Today is my daddy's 67th birthday. But more on that later.

Last night, I had a very hard time falling asleep because my hips and knees ached. I mean it was bad. I couldn't find a comfortable position for anything. Finally tiredness overtook me and I fell asleep but when I awoke, the achiness was still there. It felt like my hips were swollen inside or something. They felt really tight, which is odd because I've always been sort of loosy-goosy when it comes to joint range. Anyway, it wasn't helped by standing in a darkroom for 3 hours today either. (I did some good work in there, though, despite the pain, though. I was very happy with my prints.) By the time I got home at 3pm, my hips ached like a mofo (thanks, Weet!) and the ache radiated down the backs of my legs into my knees. I've never had sciatica, but this seemed like what it could be.

Knowing that my sister would be over with her hub and Grandma between 4 and 4:30, I sucked down 4 ibuprofen and went to lie down in a hip-neutral position (on my back with a pillow under my knees). I was in so much pain I thought I would die but slowly, the ibuprofen worked its magic and the pain ebbed. I slept for about 25 minutes until Joey woke me up at 4pm as requested. Shortly after I got out of bed, though, the ache returned. I was really hurting. Joey and I tidied up the house and I waited for Amy.

When they got here, I mentioned my aches and pains and her husband showed me a stretch that he does because he gets the same kind of pain and damned if it didn't do the trick. Almost immediately, I started to feel better. It was like I had a couple of charley horses in my hips and these stretches made them go away. I took 2 more ibuprofen for good measure and the pain stayed at bay the rest of the evening which is good because we had a lot to do!

Amy and whipped into high gear fixing dinner for the family. Daddy arrived with his friend Chris (we're not sure if she's a girlfriend or not but they seem to spend a lot of time together....?) around 5pm and we all visited and cooked. On the menu was an eclectic collection: barbecued salmon (caught by Amy herself) with Lisa's Special Lemon-Butter Sauce, marinated strip steak, curried rice (mom's secret recipe), baked beans, and asparagus. For dessert, deep dark chocolate cake with white frosting and sparklers. It was a lovely meal. It was so nice to see my Daddy again. He's on his way to Las Vegas to play pool in a couple of 8- and 9-ball tournaments.

After the festivities, I changed into exercise clothes, plugged in my video (Serendipity with John Cus@ck--good flick, check it out) and walked on the treadmill for 90 minutes while I watched the whole movie! I walked hard for 35 minutes and then walked slower (regular pace) for 55 minutes. It was a long exercise session! So long, in fact, that I now have a blister on the ball of my left foot. That's no good. But I'm delighted at having been so engrossed in the movie that I walked for so long. I just decided, while I was dying of pain, that this has got to stop and the only way it will is if I get much more physically fit. So, the treadmill. And my bicycle. And whatever else I can find to do. And when I feel too tired or too lazy or just flat out don't wanna do it, I'm going to remember my pain today and that should get me moving. I never want something like that to happen again.

--L