For Mother's Day my mom ordered herself 36 rose bushes, she said all she wanted from the three of us kids was for us to plant them. Now, I have two younger brothers who are big, strong guys, so this was going to be no problem. They would dig, I might bury them and someone else could come along to fertilize. Last night, in an otherwise unremarkable conversation with my, now week and a half post-op, Mom to check on her health, she mentions that the bushes have arrived early. (They were due late NEXT week.) So, my step-father, who has his own very serious weight problem, is going to plant them all, by himself. Uh, no. I ask Mom if he wants help, she says, "Sure, I think he would like that."
This morning I call over to see what time he is starting, I am informed - "When you get here". I load up the nephew and head over. When I arrive I find that my step-dad's not prepared for what lies before him, the digging is bothering his back and he can't kneel, because of old knees injuries exacerbated by his weight. So that leaves me to dig and his 81-year-old mom to bury the bushes. I am a bit surprised and in my head, I am freaked at the idea of digging all day, "Can I even do this?"
Meanwhile my Mom is trying to "help", which mainly involves me yelling at her to stop because she's going to tear her sutures. Ever the organizer, I know I need reinforcements and I whip out the cell phone. My brothers and soon to be sister-in-law are at 9-5 jobs. That leaves my trusty and EVER patient roomie, with the flexible job.
I call her and query, "Are you in the middle of anything Earth shattering?"
Her - "Why?" So suspicious.
Me - "Well..." I give her the lowdown.
Her - "I have to..." She went into a laundry list of things she needed to do for work and she still hadn't eaten.
Me - "So..."
Her - "I can be there in about an hour."
See, patient and a saint.
So, having dug places for and planted the first ten bushes, along the front, I take my now melting down nephew inside for food. (Men in my family should always keep their blood sugar up, it's a fact.) We will now eat and wait for Lori.
Ninety minutes later, (and yes I thought about calling to inquire as to where she was, but I didn't want to die) Lori arrived. She is like me, we met in politics, she wants to have a plan and tends to take charge. As we faced having to plant 26 more bushes in the backyard, she wanted to dig too.
Problem, only one shovel and by god, it's mine. So she decides to grab the large spade and take a swing.
Problem, the location where we are digging has been landscaped on three separate occasions in the 16 years my folks have lived there. There are layers of gravel, landscaping cloth and mulch to be dug through. After attempting to dig one hole Lori accepts that I will be shoveling.
Now, mind you, I have no idea why I wanted to be the one doing the physical part. Frankly, it's not like me. But something got into me today and I was empowered. The more I had to stand on the shovel to cut through the seemingly endless crap before me, the more I twisted and sweated and dug in, the more I wanted to do. It was this weird physical and mental challenge that had been thrust upon me. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I met it head on, no blinking.
So, I did it. I dug 34 holes today. They were 1.5 feet wide, 1.5 feet deep and round. And I didn't bitch, I just did it. I wasn't even in pain at the time. I know I am definitely going to feel it tomorrow, because I am a realist.
Right now though, I am feeling pretty great. I even enjoyed it a little. Don't ask, I have no idea.
So, here's to doing something you would never believe too.
Best always, Ms_H
Weight - 185 pounds (Yes, I only lost 1 pound this week and I wasn't even bad. Hopefully next week 2.)
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