It's All in the Wrists

For those who do not know, I handle packages for a living. Day in and day out, I am on my feet for 10+ hours hauling packages around. Lifting, bending, walking in steel-toed shoes across concrete. That's what I do to make my daily bread.

I don't begrudge my lot! Far from it, the job I have now is one of the best I've ever had by a pretty huge margin. The pay (for me) is top-notch and the physical exercise, while onerous at times, is a boon for a person dealing with life-long chronic weight issues.

However, there are times where things go wrong. Like with my wrist. In November, I lifted a box incorrectly. I was in a hurry, overly confident in my abilities, and trying to do too much. So, you know, I was alive. The box was heavy, it was high, and I should've been more cautious. I wasn't, so I strained some ligaments.

And then they hurt. For six months.

Now, it did not help that I would do rather punishing extra shifts in this building that entire time. It did not help that I could no more take time off than I could row to the moon on a boat made of cheese. I am also a vain and stubborn man who very clearly did not need to go to the doctor and didn't know what all the fuss was about whenever my wife would mention it.

So it hurt. Not all the time, only when I put it in an awkward position or tried to lift too much. But it still hurt, and that sort of thing is taxing over time. Maybe you don't even notice what it's doing while it's present. I surely did not.

Then we started moving in earnest this last week, and I suddenly realized only yesterday that the pain, that constant reminder that I was something of a mule-headed jackass, was no longer present. My arm, no matter the position or lift load (and trust me I've tested that one this week) is not in any pain.

I think, with writing and with life in general, that we need to do a better job of taking care of ourselves. Risks are an important part of writing after all! However, I think we should treat ourselves with more thoughtful consideration. We (I mean me) should do more to care for things when they do go belly-up. And more of our time (I mean me again) should be dedicated to preparing our bodies and minds to endure the rigors that they will inevitably face.

Just something that I was thinking about today and wanted to share. Hope y'all are doing awesome.

Armfully,