My “Interesting” Birthday Gift

28 Jan 2014

Can I just say that I'm so happy to be walking (almost) like a normal person today? Especially since it means that my daughter can stop laughing at me since I've been shuffling around my house like an elderly woman over the past few days.

See I celebrated another birthday last week and I woke up feeling good on my birthday! I was alive, healthy, joyful and full of energy. On my Facebook page, I posted:

"As I reflect on another Anniversary of my 22nd birthday   I thank God for the many blessings–an amazing family, wonderful friends, and the gift of faith–that I have. My greatest lesson has been 'It always works out somehow so why are you trippin'?' I vow to smile everyday (baby girl makes that easy), laugh at myself more and live and love like life is a gift I open every morning. Living my life like it's golden…be blessed and THANK YOU for all the Birthday LOVE!"

As much as my African blood detests the cold, I wasn't even frazzled by the snow that I had to shovel off of my sidewalk. Another birthday? Whatever! I got this. Grabbed that shovel and just knew I was Superwoman with the speed at which I moved that snow off my walkway.

And after being treated to birthday brunch at Panera by my sweet daughter, I got home and said to myself, "No skipping your workout today! You feel better than you did 10 years ago! Get to it." So I slipped on my workout gear and did 25 minutes of high intensity interval training with my good friend, Shaun T. And my back was bothering me, but what's a little back pain when you feel so good?!

But wait, I wasn't done celebrating just how good I felt turning a year older. After being treated that evening to dinner by my sister and a friend, I proceeded to turn up the radio and get my dance on. Seated. In the car. Like I was on the dance floor. With my back starting to hurt just a little more. But, it was my birthday…and I felt good! Besides, anyone who knows me knows I can't resist good music. My body just takes on a life of it's own.

And then I woke up the next morning. And couldn't. Get. Out. Of. Bed. I felt like a jackhammer had been drilling my back all night. For the next four days, I shuffled around my house in pain. I couldn't even cough or laugh because that would send me into fits of…well, more pain. But with all that, I was still trying to get work done and meet deadlines and do everything else I was supposed to do. Still not getting the point that maybe I just needed to be still.

And take care of ME. You see, that back pain that seemed to have come on so suddenly had actually been creeping up on me for the past month, but I had ignored it because I was too busy doing everything else I just had to do. I figured I would deal with it eventually. How many times do we ignore the little (but critical) things in our lives because we're too busy taking care of everything and everyone else? How often do we put things off because we figure we can always get to it later? It took that excruciating pain to remind me that not taking care of the little pain that had started in the past, caused me greater pain than was ever necessary in the present.

I heard you, God. Thanks for that reminder—I'll consider it my birthday gift. Off to my second of three massages I've scheduled for this week to help take care of that "little thing." And this time, lesson learned. Happy (belated) Birthday to me!

What lesson have you learned from allowing "little" things to go unchecked in your life?