Trails of a life-long Sherpa
If you’re like me, you’ve carried a lot of things in your life—and you have a sore back to prove it! As I get on in years, I still find myself carrying too much stuff. And things seem heavier now for some reason!
Perhaps I have some Sherpa in my blood. I remember when I was five, I felt so proud to carry a ten-pound watermelon from the car to the kitchen without dropping it.
At an early age, chores required that I tote household garbage bags, watering cans, and buckets of fireplace ash.
My first real paying job was picking prunes in my father’s orchard in the Santa Clara Valley. There was lots of carrying to do on the ranch, especially the forty-pound fruit lugs that we hoisted onto my dad’s flatbed Ford.
My second job was helping to clean motel rooms (also a family business). I’d strip the rooms of all sheets, towels, and other linens, then lug the sacks down to the huge bin for washing.
As a teenager, I worked summers for a concrete contractor. I didn’t so much carry things; rather, I’d push a wheelbarrow around all day full of concrete, sand, rock, and other heavy aggregates.
In college, I carried dozens of books, but that was nothing compared to the heavy things I toted when my brother and I went into the auto parts business. Big truck drums and rotors made of cast iron were quite hefty, cylinder heads manufactured in Detroit can weigh a hundred pounds, and there were always cases of motor oil that needed to be stocked. It was during this period that my back went out for the first time.
Nowadays, I mostly carry bags of soil amendments, cases of too-much stuff from Costco, and five-gallon water jugs. (I’m considering changing to 2.5-gallon jugs.) Yesterday, a neighbor offered Jennie and me two nice chairs that were heavier than they looked—they were. I lugged them across the street and now they sit proudly in our dining room.
However, there are two things I still enjoy carrying: my two granddaughters. (The boys are way too heavy.) But soon, they will tip the scales by more than I can lift. One good thing—I have another grandson on the way.
I’m already stocking up on ice packs.
Discover more from Rim of the World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Anne Tomforde
Keep that back healthy for those grandkids! There is nothing a whole lot more important than being able to hold them and lift them while you can. Our seven are all too old to lift but never too old to hold!