I’m getting a new hip the day after tomorrow. I’ll be dancing soon! Not really. I’ve never been a Fox-Troty or Waltzing Matilda type of dancer. Years ago my grandmother gave me ballet lessons in the hope I would become graceful and my skip, trip and shuffle way of ambulating would become a thing of the past. Um. No. It didn’t happen. Still clumsy. But because I am a positive person I’m confident I will be walking totally upright in a matter of weeks.
Not long
ago I wrote a blog about the wonderful world we live in and how it can supply
us with new body parts. (Any part used every day for eighty, ninety, one hundred
years is destined to wear out at some point.) In that same blog, I explained my
feeling about my body…as if it were an old car, a little bit rusty in places with
tires that are almost bald and a radio that is mostly static - and everything
under the hood is out of warranty. I always have known my beloved car is a
rinky-dink older model that isn’t manufactured any more, a model that someday
might need a new part.
That day
has come.
It’s almost
like I have clairvoyance. Yes, one of my parts has gone bad and given out. Fortunately,
it’s not my engine or the transmission. It’s my left hip. (Not to be confused
with My Left Foot!)
Luckily for
me, an abundance of replacement parts are available and a handsome surgeon with
amazing credentials is going to give me a new hip. He says the surgery will
take him an hour and a half to two hours. (Most of my naps are longer than
that.)
We truly are
living in an era that should working parts go bad we can order new ones. It’s an
era when hip replacements are common. We might even ask who doesn’t have one?
I’ve
discovered when your hip goes wonky that just walking can be dangerous. I’ve
been known to lose my balance…but have not fallen thank goodness - I can still
answer those wellness tests, “No fall. Ever.”
However, I
have lurched and lunged, winced and bit my lip a bit.
Several
weeks ago in order to circumvent any minor tragedy I started carrying a cane to
keep me upright and on track. Frankly, my drugstore cane makes me feel old. I
need to retire it as soon as possible. I’m convinced that if you feel old you
will look old and worse, you will act old. (You will know when you buy your first
package of butterscotch candies.)
So while reflecting
on how I shall live in this New Year, I decided to only write one blog a week,
this month you’re reading what may be the only blog. Taking my new hip for a
spin as often as possible will be my priority. When time becomes precious -
which it should for anyone my age or more, setting the proper priorities is
vital.
Sharing my
adventures in aging with you will always be one of my top priorities. So, come
what may, I’ll be back in this same spot with another blog shortly. The best
way to age is to do it together!
