"First to fight for rights and freedom. And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title of United States Marines"

I’m not even sure that I will be able to finish typing this blog because it hurts just to press down on the keyboard. No I didn’t burn my finger tips baking, bruise them in a car door, or get them bitten off by a snapping turtle… I wake boarded.

My Grandparents have a lake house out in Tennessee where all my Dad’s family typically gathers for the 4th of July. Ben and I headed up after work on Thursday. We got in around 8pm eastern and waited on my parents, brothers, and sister-in-law to arrive, which didn’t happen till around midnight. Of course, we had to stay up talking and laughing with them and I believe it was around 3am before we all were soundly sleeping. That was probably the start to my “body” troubles, because your body needs rest in order to recuperate from activities and mine didn’t get much.

The 4th ended up being a beautiful but choppy day on the lake. I spent most of the afternoon working to change my rather pasty skin to a shade that wouldn’t cause blindness. And amazingly enough I managed not to get burned; I’m accounting that to the fact that I slathered on the SPF 50 after about 30 minutes with no protection. We had an offer to watch a firework show at another home and after dinner most of my relatives and me packed on the boat and headed over to another lake house. The fire works were definitely impressive but even more fun was the “caroling.” I don’t know who started the first song but we ended up tooling around the lake singing everything from the Star Spangled Banner, Yankee Doodle Dandy, and My Country Tis of Thee, to humming the theme song of Top Gun. And none of the time were we in tune. I could hardly stop laughing long enough to sing. We ended the night by playing a rousing game of Scrabble in which I managed to beat the socks off of my competitors. J

Saturday was another beautify day with a few drops of rain but mostly clear, blue sky’s. This was the beginning of my body’s battle to kill me with a slow and painful death. Since it was nice I decided to wake board, which I enjoy but don’t get the chance to do often. I only wiped out once or twice the first run but realized I was in bad shaped because I was already feeling muscle fatigue. My brother’s and Ben decided to go for a spin as well. Once they were through, I decided to go one more time but it didn’t last long because my quads would not cooperate and quickly gave out of strength. I knew I’d be sore but didn’t think much of it the rest of the day.

That evening we celebrated my Aunt Laurie’s and my Pawpaw’s Birthday. But the night got a little strange from there. I don’t know how it started but somehow we got my mom to showcase many of her hidden talents which include: shooting a bird with her toes, crossing one eye while moving the other around, and her amazing belly roll dance. (Note: if you were wondering why I’m such a goof, this is why) The night got weirder when we started trying to play one of my Grandparent’s musical instruments from Australia. It looks like a branch of wood with a hollow middle and makes quite an odd noise when blown correctly. If I’m being honest it sounds like an elephant passing gas. Needless to say, we all had tummy aches from laughter.

Sunday came all too quickly and, although Ben and I wanted to leave early, I decided to go for one more wake-board. I guess you could say I’m a glutton for punishment. After the boat run Ben and I packed up, ate lunch, and headed back to Huntsville; both a little worse for wear. I think sitting in the car for a few hours only worsened our condition. I knew when Ben merely gave me a hug and I screamed as if I’d been shot, that I was in trouble. We ended the night doing stretches in hopes to alleviate some of the pain. Yet, this morning I still woke with the feeling that my body had been put through a giant sized pasta press and would never be the same again. It hurts to walk, lie down, write, raise my arm, tie my shoe, and breathe. I don’t know why I ever thought that being pulled behind a boat a high speeds on a flat board is worth this agony, but even if I could, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Well, I guess I need to stop this ridiculously long post to avoid any further pain to my appendages. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th and if you know a good masseuse, call me!