Reason 85: (Head and shoulders) Knees (and toes)
100 Reasons I'm Retiring
If you’ve ever attended Sunday School or Vacation Bible School, I’ll bet you started humming the song when you read the title! The song has been around as an exercise nursery rhyme since 1912, but with the addition of “I love Jesus!” to the last line, it’s a song I often used to get my second-grade Sunday School students alert and awake.
You know, back when my knees were in better shape, before a flag football game played with some neighbor kids in 1983 earned me the nickname of the neighborhood “Ron Jarworsky.” My left knee struck a rock as I took a fall, tearing the cartilage in the knee and necessitating surgery. The orthopedic surgeon who repaired it told me, “That knee is going to bother you. There’s already signs of arthritis.”
Yeah, okay. The knee continued to serve me pretty well for the next four decades and only recently has begun to protest at the amount of steps and train climbing I require of it. Lately, Tylenol Arthritis has become a welcome companion as I plod on until June 14.
When my knees will thank me.
I’m trying to age gracefully, but not all parts of me are cooperating! Anything hurting you that didn’t used to?
Four decades ago, Rheumatoid arthritis decided to become my companion. When friends asked where I had pain, I answered with that little song - saying that my head is ok. The rest of the song fits. I'm glad that my head is still fine!
I broke a tiny bone in my foot in the early 1990s and I haven't given it any thought for a long, long time. Recently, it has reminded me of my misstep off a sidewalk more than thirty years ago.
I see you retire on Flag Day! How perfect is that!