Thursday, March 13, 2014

I am a camel...

I try not to complain about the weather, but this winter has been rough. The storm we just had in Maine is the straw that literally broke my back. Okay, so "broken" may be a slight exaggeration of the intense knee-buckling pain that fires across my back when I stand up, sit down, turn, attempt to walk, breathe, or use any part of my lower back.  It will heal, almost certainly before the first crocus pops up in the early spring sun. Still, I don't know if I can handle another storm, physically or mentally, until 2015.

Normally, with a pulled back muscle I deal with the pain and after a few days, things are back to normal. In addition to the pain this time, however, is the fact that I am primary caregiver for my grandfather, my mother as she recovers from shoulder surgery, a hyper dog, a finicky cat, one temperamental house rabbit and 17 Simmental beef cows. Timing could not be worse - there is an awful lot of snow that needs to be moved.

Although I am begging Mother Nature for mercy, and feeling miserable for not being able to perform the tasks that I should, I try to see the positive in my situation. I hate the feeling of being dependent on others; I wish my cousin didn't have to put out round bales for the cattle and the neighbor didn't have to navigate treacherous roadways late in the evening to feed our bull and steer in the barn. Yet, I'm sure the opportunity will arise when I will be able to help them. It's the cycle of community, through good weather and bad.