I'm Not Paying Attention to You

My back has been talking to me the past couple of days.

I've had back problems since I was a teenager. At least once a year, I'll throw it out and will be bed-ridden for a day or two. This year's experience came in mid-April. I had just been on the new job four days. A co-worker asked me to lift a box that weighed no more than 15 pounds. It was placed awkwardly in the corner and I had to lean over to move it. The box moved, but then I couldn't. I didn't want to be known as the boy that threw his back out the first week, so I bit my tongue and moved the box. For the next several days, I had to fake my way through work and look casual leaning against the wall since my legs could barely support my body.

My wife and mother-in-law still get scared when I do anything that requires lifting. But it's not the heavy lifting that scares me. In college, I threw my back out doing laundry. Two years ago, I did it again playing ping pong (that was embarrassing. I think I have the only ping pong injury that required being put on the DL). My brother, Chris, cursed with the same problem, threw his out sneezing.

So, I'm not listening to what my back is saying. I'm not interested.