How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb?
One, but the lightbulb really has to want to change.
A couple of weeks ago I started physical therapy for some back issues.
When I learned that the therapy office is almost 30 minutes away, I briefly considered backing out (I’m a city slicker, accustomed to everything being within a 10-minute drive).
I decided to do the initial assessment and was entirely unprepared to discover I would need several appointments a week.
Driving across town three times a week with kids in tow?
Nevermind. Not worth it. I can spend the next five decades worrying about a bad back.
It’s like any great personal change — often before it gets better, it has to get worse. Sometimes the “worse” is letting go of denial and letting reality hit. Sometimes it means removing the coping mechanism that is killing us.
And sometimes it means spending my afternoons driving across town.
I decided to take the plunge. The kids and I are now spending many of our weekdays hanging out in the physical therapy office while I work out my back issues. The four to six hours of therapy and extra driving each week definitely mean I’m behind on housecleaning and playdates.
The thing about getting well is that it usually isn’t convenient. In fact getting well often feels like it’s wrecking my life a little.
But I’ve been down a similar road in the past. And after the pain, and the inconvenience, and the life-wrecking…
…there will be dancing.
I can’t wait.
Photo Credit: Paul Nicholson
