Heavy Lifting
Hi Friends,
The last heavy spring snow dump reminded me of some valuable life tools.
8ish inches of concrete-like snow needed to get off my car & down my 30ish foot driveway. Though I personally love shoveling, it’s no doubt hard on the body & hard on creaky joints. I do not have a snowblower – nor do I want one – so formulating a strategy was most wise to tackle this task by hand.
Beyond the tried and true “lift with your legs, not your back,” I forced myself to shovel in shifts, taking a break about once an hour. I went inside, took off all of my layers of snow clothes & sat down. Though not at all convenient, I knew this pacing would be the key to completing this task without flaring.
Every trip inside I made sure to hydrate & eat to sustain my energy. I also made sure to stretch before, during & after, even if it didn’t feel immediately necessary. And, I stayed honest with myself about if I was overdoing it.
Those of you who also live in chronic pain likely feel me that I want to do everything myself. And I’ve found that I can do a lot of it, but definitely not at the pace of an “able body.” I need to make more considerations & modifications.
These tools took me years to be willing to use, but without them, I wouldn’t be able to do nearly as much myself.