This weekend, we finally took down the Christmas tree. TJ and I have a slight obsession with decorated Christmas trees, so we have a tendency to leave it up as long as possible. With classes starting Tuesday though, we decided this would be a good weekend to dismantle it. Once we got it all packed and the box taped down for next year, I picked it up to go outside. I always forget how heavy that tree is! Once I got my bearings though, it was off to the garage.

I often wonder how strange of a couple we must look to outsiders. Leaving the grocery store is this big, muscular man carrying a box or two of cereal and behind him is this thin girl lugging milk, laundry detergent, and a 12 pack of Sprite to the car.

“Geesh, chivalry must be dead.” “How rude of him to make her carry the heavy items. He looks three times as strong as her.” This is what I imagine goes through people’s minds as we pass them. And it’s not that TJ forces me to carry the heavy stuff; sometimes I literally have to take the milk from him! Going to the store takes a LOT of energy out of him. I know he hates how weak his muscles are right now.

So until he gets stronger, I suppose we’ll just have to put up with people staring at us. But it shows you can’t judge a book by its cover. He physically looks like he could bench press a truck, but alas, sometimes our 18 pound puppy or even just a dinner plate is too heavy for him. So goes the perils of myositis though.

-April Mae