Changes

Having Brother home is good -- he is funny, fun, and a pleasure to be around. My life is different in many ways, but one of them reminds me of a long time ago.

It turns out -- moving Brother around, helping him transition from the bed to the chair, from the chair to the car, etc -- it's a big workout. And, it's a type of workout I haven't had in years: Quick, explosive use of large muscle groups in unison to cause a large change in momentum.

For the last couple of nights, I've gone to bed sore. I've taken the time to stretch in bed before I fell asleep because my muscles were so tight, which is something I rarely felt the need to do as a result of my workout regime for the more than the last 10 years or so.

This morning I woke to a body that reminded me of being a gymnast, diver, or want-to-be martial artist: creaky, sore, swollen lower back muscles, hamstrings, biceps, shoulders, elbows, and chest that define each movement, even sitting at my desk.

I didn't run a single step last week, which is quite a rarity for me. Re-working running into my life is on the todo list, and I'll get to it once we have a schedule and things at home are more regular. But, based on how I feel, even without a dedicated commitment to working out, I think I'm going to be in a different kind of shape, and much stronger, in a very short time.