In the summer of 2012, I was splashing and playing in the lake with my second boy.
I was swinging him around and dipping him in and out, and he was laughing with the pure joy that only toddlers can show.
I dipped him in, and I swung him up, and…click.
Something in my lower back fiercely protested, so I put him down and headed for the beach.
Annnnnd, my oldest (then 5) said, “My turn Daddy, my turn.”
…
Shit.
…
“Okay, come here,” and kid 1 got his turn, and it took me almost a week to recover from that little “click.”
One of my yoga teacher says that your history is you physiology. I misspent my youth on activities that were taxing to my body, and now I’m paying the butcher’s bill.
On the bright side, the intense activities of my youth left me with two things:
- A beaten up body with a list of chronic ailments, and
- The knowledge that regular maintenance keeps the pain at bay.
Anyone who suffers from lumbar issues, chronic osteoarthritis, shoulder mobility issues, and more, needs to learn that maintenance. That maintenance has turned out to be one of the keys to staying fit, healthy, youthful and basically the father my boys deserve.
So I say to you, go out, exercise hard, play hard and get banged up. It will force you to learn to take care of yourself in order to live your best life.
