Rude awakening

Daniel let me mow the front yard today. ("Let" makes it sound like he was reluctant to hand over the duty. He wasn't, but he didn't "make" me. I am at a loss here, with the English language.)

Anyway, it was a nice day, so I puttered around the yard, making sure to cut all the weeds about the same height. I even mowed on a diagonal, so that if you drove by, you would suddenly think you were near a country club or major league ball field.

All this is to say that I think today is the first time in over a year that I have broken a serious sweat. My lungs were heaving. My muscles were shaking. My face was red. Dust coated my throat. I signaled to Daniel that I needed water. He mosied (how do you SPELL that?) inside and came out precious minutes later with a thermos of ice water.

When I was finished, I sat on the tailgate and gulped water. My stomach started to hurt. My vision was tunneling.

I came inside to relax, and after three hours, dinner, and a hot bath, I feel better. Hm. Maybe next week I will feel well enough to do the back yard.