I went through hernia repair surgery on the second of January. A skilled surgeon, using a special robotic tool, made for minimally invasive surgery. So I have a 15 pound limit until Valentine’s day, and after about ten days I feel like getting back to work. The package says you should be able to go back to work a couple-three days after surgery. For any job I have held in the last 35 years, I could have gone back to work.
But I’m not employed – I’m retired. And most of the work for a retiree doesn’t include other people to do the lifting and toting. I have a shower repair that is being put off until mid-February. No big thing – there’s a second shower upstairs, and with my new knee I handle the stairs well. I’d like to be working on the service station remodeling tasks – but the lifting limit makes it too easy to do something stupid. There’s a bunch of blowdown that needs cleaned up – but again, it would be all to easy to do something stupid. I need to re-level the sawmill, and mill more boards – but a 2×8 is probably about at the limit. Sam came by with the little goats – I offered to take a lead rope, and the answer was “They can exert a lot more that 15 pounds worth of effort. I realized the Talon had been parked too long and needed to charge up the battery – and, after I had the hood up, I realized lifting the hood was more than 15 pounds. I carry firewood onto the porch one piece at a time, instead of pulling a loaded cart up. Taking groceries in to the house takes so many trips that I bless the new knee.
Finally, I looked at the snow free yard and realized I could grab a shovel and start cleaning up the winter’s supply of dog droppings. It isn’t a flashy task – but at least it’s something that I can do within the lifting limit. Old retired guys need to do a lot more lifting than old professors.
Trego's Mountain Ear 