Remember when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to be an adult? I was going to eat at Dairy Queen every day, keep my room as messy as I wanted, and drive a bright red Corvette. I can remember saying this to my parents and them laughing at the very idea. What my parents didn't warn me about was what being an adult really involved -- paying bills, taking responsibility, and the physical toll aging starts to take on your body. I'm feeling the effects of that aging today.
Yesterday, I had a pretty active day. I woke up early and drove over to the school where I teach to spend the morning working on the set with the small group of students (all female) willing to give up a Saturday morning to paint. While the girls were put to work on painting projects, I had my own project to tackle -- building what I am calling flat wagons. (We're doing The Matchmaker which calls for 4 different sets. Because my stage is so small, there's not a lot of room to have the typical sort of wagon I would use for these scenes, so I designed what are essentially traveling flats that can become these scenes.) I worked solo on this project since none of the girls who came were very comfortable using power tools -- particularly the circular saw that I was wielding. My project involved a lot of lifting and bending over. When I got home, I spent another hour or so working in the yard -- mowing, raking, etc. I then spent the evening curled up on the couch watching Michael Clayton. (Great movie, but after having seen it, I think Tilda Swinton should not have won that Oscar over Amy Ryan.)
This morning when I woke up, I could barely get out of bed. My back was killing me as a result of the lifting and bending and whatnot. I've spent the day as an invalid, not even able to bend over to pick up some stuff on the floor. A couple years ago, I could have done this work and woken up the next morning to do more. And now? I'm a freakin' cripple.
This sucks.
2 comments:
Actually, being an adult is never something that I looked forward to or wanted to do. But I bet you could have guessed that, right? And although I have taken on the mentioned responsibilities, they're now just part of the game to play. :) And yes, I sometimes feel the effects of physical labor, but you roll with it...it goes away. ;)
Oh, Mel, I am SO with you. Hubby and I spent the day removing the various party favors that the remnants of Ike left in our seemingly endless yard today. Tonight? We got in an I-Can-Groan-and-Cry-More-Pitifully-Than-You-Can contest as we limped and lunged about to make dinner. What a super woman you are, though, with your power tools and circular saws and minionettes in training.
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