Last year, when I bounced on the trampoline with my kids (they keep asking because I can bounce them really high), I would tire out within ten minutes.
This weekend, I outlasted them all. Going the the gym sucks some mornings, but stuff like this is so worth it.
So every now, my shoulder isn't quite where it should be. When it's bad, I visit my chiropractor and she knocks me back into place.
Well after a long busy Friday putting my garden in, my shoulder was out of whack again. Unfortunately, not only was my chiropractor out of office all weekend, but she's booked for the next few days afterward. So there I am, laying face down on my bed holding my arm in the one, admittedly awkward, position that hurts the least. In comes my daughter, asking what's wrong. She prods me trying to find out just where the pain is, tapping parts of my upper back until she knows where it hurts.
Flashback: a few months ago I was running a few errands with my daughter, and right in the middle of those was a visit to the aforementioned chiropractor. It's a small, rather informal office, so she was right in there with me. She asked a hundred questions, and the doctor was very patient, explaining what was going on as it happened. In fact, on subsequent visits she's been disappointed I didn't bring my daughter.
Anyway.
So my daughter, every prodding, finds out where it hurts. She asks if I'm going to the chiropractor, and when I said I can't, she jumped on me.
No, she lined herself up, aimed right at the spot I said hurt, and dropped her entire body weight right on to the part of my shoulder that was out of whack. Knocked the wind out of me and made a sound like popcorn in my shoulder.
Once I regained myself, the pain in my shoulder was nearly gone. I still went for the formal visit, which finished the job, but my daughter is probably going to med school.
I usually get to the gym right when they open. This morning I still did, and the lights were off.
Mostly off. Every fifth light was on, as it is overnight, but nothing else.
Opening time came and went. The lights remained dim. I recognized an employee letting herself in. A few of us headed over and we realized the power was simply out. We were down to backups: the security lights and ventilation. They let us in anyway. We couldn't scan our cards to sign in, they just took our names at the door. We worked out in mood lighting.
The water heaters were electric, so when I went to shower off afterward, I was both surprised and fully awake.
I have a sunburn.
In May. That doesn't happen in May. I wasn't even warm, let alone hot. Sure it was sunny, but... May? I was completely unprepared for this.
It's not the worst sunburn I've had (Tennessee, 1992), but it's the most surprising.
Ow
I had my garden in the ground by this time last year. This year, however, it's been rainy and cold. Today, however, was finally the first good day that wasn't overbooked.
I left the garden fence up last year so I could just toss in the leaves from the red maple. They add to the compost and help break up the soil, and I didn't want them blowing around, so up stayed the fence. Problem was, the grass had grown into it a bit last year, and again more when it got warmer. I had to peel that fencing off the ground and rip it right out. Of course I couldn't just put it back in that when I was done, so I had to mow.
I had to mow anyway.
I'm gonna skip to the end. The garden bed is ready for planting, but planting happens next week. (Ground is still too cold). But I started at 8:30am, and ended at 4:30. I was filthy - I had so much grass and dirt inside my shoes that even my feet, which were wrapped in socks, were black with dirt.
According to my wife, when I did this last year I was far more exhausted than I am right now. Sure I have some aches, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop like a rock tonight, but I suppose that's what actually starting to work out does for you.
Excuse me, I'm falling asleep.
My in laws are in town. First her parents and a sister, they flew in last week Tuesday. Then two more sisters, one of which brought her two young children, arrived on Saturday.
I have a small house.
My kids, however, readily absorbed them. My oldest is really good with kids, and easily entertained the 4 year old boy cousin. Meanwhile my daughter opened her room to the not-quite two year old girl, who was enthralled with the toys that my daughter had long since outgrown.
Maybe now I can convince her to give them up.
Meanwhile, I've been deeply over-scheduled. I like going out, but I also get up early, and work a full time job. And have kids. I'm also in my 40's, so yea I'll go out once a week. But they didn't come into town to hang around the house all day, so we've been busy.
Doing stuff indoors, because it hasn't stopped raining.
Seriously, if you're not drinking, this town has parks. To go outside. It seems to have let up just today, but we've exhausted our supply of sober indoor activities.
So just before my daughter was born, my family of then five was packing into a sedan. But with two people occupying my wife's seat, we knew it was time to size up. We got a minivan just two months before she was born. It was five years old and only had 30k miles on it. (apparently it was owned by a nursing home that used it to take the residents to the park across the street)
I tend to hang on to my vehicles until they die. Well it took eight years, but we're there. The thing is more rust than metal (thanks NYS road salt), and it won't pass inspection without costing enough in repairs to cover a new vehicle anyway (thanks NYS inspection requirements).
Looking for vans, however, became a problem. There aren't many in this region, for reasons I have yet to discern. Then, those that are available average 80k miles on them, and they're asking new car prices.
Sorry, I don't want your used up Uber.
Then I found one that was relatively young, and had pretty low miles. Turns out when I went to buy it, they didn't even have all the paperwork for it yet. Didn't stop them from selling it to me though. In fact, that was Friday and we still aren't done yet. Oh, they let me drive off with it. I've had it all weekend, but it still has a dealer plate on it because we can't do the DMV paperwork yet.
Getting kinda antsy, though. I don't like being in limbo.
