Learning the value of a GYM membership

After work one day last week Himself and I went up to my sister’s house to help her with our niece, Sara, while BIL was working some horribly long hours.  At the moment Sis is having a hard time moving.  Last December, a little before Christmas, she had a bad cold.  While holding Sara she starting coughing violently, and apparently slipped a disk in her lower back.

Over the last few months, instead of getting better, her back has gotten progressively worse.  Nothing - no pills, shots, therapy, acupuncture - seems to be helping.  As she was lying on the floor, in the only somewhat comfortable position she can find, she chided me about getting into shape.  She knows that I have struggled with back issues in the past and the extra weight I carry on my frame isn’t helping.

This morning, a routine annual test revealed some suspicious results.  Although it has a less than two percent chance of amounting to anything, it was still unnerving. 

The test results combined with my sister’s warnings reminded me that I really need to take better care of myself, as this is the one and only body God gave to me.   One of the ways, lately, that has been happening, at least on a small scale, is our GYM membership. 

I wish I could say I was clever enough to come up with the GYM acronym, but the credit belongs to the authors at Old World Garden Farms.  GYM stands for Garden and Yard Maintenance.  We have many opportunities to “hit” the GYM, both with the large vegetable garden we planted and with our numerous flower gardens. 

On Saturday I spent hours at the GYM planting and weeding and mulching.  It was physically tiring but mentally and emotionally refreshing.  Did you know that the Holly bushes in the back that we thought the weather and the deer had destroyed are growing beautifully?  We had all but given up on them.  They have so much new growth on them they just might survive after all.   I also discovered that there is volunteer Cilantro growing in the berry garden.   The bean seeds I planted are beginning to germinate and peek through the soil. 

While the GYM keeps my muscles moving it also quiets my mind.  I am learning there is not only beauty in the flowers we plant but in the dirt in which they grow.  The big, fat earth worms remind me that the earth is full of life.  The little toad hopping out of the Holly bushes both surprised and delighted me.  He reminded me of one of the first walks Himself and I took when we started dating. 

And, if moving the muscles and quieting the mind isn’t enough, some of our GYM workouts will result in nourishment for our bodies.  Berries and beans, tomatoes and peppers, potatoes and onions will soon grace our dining table.  This is, they will if they actually make it into the house.  We tend to sit outside and eat the berries we just picked!

I am wondering what I am doing here writing this.  I really should be home at the GYM!


AMDG