Saturday, May 7, 2011

Saturday - Recuperation

Yep. I did my shopping on Thursday, so I had to do my volunteer shift at the Friends' School Plant Sale on Friday night. (Reminder: The Plant Sale runs through tomorrow at the State Fairgrounds - with major discounts as the day wears on.)

Last year when I did the same job ("straightening the trees and shrubs") - which is an outdoor job - it was about 40 degrees and rainy. This year, it was close to 70 degrees and dry. Very nice change. I was looking forward to spending the evening outside simply organizing the flora.

But, you see, last year there were a bunch of us all doing the same job. We had probably at least 4 people all tidying the outdoor area, and when we were done we had done such a good job that they told us to go home early (at 10pm, instead of 11pm when the shift was supposed to end).

This year, there were... well... let me count... zero other people doing the same job I was doing. And, yet, before I got to the end of my area, I was asked to go inside and help unload a massive truckload of Clematis plants that had come in. After which I was back out in the Arborvitae. Having completely finished that area, I was asked to go inside and help tidy the flats (trays with between 12 and 24 small pots each) of plants.

Last time we did that, the "tidying" meant organizing all of the plants in the flats so that they would easier to inventory. This time, it meant moving the flats of plants from the upper shelves to the lower shelves, so that when new stock came in this morning it would be easier for it to be restocked.

If you're paying attention, you know the following things:

1) I'm 6 feet tall.
2) I'm in decent, but not great, shape and don't do a lot of stretching exercises on a daily basis.
3) Trees, shrubs, and flats - most of which have recently been watered - are kind of heavy.
4) Repetitive motion over the course of 3 hours - especially when you're working a range of motion your body isn't made for - is not good.

And, yes, I said 3 hours, not 4.25 hours, which I technically should have been there for. When my back and knees started to scream at me around 9:30, I kept working. But by around 10 - when I'd finished another task and would have had to go ask someone for a new assignment - I gave up and left.

I took a bunch of Ibuprofen last night before bed. And again this morning. This evening, when Christopher and I were out to dinner with friends, I stood up to go use the restroom, and found that my knees almost didn't work. Tonight, I'm asking Christopher to put some stinky muscle cream on my back before bed. I may simply slather it all over every joint in my body.

Needless to say, planting the greenery currently housed in our screen porch is going to have to wait a few days.

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