The Fragile Balance of Activity

I'm finding myself ever entangled in the grasp of life's endless supply of tasks.  Why is there so much to do?  Is there, really?  Am I creating work where I don't need to?  Perhaps I'm giving in to my overly ambitious, Type-A personality and setting my goals too high.  That could mean I'm feeling better and more like a normal (Type-A) person than a sick person.  Yeah, that's it.  I'll take that as a good thing.  Yay me!

Anyway,  I just wanted to pop in here and let you know I'm still stretching, still exercising, still eating my yummy salads, still drinking water and homemade fruit smoothies, and still doing mostly better, overall.  However, I have recently had my body remind me that I'm still a fibromite, no matter how well I've been assimilating into society.  It can be easy to forget I'm not normal while maintaining at whatever level of pain management I can achieve.  

For example, I did just an hour or so of weeding and planting in my native garden last Saturday morning.  As soon as I finished and came back inside to clean up and rest, I realized all the pains I'd been ignoring to get the work done.  As a result, my body has been holding onto a grudge against me for 4 days now, as revenge for that hour of work.  I'm only today feeling some relief in my feet and lower back, but it's still not down to my usual level yet.  My hamstrings are still very tight.  Just leaning forward makes the soreness behind my knees escalate.  But I'll be okay.  I just have to get through this and remember the lesson for next time I'm tempted to ignore my good sense and overdo.

Here's an interesting observation related to overdoing: when I push myself and do about half an hour or so of moderate activity, my body isn't just tired and achy afterwards; I get really sleepy, regardless of the time of day.  I like to take 20- or 30-minute walks around the neighborhood in nicer weather, but afterwards - boom!  I'm sleepy and dead tired.  Much of Saturday after gardening was spent recuperating on the couch, a la sick day, watching television for distraction from the pain.

I'm hoping you are finding a balance between too much and too little activity.  It's been 6 years now and I'm still trying to figure out mine.  But hey, those who continue to learn things into adulthood remain forever young, right?  Keep learning.