Daggers

....or teeth? In like a lion.

Pain is a funny thing. As with most things in life, it comes in varying degrees. Slight pain, such as sore, aching muscles after physical activity has always felt good to me, because I knew that it was a passing sensation that would lead to the pleasure of relaxation afterwards. When bolstered by a sense of accomplishment, the slight pain was well worth the labour.

Age... is....well, also a funny thing, but not so funny when tied with pain, to whatever degree it may inflict itself.  For me, luckily, most pain is, or has been, fleeting... It is the body's way of telling one that it is in distress, and if I know what caused the pain, then it is that much easier to deal with. You grit your teeth and bear it. In the last little while, or year, or two, or ten, age has been getting the better of me, and I felt it more last night than perhaps ... ever.

And... again... this morning... after I went out to shovel for another hour and a half. Thank God it was fresh and still fluffy stuff. I did however take issue with the fact that the wind was blowing against where I was shovelling the snow. Thankfully I have more than one section to shovel, and as such, I was able to do a different part first. I had to stop several times to twist and stretch my back out in order to be able to continue, and I was thinking of giving up with five feet left to go... but I just ... did the damn thing. When I was done, I dragged my feet back to the front stairs, sat down and stretched out my legs before heading inside for a long, hot shower. I was cold....  I stripped out of the three shirts that I was wearing and put on a fleece pullover and sat over the heating vent... to warm up a little first. That ... brought back a warm, fuzzy memory from childhood of doing the same thing after playing in the snow.

After fully indulging in the benefits of hot water, I flooped on the bed, curled up, then stretched some more before becoming somewhat mobile. When I went outside to sweep the residual snow from the front porch, I saw the icicles hanging from the roofline, and a lightbulb went off in my head. Daggers... teeth... lion.... first day of March. But... how did pain fit into this? I was trying to figure out how to explain it, but then it came to me. Stabbing pain... It had felt like an icicle had been plunged into my lower back and twisted. It would then melt away until another one was thrust in its place.  I am hoping that the hot shower was enough to win the battle. Roar.