The Saturday before the last, there was a wedding in St Alfs. The bride is a mutual friend of one of our very old friends – they got to know each other through a local BSF group. The couple has been coming to St Alfs for about a year and we have come to know them a little more, so they asked Tress and I to help out at the wedding.
Tress had the bigger job of looking after the kitchen and I was only to manage the car parks. So, I got the morning to myself, which I filled by tidying up the gardens. I mowed the lawns, and trimmed the very tall hedges on the front, next to the driveway that neighbours the western side. I finished up in time to tidy up and headed to St Alfs.
I must have overstretched myself with the hedge job as the next day, my shoulder began to ache and it slowly escalated so much so that my sleep was affected. I couldn’t find a sleeping position that didn’t involve the shoulder (left side) straining and aching. That went on for 2-3 nights so other than interrupted sleeps, I also developed a neck strain that then roped in a headache at the base of my skull. All that meant for the whole week, I had not slept well and the slight cold I had developed into bad coughs at night. That meant a really tough week health wise.
The strange thing however, was that throughout the week, my “body battery” levels, as measured by the Garmin watch I use, remained at a reasonable level. My sleep score too, didn’t plummet like I expected. After just over a week, last night, even with interrupted sleep for a continuous coughing bout, I woke with a 99% “body battery” – something I cannot remember registering. I wonder if staying alcohol free since about a week and a half ago, contributed to that.
Anyways, the footy finals season has been really fun. On Friday night, Tress and I went to a local fish and chips place (on Eley Street) and had takeaway to come home and watch the Melbourne v Carlton game. Melbourne had the better of the exchanges right through the game and on numerous points through that game, Tress and I agreed Melbourne would get up. About a minute and a half before time however, with Carlton trailing just 5 points, they somehow won the ball back, yawed to the other side of the oval, and made a couple of passes before getting inside 50 to kick the ball to an unmarked forward, who trickled the ball across goal and pipped the Dees by a point. The G erupted. As the clock wound down the men in blue managed to sneak in another behind, and won the game by 2 points. Delirium. Tears. It was an exciting finish and I think the last time I enjoyed a win that didn’t involve the Hawks, was when the Doggies went all the way in 2016.
On Friday, we received the wonderful news that Nic my niece, has been offered a role with a health service provider here in Melbourne, and in the eastern suburbs side of town at that. We’re all very excited for her. I look forward to having the wonderful daughter of my dearest late sister Sim, working and living closer to where we live. She will be the closest – proximity wise – family member since Kiddo left home all those years ago. That will be another welcome disruption. What a year of welcome disruptions this has been to date. I’m grateful.
Gratefulness has been what has helped me survive this past week or so of physical ailment. Everyday, I found myself thanking God even as I wrestled with my aches and pains and the limitations they bring. Gratefulness has also what made me feel terrific about the outlook ahead. I cannot put my fingers on every single thing I have thought about that I have been grateful for, but that has been the theme that has carried me. Thank you, Lord.
Ante 