DAY 1- sweat, pain, and getting things done

Today I had a date with a weed eater.

My patient loving Mother has been asking me to weed-eat around the house. Given that today was my day off and the weather was as forgiving as it would be during a Southeast Texas summer, I decided to pull on my comfiest, most breathable work shirt, put in my ear phones, and hack the life out of some unpleasant local vegetation.

Out in the sun listening to Muse I appreciated quite a few things.-

First- Breaking a good sweat. In my daily life I typically laze around in the coldest areas I can find and get lost in either a good book or a good television show. It is easy to become foggy headed and tired when you are sedentary too much, and trapsing out into the sun to have a sweaty adventure of some sort reminds one that they are alive. Whether you do this by running a mile, doing yard work, or playing some b-ball outside of the school is up to you.

Second- Pain. Pain is another thing that reminds us we are alive, and it also makes me feel a little more manly (I don't know if women experience this, but I think maybe their need for pain is taken up by that whole "birthing children" thing). I'm not talking losing a finger or breaking a bone, just getting stung by some gravel the weed-eater is flinging about, or getting stung by a wasp. Pain is by definition unpleasant, but it can also serve as a reminder that we aren't dead.

Finally- Getting something done. Especially something that some one else that you care for has asked you to do. I love weed-eating for the simple pleasure of seeing an unsightly pile of weeds one second, and not seeing them the next (with the added delight of hacking them to bits with a loud motorized device). And the gratitude my Mom felt when she stepped outside and saw that her world was a little more pretty was an added benefit.



I didn't change the world this afternoon, but I did have a really good time. With a weed-eater no less.