I've gotta change something around here

So today almost like out of the blue my sister asks me to check grandpa's push lawnmower because, as I suspect, for the past couple of days we've both noticed how much the grass has been growing and as such needs to be mowed. I know if Mom was looking at it from the bathroom window, she'd be saying the same thing.

She basically wants to see if it'll start. She put more oil in it (I don't think it really needed any more), and I see it's been left out front. So I do the usual prime push on the rubber bulb that primes it. I do this about 10 times, because it's been months since it was started. I'm sure lots of places say you should drain the gas from the tank for winter storage. This is something I don't do. I've never done it. I'm sure the more inclined and able people do this, but I'm not that sort of person.

So I prime and pull the rip cord. It's not even firing. I realize this sort of thing will require more priming - after all, it's sat around for months unused. It will require more than the usual amount of priming. I check the gas and add a little still in the old metal gas can. How old? My grandfather has had it for years and never bought a new one. Still in great shape.

The addition of a little more fuel to the mower obtains the desired result. The mower fires up to life and runs just fine. Some preliminary white smoke belches from the muffler (if it is a muffler), and after a while it subsides, but the mower is doing its job.

I would think my sister would suddenly appear, offering to take the reigns of the mower at this point. Certainly it's loud enough to tell her that yes Andy can do something for once and actually got a gas mower started after being in storage. But no. Anywho, I decide that for once I need to get up and do something. The problem here is that I usually plan for events like this. This means the use of some ibuprofen. Whatever I do these days usually requires some planning for the pain I get for payback for doing anything.

First goings of mowing the small side yard near the driveway (car park if you like) are not so bad. Toward the middle and clearly towards the end of doing this mowing I am winded. I do not recall ever being in this much pain for a simple mowing job as this. I try to breathe deeply, and it takes much of my quickly disappearing stamina just to pull through. I managed to finish the task, but not before I'm wheezing, pain in my windpipe, desiring of more comfortable surroundings and some water.

At first, before even this happened, I had been inside getting annoyed by the growing coldness, and I turned up the heat. But coming back in, the heat was overwhelming and I turned it back down. It doesn't help that indoor humidity is above 50% while during the winter I observed no more than 20%.

I really need to change something in my lifestyle and get more in shape so that I don't ever experience pain like that again. My big problem is that I don't know how to change it. Running up and down the stairs or something, any kind of physical activity just to be doing something instead of depressed and bored watching TV or trying to start my computer service business.