Magic

I have never been one to just take a pill and call it good when I'm in pain. Be it a headache, muscle ache, or just general pain wherever - I just deal with it. My mom never was one to take medicine unless it was a serious situation, and I have tried to pattern my life that way. I realize there are some women who just need that little bit of help at that time of the month, and there are people who don't know what it feels like not to have a headache that is less than a migraine. I am not one of those people. Generally, my life is pain-free, and I am grateful.

When I served my mission, however, I started acquiring back pain. Something about walking around all day long and riding a bike everywhere just somehow broke me down little by little until I had a semi-permanent upper-back/shoulder ache. It gets mostly agitated when my shoulder is in the same position, or doing the same thing for a really long time.

Well, the other morning when I woke up, it wasn't just my shoulder that hurt. It was all-around back pain. I could hardly move without being in pain. I decided to take some advil. I thought, "Well, I have to work all day - and I'd rather not be in pain when I can't be at home." To my astonishment, those small suckers worked. And quick! I took them when I woke up, took a shower, and by the time I left the house about a half hour later, I was pain-free!

I will still save the drugs until I really need them, but I was amazed at how those tiny pills seemed to work like magic!