Small Project Accomplished!
In my blog post yesterday, I mentioned that getting tasks and projects accomplished around the house the past few months has been difficult, if not impossible, because my energy level is so low. At low energy times like these, just collecting the tools I need for a specific task or project is enough to wear me out for the day.
I suppose the first thing I should explain is what I mean by "wears me out for the day" and "no energy"...
What I mean here is that I barely have the energy to walk across a room. My legs are weak, wobbly and feel as though they could collapse at any time. I get winded just trying to walk a few feet. Nausea overcomes me. My bones and joints hurt... especially my spinal injuries, but also my ribs, pelvis, legs, knees, ankles and feet. Sometimes my hands and fingers hurt so bad I cannot hold anything without excruciating pain. I drop things... I stumble and trip on things.
My energy level is so low that simply trying to hold a book or magazine to read is terribly tiring. My eyes have difficulty focusing because I lack the energy to simply change focus.... How many people think about how much energy it takes to change focus in your eyes from far to near? How many people can even imagine having so little energy that it is difficult to change focus from far to near?
THIS is the energy level I am talking about when I say I have "no energy" or "I am completely, overwhelmingly exhausted".
So, yesterday, I attempted to work on an HVAC heating register in our living room. It has been falling apart and was in such poor condition that we were getting more air through the register from our stinky, damp (and skunky) crawl space than from our furnace and the ductwork.
I used some duct tape on it this past winter just to get us through the winter. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well even for a short-term temporary fix. Small strips of sheet metal from previous repairs (not mine) were peeling away. About two tubes of dried out caulking (again, not mine) were also peeling away and making everything uneven and a huge mess. This vent needed to be disassembled, insulated and it needed to be rebuilt. This kind of thing is pretty easy in the big scheme of things so fixing this was supposed to be a quick, easy, hour-long project this summer. Yeah, right... my body didn't agree!
I pulled out all the tools yesterday... and collected the materials needed for the job... by then, I was completely spent for the day. I didn't have enough energy left to even put away the tools at that point.
It turns out that not putting the tools and materials away worked in my favor!
This morning, I got up and noticed that all the tools and materials were still sitting in the living room and that I still have not finished this project. Because I left everything out yesterday, I didn't need to collect tools and materials today... awesome! So I sat down on the floor and started cutting, nipping, drilling and screwing... This little project is now accomplished!
I don't know who is going to put away all my tools and leftover materials though.... I'm done for the day at this point... but this little 'hour-long' project has been completed and, from start to finish, it cost me three days' worth of energy.
I suppose the first thing I should explain is what I mean by "wears me out for the day" and "no energy"...
What I mean here is that I barely have the energy to walk across a room. My legs are weak, wobbly and feel as though they could collapse at any time. I get winded just trying to walk a few feet. Nausea overcomes me. My bones and joints hurt... especially my spinal injuries, but also my ribs, pelvis, legs, knees, ankles and feet. Sometimes my hands and fingers hurt so bad I cannot hold anything without excruciating pain. I drop things... I stumble and trip on things.
My energy level is so low that simply trying to hold a book or magazine to read is terribly tiring. My eyes have difficulty focusing because I lack the energy to simply change focus.... How many people think about how much energy it takes to change focus in your eyes from far to near? How many people can even imagine having so little energy that it is difficult to change focus from far to near?
THIS is the energy level I am talking about when I say I have "no energy" or "I am completely, overwhelmingly exhausted".
So, yesterday, I attempted to work on an HVAC heating register in our living room. It has been falling apart and was in such poor condition that we were getting more air through the register from our stinky, damp (and skunky) crawl space than from our furnace and the ductwork.
I used some duct tape on it this past winter just to get us through the winter. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well even for a short-term temporary fix. Small strips of sheet metal from previous repairs (not mine) were peeling away. About two tubes of dried out caulking (again, not mine) were also peeling away and making everything uneven and a huge mess. This vent needed to be disassembled, insulated and it needed to be rebuilt. This kind of thing is pretty easy in the big scheme of things so fixing this was supposed to be a quick, easy, hour-long project this summer. Yeah, right... my body didn't agree!
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| The newly rebuilt HVAC vent... the old, stinky carpet is one of the next projects... |
It turns out that not putting the tools and materials away worked in my favor!
This morning, I got up and noticed that all the tools and materials were still sitting in the living room and that I still have not finished this project. Because I left everything out yesterday, I didn't need to collect tools and materials today... awesome! So I sat down on the floor and started cutting, nipping, drilling and screwing... This little project is now accomplished!
I don't know who is going to put away all my tools and leftover materials though.... I'm done for the day at this point... but this little 'hour-long' project has been completed and, from start to finish, it cost me three days' worth of energy.
I will help when I return from work! I love you and thank you for the work you do to make our house our home!
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