Was That Even A Compliment???

  After painting the screen doors, it was time to crank up the old lawnmower and head to the woods.  I was becoming bored with the same old hiking paths so it was my intentions to start a new one.  The underbrush was thick and pushing that old mower through was one tough job but I was relentless!  I figured if I wanted a hiking path so I could get exercise, creating the path would give me just as good of a workout.  It did!  I gnawed through that underbrush like it was no one's business! I pushed.  I pulled.  I walked a good 20,000+ steps.  (Yes.  I did wear a step counter...20,704 steps today.)  Almost 4 hours later, I was purely exhausted!  I figured I had done enough for one day.  In fact, I was rather proud of the whole effort.  My new path was looking good and the walking meter said it was a little over 7 miles.  Oh, I am good!  Oh, I feel great (tired but great!).  Oh, I accomplished something!

  Just after returning the push mower to its designated "parking" spot, Son stopped working on house repairs long enough to share a glass of water with me.  "You know, Mom.  You are not doing half bad for a woman your age." he deadpanned.  Ok.  I took that as a compliment...for a short moment.  Then, it hit me.  "For a woman your age"....was that an underhanded punch to the gut??  Am I THAT old that I have reached "woman of your age" status?    Hmmm.  I think he meant it as a compliment...right?  Ok, so I admit it.  I am old but did he have to remind me?  

  Aside from the conversation that left me perplexed, I still felt good about my work.  The new path is coming along nicely.  It will require a good bit more work with the mower and then a saw and snips will come into play.  There are a lot of low limbs that need to be cleared to make the path safe.  Hopefully, this old lady can keep the current burst of energy going for a bit longer.