Not My Brightest Idea...

As you all may now know (and might well be sick of hearing me mention it), we are going on a group vacation to the beach in South Carolina in August. There are 4 families going, and it is sure to be a rockin' good time! Anyway, we 4 mothers have been getting together regularly to do little "planning" meetings so we can make sure we take everything we need, but not MORE than we need. This past Monday, we got together to plan our menu for the week. This is important because if we plan carefully, we will not have any food left over and we also won't have to stress about meals...because it's already planned! So, Jodi, Amy, Jen, and I got together on Monday night to get our menu planned. Jodi had suggested taking their boat out, throwing the anchor out somewhere, and sitting on the lake eating snacks and having a few drinks while we made our plans. But somewhere in there, the idea was thrown out to go tubing. Sure, it sounded like a good plan at the time...it's been so hot, and we rarely get out without the kids or hubbies. Why not have a little fun???

Amy didn't bring her suit, because she can't bear to think of what's swimmin' around in the depths of Lake Choctaw...much less get IN the water! And Jodi couldn't get on the tube, because she had to drive, so that left me and Jen. Two Jens definitely means double trouble! Jen went first and rode for quite a while before she started hot-doggin'. That was her demise...as soon as she went "no-hands!", Jodi crossed over another boat's wake and Jen went flying. I was up next. I rode and rode, but did NOT do the "no-hands!" thing, so Jodi didn't throw me. After what felt like forever, I finally gave them the sign that I was done. As they pulled me in, Jen jumped in the water. Huh??? I asked her what was up, and she explained that a challenge had been laid at our feet by the other two girls. They didn't think we could ride that single-person tube together...and she informed them that of course we could! Never to be one to back down from a challenge, I jumped back on! There were not enough handles and space for both of us, but we made it work...kind of. Let's just say that the way we were holding onto each other, it would have taken just the right kind of wipe out for one of us to dislocate a shoulder! But we provided lots of entertainment for Jodi and Amy, who grabbed my camera and started shooting, so what the hell, right? Anyway, to make a long story short, Jen and I ended up being in the water and on the tube for a really long time. And it was fun, no doubt about that! But this is where it becomes not such a great idea...

This week is one of my busiest. I had 8 1/2 hours of massage to do on both Tuesday and Thursday, and I have 5 hours on Saturday. On Tuesday morning, I was feeling it...I had no strength in my arms and shoulders, and my chest was ridiculously sore. My day at work was not fun, to say the least. Wednesday was THE WORST!!! I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, not able to roll over due to the fact that I had slept with my arms and chest wrapped around a pillow (it was the only way to get comfortable), and they were frozen in that position. Every movement hurt. I made it through Wednesday, simply because the only things I really had to do were take the kiddos to various appointments and run a couple of errands...basically all I had to do was drive. But Thursday was bad too, and a full day of massage again....UGH!!! I truly thought I would have to cancel some of my appointments, but somehow I made it, and today is much better, AND tomorrow I should be just fine for my 5 massages. But holy cow, did I learn a lesson! Or did I?

Because...we had so much fun, part of me thinks I would do it again!