Ha! I may be on my way to getting my knees fixed! I can hardly believe it! I’m still holding my breath. As the old saying goes, “There’s many a slip between cup and lip.” To be free of pain is something I can hardly imagine. Someone told me the surgery was painful but, honestly, I can’t conceive of any pain worse than what I live with every day. To simply stand up and walk across the room without first considering the number of steps, or cook dinner without maneuvering around on crutches, to walk out on the deck and down in the yard to play with the dogs, to go out and plant flowers and then weed around them a few days later. It all takes my breath away, just to think about it.

I look at people who just hop up to go do something minor—put an empty coffee cup to the sink or run to let the dogs in or get something to snack on. When I do those things I save them all up to be done at once and then I plan them out carefully. When I stand up I already have an itinerary plotted out in my head. The kitchen is on the way to let the dogs out so I take the cup along to set on the counter as I go past; when the dogs are out I come back and go in the kitchen to rinse the cup in the sink and get my snack. When I have those two little tasks accomplished, I go back to let the dogs and they follow me as I pick up my snack on the way back to my room and my chair. When they are all in I put the gate across the door so I don’t have to worry what the naughty ones are doing.

Rachael will make four separate trips.

When I go in my room in the evenings I usually close the blinds. There’s never been anyone out there but living in town makes me nervous. Usually Rachael and Michael stick their head in the door and say good night. I’ve been known to ask them to come in and close the blinds. Yes, it is out of their way and they have to take those extra steps across the room. But they love me so they do it for me. It isn’t because I’m lazy, it is because it hurts to get up and walk those few feet. And it takes probably three times as long for me to get stood up to do it as it does for them take the extra steps clear across the room. I would probably be criticized by some. I’m sure some would think me lazy. I would like for them to walk a week on my knees.

But I MAY have them fixed! It is breath taking!