I realize it has been awhile since I've blogged. Things have been chaotic lately, and sometimes I have to take a break from all of my other projects so I can focus on a couple big ones. Today, I found myself wanting to post for the first time in a few weeks. I'm hoping that this means I'm feeling better. =)
Anyway, this is what I wanted to post about...
5 SURPRISINGLY PAINFUL THINGS
1. Getting water in your eye.
----If you're like me, you've probably gotten your share of stuff in your eye(s). Everything from eyelashes, to bits of dirt, to even excess air hurts at varying degrees. To me, that makes sense. Eyelashes are surprisingly pointy at one end, small pieces of sediment will scratch your eye, and excess air dries out your eyes. But water? Really?
I decided to do a little research.
It turns out that the reason good ol' fashioned water hurts your eye (but shampoo, for example, hurts WAAAY worse) is due to PH balance differences. Water has a PH balance of 7. Anything above that is considered "basic" or "alkaline" and anything lower than that is considered "acidic." The normal PH balance of the human eye is thought to be between 7.3-7.4. Your eye is actually reacting to an interrupted PH balance, signaling your body that something is off. Pain is the easiest way to do that. Shampoo has a PH balance of 9, so you can imagine that, if water makes it hurt, shampoo makes it BURN! Also, water is more acidic than the "eye squish" (you can thank my brother's girlfriend for that adorable definition), so that is why it hurts.
2. Pulling one hair on your head.
----Pull a chunk of my hair, and it doesn't really hurt. Pull one or two hairs and I'm screaming at you like a banchee. What's up with that?
A hair follicle is made up of several parts, one of them being a muscle! When one hair is tugged on, the force from the tug is exerted on just the one hair and all of the parts that go with it. When a large chunk of hair is pulled on, the force is exerted on several hairs, spreading the force out and causing less pulling on each hair vs pulling on one single hair. The muscle and all of the other parts have less strain on them, and so therefore the body doesn't react with as much pain because the strain isn't nearly as much. Fun, right? The same goes for why it hurts when your pants pull a hair on your leg, or something like that.
3. Silence.
----I'm sure you've heard the saying, "Silence is golden," but if you have kids, or you have some kind of job that involves a lot of communication, you probably know that silence is more like lead some days. Something is terribly, terribly wrong when it's silent in those situations.
When the three year olds were quiet, they were either eating, sleeping, or getting into trouble and they didn't want Ms. Steph to know about it. For example, there was one day on the playground that I noticed that it became awfully quiet. I looked at the teacher who was out there with me, and she looked back at me. We started searching the playground and found a large-ish group of children shoving playground rocks into their mouths. Apparently the idea was, whomever could shove the most rocks in their mouths, won? They had positioned themselves so we couldn't see them from where we had been standing. Don't worry, none of them actually swallowed any of the rocks. But you can see how that silence was definitely painful. "How am I going to explain this to their parents?" Because little kids talk. A lot.
My husband likes to remind me that there is another kind of silence that hurts, too. Spousal silence. The cold shoulder, as it is more commonly known as. Now THAT is a kind of painful silence. The weight of the silence, compounded with the weight of whatever it was that caused the argument that ended up in silence, pushes down so hard on you that you can barely function. Similar situations can happen in a work environment; something is said or done that upsets a co-worker, and the silence along with the weight of the burden impede job performance anywhere from a couple of minutes to a couple of days, or even weeks, depending on the people involved and the severity of the conflict.
4. Applying for jobs.
----Back when I was applying for jobs, I didn't mind searching some internet databases, but the actual filling out of the application was painful! "I know, lets have them upload their resume, and then fill out a form that looks EXACTLY LIKE a resume, so we can go over it AGAIN in the phone interview." Who's great idea was this, anyway? My husband is going through this now, and he's discovered this terrible phenomenon. I always felt like you could see my brain leaking out my ears after a few applications.
5. Missing the chair.
----We're not talking about falling on the floor, we're talking about landing your bottom on the arm of the chair, then slowly sinking into the chair and not breathing. At all. Because if you inhale, you will scream out words that are not appropriate for anyone.
If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing this life-changing moment, it feels kind of like this:
Why does it hurt so much to land on your butt? Don't forget that behind your behind is a huge bone, and your behind serves to protect that bone. It's probably best that your bottom be a little more sensitive than your thigh, as you have some major organs behind that bone. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to be nicer to your bottom, and of course, be sure you know where you're putting it.
Stay tuned for our next installment of "5 Surprisingly Painful Things!"
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