Yesterday afternoon, I was bored and feeling stifled, so I got the bright idea to do yard work. Specifically, moving landscaping blocks from one side of the yard (the azalea beds) to the other side (the cedar bed) to make a wall against the water. Kind of a precursor to the retaining wall I want to build on the other side of the bed.
Hubs asked if I wanted the wheelbarrow, but I wanted the exercise, so I declined. Ten blocks of about 5-10 pounds each. I got those in and then adjusted them to look right, then dug a little trench for each one to seat it.
Then I needed to make a border for the azalea beds, so I carted about a dozen rocks from elsewhere on the property. The biggest was about cantaloupe size and the smallest more like softball. I still have about ten-twelve of those I have to find and place.
It looks really nice.
And I am really sore this morning.
I have been lifting two pound weights during my exercise routine, but these were NOT two pounds each. Oh, holy Mary mother of... Yeah. I didn't notice I was doing anything out of the ordinary until I stopped. Took a nice shower. Sat down... kersplat. The Aleve I took seems to be keeping the ache at bay, but it's about to wear off.
Probably should've taken Hubs up on the wheelbarrow. But the exercise is good for me and the pain will pass. And hey, if I'd tried this a few years ago... Hell, a few months ago... I would've been way more sore. In fact, I probably would've been chugging like a freight train while I was doing it. So it's all good.
And the moral of the story? Sometimes you have to do things that hurt to achieve the outcome you want. Whether it's lugging rocks to make a pretty yard or exercising to get healthier or typing until your fingers ache so you can create a novel or simply making the choice to trash a thousand words and start over.
That last one is what I did with the beginning of Sleeping Ugly 2. I trashed what I'd written on Saturday because it was lame and it wasn't helping me get where I was going. And my fresh start lit a fire under my muse. I got 2600 words out last night, despite the ache and thanks to the Aleve.
Yep, sometimes pain is good. Still sucks afterward, but I'll do it again and again and again to achieve my goals.
What are you doing to achieve your goals?
Goals? Achieving them? Yeah...about that...
ReplyDeleteOkay, I really need to light a fire under my sludgy self and get stuff done. I've been stuck and it's driving me crazy. I "rev the engine" and mud flies out from beneath my wheels. No traction. I keep doing that, knowing the outcome is going to be the same. I need to get out of the dang groove, find some gravel/boards/branches to throw under the tires and get on with it for criminy's sake. Except I have a darn webcast thing in just over an hour and I'm stewing over whether I should start throwing stuff under the tires or just wait until later, which gives me more time to spin. I need more coffee.