spoiled, being lazy or proving that I was not independent. As I get older, though, I’m beginning to see that accepting help is none of those things.
My parents love helping by taking a shopping trip to Costco with me, cooking and cleaning up, helping do laundry and any other various projects that I need help with. Yes, as I’ve said here before, I do need help! Having my parents visit is proving more valuable the older I get.
I guess I’m maturing with the passing years. Every so often I still find myself trying to do things on my own when others freely offer help, but that’s simply built into my spirit as it’s what has helped me become the man I am today. Old habits die hard.
Thanks, Mom & Dad for all your help! And, thank you friends for your support both physically and emotionally. Believe me, this old man appreciates it!
Moments
These past couple weeks have been odd times, combining busyness at work, trying to catch up on reading for classes and illness. Mixed in there was time with friends, hosting a Super Bowl party and a great evening of food, conversation and basketball spent with my cousin, Bradd.
Overall, though, it’s easy to summarize these past couple weeks as chaotic. Symbolized by the fact that I skipped posting last week, at some level I’ve just been keeping my head above water. Basic survival at its finest!
I don’t offer this as an excuse or to earn your pity. First, it’s my blog — so I don’t need a great excuse for skipping a week! 🙂 And, instead of pity, I hope you’ll join me in finding the special moments within your life that is undoubtedly busy as well.
Let’s explore this a bit further. A couple weeks ago I wrote about finding beauty in the struggle and this post will follow closely in it’s footsteps, because these “moments” that I speak of are the places in my life where I’ve recently found great joy (and even a bit of rest) in the midst of the chaos.
I won’t get into the ugly details, but suffice it to say that these past couple weeks have had me jumping from one urgent task to the next. Nothing like attending to whatever is on fire at the moment! (But, this type of approach to life led me to spend the last several nights sleeping in the guest bed simply because I didn’t want to take the time to put sheets on the master bed. I hope you can see the humor in this as I do; especially, as today I recognized all this led to was having to change the sheets on TWO beds!).
In all of this, though, there have been special moments where I’ve escaped from the hamster wheel to appreciate this life I’m living. Here are a few examples from this past weekend:
– This afternoon I ran two errands, both in preparation for my upcoming client meetings this week. Instead of rushing through them, though, I was surprised by the sun and I enjoyed my time driving and cleaning out my car in the spring-like Seattle weather.
– Tonight I took a study break to make a quick meal. In granting myself a break without the imminent pressure to get back to reading, I made a great salad and leisurely enjoyed a glass of wine with my meal.
– Throughout the weekend I took time to connect with friends and family, even if just through phone calls and texts. A call from my 3-year old niece was easily the most surprising and enjoyable connection of the weekend!
– I’ve always been a multi-tasker, so I’ve had the Olympics on the TV over the past couple of days as I’ve studied, worked and done chores around the house. The stories and events have been a nice means of escape, even if only for a few seconds at a time.
These are the moments that I speak of. The special times where I pause to appreciate the details within the mundane and necessary tasks that fill my day. This is my life’s struggle — to find happiness in the day-to-day tasks. And, this weekend I did well!
I hope you, too, can pause and appreciate those times and places where you can smell the precious scent of life and taste the sweetness of being human,.
Sighs & Hallelujahs 