tosabarbell

When I was very young, our neighbor/baby sitter got married. Her name was Mickey. I thought that was cool. I didn’t know girls could be named Mickey. She also had very long, beautiful brown hair circa 1972 that I got to brush for hours when she baby sat. (When she cut it off, I was mad. I didn’t understand why a girl with such beautiful hair would cut it off. It went against everything I believe in as a young girl whose mom wouldn’t let me grow mine long. I’ve gotten over it.)

I was young enough during the wedding that memories fade in and out. I remember our Northern Minnesota church layout (stealing sugar cubes from the kitchen and eating them whole), I remember at some point keeshing out on some chairs (the pastor must have had a long wedding sermon, heh), and I remember this song.

I don’t remember who sang it. I don’t remember who played piano and if there were guitar also, I just remember this song. I think it made Mickey cry, maybe that’s why it stood out for me. I don’t know. I just knew this was a special song.

One of my guilty pleasures on the boob tube is watching Say Yes To The Dress. It’s a wedding dress show that has fun, funny, moving, self-absorbed bridezillas and fun staff all rolled into one. The funny dynamic between the bride and bride’s mom is usually Lulz but sometimes sad. Mommy wants HER day perfect. Everything foked up about wedding planning all rolled into a 30 minute segment. A reoccurring theme is that little princess has been dreaming of her wedding since she was a little girl. That blows my mind. FoRealz? I dreamt of being an Olympic skier when I was a little girl. Then I dreamt of being a stewardess. Then just basically not living at home. Many things, but not a bride. I had no idea what I wanted for a wedding when the first one came around (big mistake, we tried to please everyone and in the end pleased no one. Lesson learned) but I knew what song I wanted.

John Denver’s Follow Me. And it was perfect. The marriage crumbled quickly but that’s on us, mostly. I whill say, when family brings all of their crappy baggage to a wedding day with as much shitty, jealous, selfish, cruel, and self-absorbed energy and toss bombs of it all at the couple for however many hours it took them to try to solidify a life together, shit’s bound to stick. But the other 98% is on us. Live and learn.

But the music was there. It was John Denver, a bright spot of my childhood. And it was good.

Fast forward to last year. When Matt and I were planning what we wanted to do for a “wedding” (no church, no big dress, no fuss…as much as possible) we knew we wanted to make it a special day (no quick courthouse, well, more on that later) so it wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle of life. Our dear friends spoke about their handfasting and how special it was and we thought, Huh, that sounds like us. So that’s what we did.

So many of our friends and family showered us with amazing blessings and well wishes. The day was perfect and we’re so thankful for the memories. Including the music.

Greg, Malia, and Angel gave us the most beautiful Hawaiian music a girl could ask for. (Yes, we got in Follow Me but later during music that played while we had cocktails and PuuPuu’s.) While almost all music was Hawaiian, I wanted to fit in Edelweiss. The Sound of Music is my favorite film and when Christopher Plummer sang Edelweiss originally, I could feel all of his love for his homeland, his family, and his eventual wife come out in music. I love it. That’s what I wanted us to share on that day. Loving energy.

The day was amazing and though there were a few important characters who couldn’t join us, we knew that their well wishes were in attendance. OH! How to circumvent that pesky “legal” thing that wasn’t present in our Handfasting? Bolt over to the courthouse a few days before and get’r done. I felt kind of bad for the JP, she was trying to make it special. But that’s not our special day…

…this is.

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

Martin Luther

RC repair rehab…you’re doing it wrong.

Bigg and I were talking last night about a conversation he had with a co-worker about training so hard. First off, not surprisingly Matt has a lot more patience with folks in these types of conversations. When people want to ask me why I train hard enough to be a bit sore afterwards I want to say, “So I’m not a weak POS like you.” End of conversation. This is why he’s nicer (reason 48,023.)

Some of the questions he’s asked are kind of funny (why do you eat so much? why do you have to “train” after work instead of going out for beers? what’s training, is it the same as working out?) ya know, standard. But yesterday, after talking about various surgery’s and rehab that are common in Professional Strongman (Pro sports really), one interested co-worker asked if he were concerned about possible surgeries looming in his future (knee replacements, hip replacements, and so on.) Of course Matt being Matt, answered in a  patient and logical way.

My reply? I dunno dude, do you worry about all the medical treatment you’ll start to rely on as you age because you’re weak and constantly inflammed due to a shitty diet? Cuz THAT should concern you, not me pushing myself hard in the gym. True story.

But it doesn’t. We live in an age where a small (in the larger scheme of ‘Merika) subset community are willing to push themselves in the gym and sport to be stronger. Or often, Strongest.

Cuz strong people, those who have been in the gym for years and have not only the physical strength to accomplish difficult feats of strength but also have the MENTAL fortitude to push through work when difficult, accept possible risks and will run their numbers to decide if the possible reward is worth it. And if you’re a Pro athlete? It probably is. If not, why compete at all? Spectate. It’s a sport and more beer consumption is usually involved.

We talked about how athletes DO approach injury and rehab. Mainly, how do I get back into the gym as fast as possible to get stronger than before and back to competition? That’s the mindset of an athlete. Even if competing isn’t on the docket, how do I get back into the gym with a barbell in my hands? A 9 month rehab for a rotator cuff repair? W!T!Ffffffff! Wouldn’t you rather be pressing a barbell in four weeks?? Is it a painful rehab? Yup! It’ll hurt but we ain’t got time to bleed and need to get back to training.

Gratuitous picture of Jesse The Bod

For some reason among those who have decided strength isn’t needed in life, all of the doctor’s visits and surgeries needed to “maintain mobility” is accepted. It blows my mind and anyone asking a strength athlete or even someone who has prioritized strength in their life “why” they do it is offended when we say, “Dunno dude, why DON’T you?”  (Ya, I know, my delivery can be a bit harsh.) I have to ask, out of all of the physical therapy going on in America, what percentage are competing athletes (no matter the age and no, beerball doesn’t count. You actually have to have a S&C program) and what percentage is the average American?? The answer would indicate WHO really is at risk for future surgeries. Duh!

When my ex tore up his knee playing basketball with his brother, he went right to the surgeon from the Minnesota Timberwolves and said, “I need to be squatting again and plan on hitting 405 within 6 months. How do we do that?” Surgeon say, ‘okay, here’s how we do it.’ No, “I’m sorry sir, you’re looking at a one year rehab before you can do that.” Had he said that, Dan would have looked elsewhere. True story. We don’t have time for the standard “Joe Public” rehab. Those who live on a pain scale for 3 months and rehab is adjusted as such.

No. No, no, no.

The last time I was at the doctor was March, the time before that? Dunno, four or five years. We ran some tests based on a complaint I had and it turns out that I had an issue, something I’ve chosen not to talk about publicly. Still won’t. Cuz the program is:

1. Jules has a health issue

B. Jules needs to make some adjustments in life and do it now.

III 3 months later Jules is on the road to recovery and feeling better every day.

End of story. My health is everything, strength is a part of that. I will not jeopardize it by not doing EVERY THING I can to ensure it’s optimal. I will push myself in the gym and in the kitchen to make sure I’m the best I can be and if someone dares question me as to why this is so important? Well, I just might answer you. And you won’t like it.

Without health, life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering- an image of death.

Buddah