Sore

September 24, 2016 The only part of my body that doesn't hurt is the top of my head, ears, eyes, nose, throat. I guess I won't need to see a specialist. The guy came today to dig the trench for our new water line. He did a great job, nice and neat, even undercutting the gas line that runs across the property. I skipped writer's group and band to make sure I was available in case he ran into any problems, but things went smoothly until he got almost to the end. I showed him where the new shutoff valve was located, and hoped he would dig up close to it, but he refused to get that close to the line, so I had to dig the last three feet by hand. Five feet deep. I am sore. Linda came out periodically to check on me, worried she'd find me slumped over my shovel. I told her if I were, to just put the blade on the tractor and cover me up. It would save a lot of money. The last time she came out, Abi was with her. She asked me to quit for the night, but I wanted to get it done, and I knew if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to get started again. She tricked me; talked to me for about five minutes, and when I started up again, I just couldn't do it. I was out back unhitching the blade from the old 8N when Nate came walking across the lawn. He hopped on the back of the tractor and rode with me to the job site to look it over. Abi apparently was worried about me, too, and had mentioned something to her father. He examined the hole, declared that it was almost done, and he was going to finish it. Since it was dark, I drove the John Deere around to shine lights on the trench while he dug and chopped till the hole was wide enough to accommodate the line. Tonight I am sore; tomorrow I may have a hard time moving, but I am thankful for my son who after splitting wood for three hours, came over to help his father finish a difficult job.