When my daughter was 6 years old, she was obsessed with the rings on the playground.

She would swing from ring to ring until her hands were raw and sore. Still, she would want to go back.

She swung through the pain.

I’ve been having muscle aches and back pain that I attribute to throwing pottery. Still, that’s what I think about when I wake up in the middle of the night. I get out of bed early to see how the pots are drying from the day before. I trim them and then climb back in bed.

Yesterday I didn’t do anything with clay because my low back hurt so badly.