Empathy Instilled Via A Margarine Container...

WHAT?

Last week I sprained my back.

Ouch.

Here's the thing though -- I wasn't doing anything exciting in the actual "spraining" part of this experience.

I wasn't at a rodeo. I wasn't grappling in a ju-jitsu competition. I wasn't skydiving. I wasn't doing anything remotely macho or devil may care.

I wasn't even... well... enough said.

I was reaching for a container of margarine in the blasted refrigerator for my morning toast.
Simply bending over to grab the appropriate combination of poly unsaturated fats to lubricate my dark toasted rye bread reduced me to a spasmodic crying little school girl in the fetal position on the kitchen floor.

What a drag man.

Thankfully, after consulting with my Dr. we found it wasn't a herniated disk. It was just a severely pinched nerve causing severe muscle spasms.

Like most men (according to my wife) I am a big baby.

Simple tasks such as shaving or washing my face were out of the question. And I was pretty enthusiastic about the inevitable whining that had to accompany my dilemma.

Lotsa ibuprofen too.

Eventually, with the aid of a walking cane, I was able to run a couple of errands outside my home. The funny thing is, when people see you with a cane they will let you bud in front of them at the coffee shop, the grocery store and wherever else you seem to be. My evil side thought of carrying a retractable cane for situations where I may be pressed for time to take advantage of this perk.

Not cool.

It occurred to me that the elderly and the physically challenged deal with these sort of challenges on a regular basis day by day.

Empathy. Compassion. Patience.

I felt all of these very strongly.

Very grateful for that confounded margarine container.