Oh the Pain

Now there’s nothing to buffer the aches of my poor living

It’s been two years since I last took a month off from drinking. There was one aspect of the journey that I completely forgot about. The lack of pain suppressing fluids in my bloodstream leaves me vulnerable…


Now there’s nothing to buffer the aches of my poor living

It’s been two years since I last took a month off from drinking. There was one aspect of the journey that I completely forgot about. The lack of pain suppressing fluids in my bloodstream leaves me vulnerable to the aches of my unfit bones. I noticed this as I tried to get out of bed this morning. My brain said it was time to get up, but my knees said, “No fuckin’ way man! Get the hell off of us or we’ll buckle. We mean it!”

I fought thru that little confrontation but then my back said, “Hey, what’s all this about getting out of bed? Who gave the orders?” To which my knees replied, “Don’t look at us. It was that trouble-making brain of his.” I tried to shut them up with a series of joint crackling stretches. It worked for a little while until my hands began whining. Inevitably my feet got in on the act, but that came later.

More clear than ever at this point is how much work I have ahead of me. Some people understand this, others don’t. What I’m doing is more than just seeing how long I can go without a drink or a cigarette or whatever. If it was, than the when it’s over I’ll just go back to my wicked ways. This is what happened back in 2005 when I last challenged myself in this way. Now I’m determined to get healthy so when I do decide to have a drink, I will have trained my body to know when to say when.

Then my limbs and bones will be under my command, not the other way around. I know my family’s history when it comes to physical frailties. Arthritis is common and I’ve been suffering from the fatigue and aches since my early twenties (my next apartment will not be a walk-up). So I don’t expect some miracle that I will be pain free after all of this. But at the very least I’d like to be strong enough to win the early morning arguments with my back, knees and whoever else chimes in.


Tags:

Leave a comment