More Normal

Today I felt more alive than I have since my diagnosis.

I woke up with some minor pain as usual but it melted away by mid-morning, as usual. The weather outside was gorgeous though a little chilly and, being spring, the grass has already grown enough to need mowing so I got off my duff and mowed the back yard. After that I had to run to town to get more gas for the mower and a few other things. By the time I got back, it had warmed up enough to knock the chill out of the air and was actually quite warm out in the sun, especially in my now signature corporate shill black hoodie that I've worn pretty much every day since the beginning of the year.

I spent the rest of the afternoon out in the yard completing various tasks that needed doing, mostly starting the annual spring cleanup in preparation for this year's gardening. I even got the girls to help for 5 or 10 minutes. Now I've stopped for the day and am sitting here, on the deck, watching the sun slowly descend over the mountain. My knees ache a little, but it's barely worth mentioning.

In comparison to what would have been a normal amount of work around the house a year ago, I didn't get that much done today, but compared to what I've been able to do the last few months it was quite a lot and I'm not feeling overly exhausted nor feeling any worse for wear. I may pay for it tomorrow, but it will be well worth it.

I think that the lesson for today was that I need to get up and start doing something other than sit around the house wallowing in the ache of the day. Just like when I would bring up firewood in the winter, it seems that the more I move, the less I hurt and the weather has now become much more hospitable toward doing so. I'm not quite back to the old normal, but I'm feeling more normal than I have in many months.