A Big Ouch

I had a wonderful five hours in the gardens yesterday, except for one small thing. Within 10 minutes of bending over and pulling the small roots of plants out of the hard earth, I pulled a bit too hard and heard a "pop." Man, oh man, it hurt near a rib on my left side just under my breast. I thought at first that I cracked a rib then I realized that it was probably a pulled muscle.

Did I stop right there? Oh, no.

I continued working except I found I couldn't use a shovel or even my left side. The garden recycling container is filled to the brim but I am only about a third of the way finished cleaning up the very front area. This is going to take me about another two weeks to get it all finished.

So, I turned all the dirt in the front flower beds along the house, cut the grass, watered then headed into the back yard. With just simple cutting, trimming and watering, I was finished and sitting in the sunshine when Michael suddenly appeared at 1:30.

Shocked! I knew he had a full schedule but there he was like a vision.

I had phoned him around 12:30 because I was worried that if something happened to me due to the rib that he wouldn't know what had happened. He said that if I called, he knew that it was bad. So there he was. He always puts my health first. My hero. Then, I felt badly that I messed up his day and really shouldn't have phoned.

So, there we sat. Both of us enjoying the sunshine on a warm Fall afternoon in the finished gardens with the fountain gurgling softly in the background. Heaven.

After midnight, I woke up very sore and couldn't find a comfortable spot. My side hurt. My body hurt every time I moved. It has been a long night. I am very, very sore this morning.

But, am I stopping? Nope. This morning, I am meeting two women from high school whom I haven't seen in 40 years for a cup of coffee and a chat. How could I miss that?