Chronic Soreness

Last night was a typical Wednesday night.  I soon found myself at home and realized, once again; I drank too much coffee..OOPs!  I found myself socializing with a good friend and we soon got on the conversation of “physical pain”.  The conversation all started with the discussions of what “pain killers” and “muscle relaxers” do to your body and how necessary they can soon become. 

As we continued the conversation, I soon found myself asking “what exactly do you have wrong with you?” As we all know, I am very straight forward (to a fault).  Now, what I was expecting was one of the following: arthritis, sports injury, or fell off a ladder.  What I got made for a moment of humor. He piped up in a serious voice and said “I have chronic soreness”.  I absolutely lost it at that moment and found myself laughing hysterically. All types of “real issues” continued to flow through my head, but the bottom line was that he was probably suffering from something a little more serious.

So what do I think he is suffering from?  I feel confident in saying that he is suffering from “Getting OLDER”.(notice I did not say OLD)  As I continued to listen to his explanations of the struggles of climbing ladders, working above his head, climbing back down ladders, and then finally carrying supplies, I realized that this was a product of wishing he could still do what he did in his younger days.  He also referred on many occasions to “keeping up with the younger guys”. 

I couldn’t help but laugh as I listened. I realized that this is the first time that I have seen men compete in the world that woman compete in every day.  What do I mean by this?  During my entire career path, I have always competed to be better than or at least as good as a man.  Constantly, we (woman) struggle with the drive to compete in an environment where men dominate and woman with children are “monitored”.  How are they similar?

He is trying to compete “physically” with a younger generation.  It doesn’t matter how hard he works, he will always have less stamina then a 20 something man.  As for women, no matter how hard we work to prove our “value” and exceed the successes of men…we will not because our “children” will always be our first job/career (if you are doing right by your children). 

So in Keeping it REAL, “Chronic Soreness” is not a medically treated condition.  It is also OK to not be the best or better than everyone else.  It is only important to try YOUR best and remember…You will always get OLDER and you must give in and stop when you feel the aches and pains to remind you!  If you don’t, you will be forced to take pain medications with side effects such as:  Constipation; dizziness; drowsiness; flushing; lightheadedness; mental/mood changes; nausea; vision changes; and vomiting.  After seeing this list, don’t you think it is just better to S-L-O-W down and feel the pain?  Happy Thursday (BRING on the 3 DAY WEEKEND)