Know Your Limits
There are times when you should really know your limits. Most of the time I know mine but not this weekend. I’ve overdone it and hurt my back. I can hardly straighten up to walk. I knew I shouldn’t do what I was doing but it’s done and I can’t change it.
On Friday I hurt my back cleaning out my walk-in closet.
Cleaning my walk-in closet seemed like a good idea. There were several big boxes stacked in different spots in my closet. I wanted them all on one wall so I moved them. I knew I shouldn’t lift those heavy boxes and re-stack them but I did! The closet has more room now just by re-arranging the boxes. Next time, I’ll ask my hubby to help.
On Saturday, I mowed the yard.
Yes you read that right. I mowed the yard. You may remember that last Tuesday we had 5 inches of snow. Well….our sandy soil and the fact that the temp has now been up close to 70 degrees for two days dried the yard out enough for me to mow. I wish I had a picture of what the backyard looked like before I mowed but I didn’t take one. My yard was full of what we call “sticker weeds”. They are full of little stickers that stick to the bottoms of your shoes and then you bring them in the house. When you step barefooted on one that has come off the shoes, it HURTS! So I decided since they didn’t die in the snow and they looked like weed bushes that they needed to be cut down. The picture below is one of the cut “weed stalks”. One corner of my yard was full of these.
Picture by JT Locke
I didn’t mow the whole yard…just the weeds. But I guess since those “weed bushes” were playing hard to cut down and I was determined they were coming down, I over-exerted my back and WHAM between lifting the boxes and mowing the yard, my back is now hurt and I’m sitting on a heating pad.
Ouch, That has got to hurt! My backyard is also full of these and I have stepped on them a few times already. It hurts like crazy!
The older I get the longer it takes to heal. I was painting my garage last summer and spent a couple hours literally bent over backwards painting the ceiling. Ended up with a case of sciatica that still bothers me somewhat today. Just got to know your limits…..
You sound like my wife. She’s getting older, we both are but she still does everything like a teenager. I bookmarked this page so she can read it. Good job.