Unexpected Healing

The days and hours spent unpacking at V+M's house were physically grueling.  It involved going up and down the steps many times, often carrying boxes.  (Gerry did the heavy lifting).   It involved bending over.  Once there was even this scene of laying on the floor trying to get the twine under the stack of corrugated cardboard in order to tie it into a bundle.   We didn't really have any luck with that, because it was too big a pile.

After the first day of work, we were so exhausted that we fell into bed and went instantly to sleep.  We woke up sore from head to foot.  The second day we also worked equally as hard, physically as demanding.  As older folks, we could definitely feel the soreness and aching and sore muscles in our bodies. But we were driven to push through the pain to finish the job!

Since I had been suffering for months from a serious pinched nerve,  I really dreaded the drive home.  Sitting in a car seems to agitate the condition and make it worse.   It is moving from a sitting position to a standing position that brings on the pain.  Once I get moving, I'm okay.   But the transition is excrutiating.  I noticed on the drive back home that my leg pain didn't seem to be as bad.

By Sunday morning,  I was going spryly up and down the stairs,  not even limping.  This was very surprising to me.  Considering all the physical exertion,  I would have expected the condition to be much worse.  But in fact,  all the physical challenges seemed to somehow dramatically improve my pinched nerve.  Maybe all that bending, lifting, climbing, etc. somehow simply 'un-pinched' the nerve.    That was a very unexpected consequence.

If that is my reward for all the hard work,  I'll take it!  It is a fantastic reward.  I don't think I could have asked for anything that I would appreciate more.   I do believe, since it is going to be 70 degrees tomorrow, that I might just venture out onto the tennis court.  That would be a nice treat.  It's been a long time.

As one gets older, one simply cannot afford to let physical pain keep you from being active.  I'm not ready for the rocking chair, that's for sure!