I’ve heard it said that “Life Rewards Action”. I believe this to be true in the broadest sense. There’s just one problem. Action hurts.

Monday I went to my parents house to help tackle their “Major Projects” to do list. I’m no stranger to manual labor,  I don’t particularly care for him, but I know Manual, ah… well. One of the projects I took on was replacing an old stone stairway with a new, old stone stairway. I started late 10:30-ish? Maybe 11.? I worked steady until I was finished, just before sunset. 7:30-ish? Maybe 8?

I dug dirt, using a shovel, trowel and my hands. I pounded the ground with a tamper. I removed, moved and placed stone pavers. I cut and replaced sod, carried excess dirt away, and swept  up when I was through. At the time it didn’t seem that physical. I’ve certainly done jobs that were more physical and for longer periods.

During the day my back and knees started to hurt. It became difficult to get up and down, and forget about bending over. I had plenty of energy, but my muscles were staging some kind of revolt. They were throbbing, aching, and some of them were shaking. By the time I finished I was having trouble walking. During dinner with my parents, it hurt just to sit down and I could barely hold a fork.

Back home I put ice on my hands and heat on my back. It’s been two days and my back is feeling better, but I still feel like I was tossed off a mountainside. I’ve never felt this kind of pain in my hands before. It probably would have been much worse had I not worn gloves.

Mom and Dad are happy with their new stairs and of course I’ve come away with the satisfaction of finishing a D.I.Y project, so clearly that’s my reward, but Damn it was brutally painful. Life rewards Action? Feels like Life just kicked my ass.