Growing Pains

I’m writing to you while sitting on an airplane in Chicago. I was fortunate to spend a sweet 36 hours in the busy city for a business retreat this past weekend. We got to eat some pizza, drink some good coffee, and share some meaningful conversations about life, work, and all the things. 

When I was getting ready for the day, I bent down and threw out my back. Yikes. Ouch. I know, I know. It was crazy - all I was doing was bending down, trying to get clothes out of my suitcase but alas, that’s how it gets ya. Since I had trouble moving like normal, I scheduled an impromptu appointment with a chiropractor in the city. In the middle of the appointment I realized something very uncanny: this was the second time my back had gone out on me, surrounding major milestones in my life this past year.

Talking with the chiropractor, I tried to investigate and see if my exercise routine had caused this weakness, if there was something I could do to strengthen my back and comically, he said, “It’s normal. Just comes with growing older.” If you could drop your jaw and belly laugh at the same time, that’s what I was feeling internally at that moment. You see, I had back problems a week before my high school reunion and now it’s the week before my 29th birthday and the back problems have returned. Seriously, universe?! Do you have to make it obvious that I’m getting older?!

[ Me with my Uncle Paul and cousin Jamie, celebrating my birthday on the farm ]

While I’m recovering (bought another tube of biofreeze and slept with a pillow on my back last night), I’m realizing that growing older has its aches and pains that we just have to deal with sometimes. Not everything will go to plan like we imagine, sometimes we won’t move as fast as we want to, and not every day will we feel like conquering the world. And that’s okay because there’s always tomorrow and the day after that to complete all the tasks we want to accomplish.

[ I don’t know this woman but I absolutely love this photo! Isn’t it beautiful? ]

Currently wishing I could get a gentle back rub from my grandmother like old times. She loved whipping out the lavender oil, tea, peppermints, and all the things to make me feel better. But in the meantime, I’m cracking all the old lady jokes (sorry grandma), walking a little bit slower than normal, relying on the help of the people around me, and taking it easy. Those are also remnants of growing older. 

I hope you are able to walk gracefully and bend down with ease this week as you go about your day to day. 

Till next time,

Trina