"Da!"

I swam a mile this morning and I lifted weights on Saturday at the gym.  I pulled weeds Friday and Saturday evenings.  I thought I had fairly strong arms. Today I held this little girl for a walk around the yard. She is old enough to have opinions.  She will lift her arm and say, "Da."  Translated that means proceed.  I proceed.  Her other word is "Bum" which can mean balloon or ball. I show her the chicken.  We admire the chicken while the chicken paces excitedly hoping we'll let her out.  Then we "Da" over to the pink crab apple tree in full bloom.  One bloom is taken off, admired, put back on the tree, taken off, admired, put back on the tree and repeat seven times.  Then we "Da" to the white crab apple tree and do the same thing.  We walk down the path past the compost pile.  We "Da" down the street and back into the yard.  I set her on the yellow swing and support her because she doesn't hold on to the rope at all.  My arms are getting tired so I put on her on my shoulders.  We walk down the path I have devised through the yard.  It needs trimming.  "Da!" she says.  "Duck your head," I reply as we proceed.  I bend my knees as we travel under some low hanging branches.  "Are you okay?"  I ask.  "Da!" she replies.  I can feel her spine twist to avoid obstacles.  It's way past her nap time and she is over tired.  The rest of her family is in the house enjoying some adult time to themselves.  "Da!" she says as we approach the chicken coop again.  I take her down off my shoulders to give my neck a rest and get a look at her face as she watches the chicken peck at some left over watermelon rind.  She is very interested in the chicken.  "Da!" she commands so we proceed. We admire the textured bark of a white oak tree. "Da!" and we move to the pink crab apple tree and admire it's scaly bark.  We pick at the bright green shoots on the black spruce tree.  We sit in a lawn chair because my arms are killing me.  She looks around and takes in the scenery.  I try to relax and not see the buckthorn that needs to be pulled or the weeds that shouldn't be there. The sun glints on her hair that looks blonder than ever.  She's got the cutest little face and the bluest blue eyes with navy blue rims on her irises.  "Da!" she commands and we go inside.  I carry her in and allow her to crawl up the last two steps by herself. The muscles in my arms quiver with the exertion. I can feel each muscle cord separately. This walk was twenty minutes at maximum. Why are my bicep muscles jumping up and down like they are? I used to carry kids all day long without a problem.  I guess there is no equipment at the gym to mimic the work a parent of a baby does all the live long day, day in and day out.