Since the next couple of days will be chock full of fun, what with Mom, Kara and I going to Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Flower Show (and other things), I'm rerunning a previous blog post from April 2007. Today was spent much like the one described here...
As I finally sit down at 11:00, feeling every single day of my 49+ years, I am struck by a genius thought that has come too late. Like baseball, gardening is a sport. It's a game we play with nature, spring through fall. There is winter - the off season - and then we begin with spring training. Well, baseball does anyway. We should.
Oh sure, we sometimes do a spring training of a sort, by starting seeds inside, caring for our house plants, and going to garden shows. It's our way of gearing up for the active growing season in our gardens.
But what about the muscles? WHAT ABOUT THE MUSCLES?!? Yes, they're screaming at me right now. They are in the midst of a full body revolt against what I did to them these past four days. I tried to pace myself, I really did, but you know how the saying goes - "Make hay while the sun shines." And boy, did we.
We cultivated, we planted, we moved things, we weeded, we trimmed dead foliage, we watered, we hauled flagstone ... you get the picture. And we were not properly conditioned for all this physical work. What were we thinking? Baseball players wouldn't dream of going out on the field on opening day without weeks of spring training. They know it would likely result in a pulled muscle or two, and we should know better than to go all out after a winter of living like slugs, without getting ourselves in better shape.
So I know better and you know better, and maybe you DID better than I did. But I hate, hate, hate exercise and now I'm paying the price. I don't know why I hate exercise so much, when I love nothing better than to be outside crawling around on my knees, digging in the dirt, and exerting myself with much more effort than a simple 30-minute Pilates would take. But the fact is, every spring I do it the same way and every spring I get the same result: Overly sore muscles while dragging my tired butt up the stairs to bed each night.
I sleep really well though.
*Photo from www.ultimatebaseballgm.com
"Bejeweled"
13 comments:
Kylee, this one is worth a repeat. We should have started spring training 6 weeks ago. Ha... Have fun at the show. Can't wait to hear your impressions of it.
I hate going to the gym...even tho, I really need to! It is just not fun! But I can work hard in the garden all day and never think it's work! My over 50 body complains about the long hours now! Have fun at the flower show! gail
About 4 or 5 years ago I actually exercised all winter and when spring came I felt great. Do you think I kept it up? Of course not! The only exercise I got this past winter was playing Wii!
I know I'm aching too today :) Luckily I have a 2 1/2 year old so I'm used to carrying her. But the dragging around of compost bags, digging, etc really does shock my body after a winter of not doing any of the that type of stuff. At least it's the kind of ache that we know is making our gardens look pretty. Maybe there should be some type of winter exercise program to keep gardeners in shape!
Yep! Hell getting old, isn't it? I'm 52. But I think the fifties are the best. I'm having the best time anyway!
Brenda
I would love to be able to say something wise and wonderful here, but I'm aching all over right now from yard work and it's even hard to type... ;-D
I think everyone I know is in the same circumstance as you are - somewhere between "slightly sore" and "might need traction".
We always overdo it, never learn, and will most likely do it again next year. It's a tried-n-true spring thing, I guess. Hope you (and all of us) feel better soon. After all, there's lots more stuff out there waiting for us. LOL
I have not thought about "gardening" as a sport. Lordy there were times when I howled when mom wanted me to pick peas or hoe the beans and I never did quite understand we ate that stuff all winter long. Now I plant for wildlife and love it. So it is more like taking a vacation for me than it is playing a game.
You have a writing gift and I hope you already knew that.
You know, I had a friend give me crap yesterday when I said I'd be sore after mulching and planting all day. I mulched by myself, shovel by shovel and wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. Plus all the planting etc. I said she should try it! Gardening is definitely a good workout (and I'm 25 and in good shape!) :)
Well... Spring has sprung, the grass has riz and I'm going to garden like nobody's biz. (Even if it's strenuous, that's okay.) ;-)
Why break tradition? I've been waiting all winter to feel that wonderful soreness from over-doing it in the garden and the tiredness that makes me fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed.
Lisa ~ "Should have" are the operative words! LOL.
We got back about two hours ago from the show, and wow, it is going to take me forever to wade through the photos! It was a great time, except for the weather. Stay tuned!
Gail ~ You are CORRECT! Not fun! And I am SO with you about garden work. It's just not work in my book, or at least it's fun work. :-)
Laura ~ I know what you mean. Last summer I trained for a half-marathon and loved the shape I was in. Was it enough to motivate me to stay in shape all winter? No, unfortunately. Hey...Wii Fit would be better than nothing! Both our girls have that.
Catherine ~ There should be! One of the exercise gurus should put out a special DVD of exercises for gardeners. It would be a big seller, I think!
Brenda ~ I'll be 52 in September and YES! It IS hell getting older! I long for the days when I got up in the morning and nothing hurt! Other than that, I'm loving my 50s, too!
Kris ~ You are hilarious! And right on with your descriptions. I'm "slightly sore" at the moment, just from nursery hopping and going to the garden show. LOL
Abe Lincoln ~ Oh, I remember whining about picking beans when I was a kid. I didn't want to do it because we had those big black and yellow garden spiders and I was terrified of them. I just knew there would be one right around the next leaf and it would eat my hand off.
Thank you for your kind compliment about my writing. That made my day. :-)
Jennah ~ You should invite her to come help you in the garden some day! It's amazing what a workout it can be at times! (And remember, lift with your legs. LOL)
Shady Gardener ~ What a great adaptation of that verse! And same here. It hurts so good. :-)
Sylvana ~ Actually, it's a great feeling, isn't it? :-)
I know exactly what you mean, Kylee! I haven't had too many dry, sunny days yet to work in the garden. But I did have some time Friday and again on Saturday before the rains came. My husband was surprised to see me asleep on the couch by 8 PM! You would think we all would know better...but I agree, digging in the dirt and hoisting big bags of topsoil is much more fun than "exercise."
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