Bum Knee

My weird knee is so unpredictable.  Every once in a while, it hurts for no known reason.  I messed it up pretty bad 20 years ago and tore 2/3 of my left ACL.. but I've been able to do a clean-up surgery on it and it's been pretty good as long as I don't do too much crazy stuff on it.  But yesterday and today, a little twinge came back.  It's not cuz I did anything  to make it sore.  It's not even sore really... but rather just twinges every now and then... as if there's some tiny bone fragment scraping up against every once in a while.  Usually a couple days of just easy walking and cycling (no running or jumping) will usually move that fragment out of the painful spot... but what happens when that doesn't do the trick?

Yesterday at work, I had a pretty bad limp.  Today I woke up with it being a bit better, so I know I should be pretty good by tomorrow.  For some reason, my mother-in-law has been on my mind a lot this weekend.  Could be cuz another uncle died last week, and we were discussing family stuff today...  But it made me remember how vital and energetic she was when she babysat the kids.  She would give them piggyback rides up and down the stairs and take them for walks.

But after she "retired" when she was 72, she seemed to slow down quite a bit... and we stood by her as she suffered knee pain, falls and countless visits to doctors and hospitals... far more than she ever wanted or probably ever imagined.  I think it drove her crazy because she liked having things done a certain way, and she wasn't physically capable of doing it that way anymore.  To make matters worse, she had to watch us do things our way which of course wasn't up to her standards.  She did mention in one of her later years that she had loosened her standards.

I really love to be active, but this old knee twinge just reminded me that I won't always be able to do the things I want. How ironic is it that, when you retire and have time to do stuff, you're not physically capable to do it all anymore?  I'd like to think that I have great genes (because my parents are pretty healthy), but I still won't be able to do what I do now.  Heck, I can't even do what I did 20 years ago.  How will I manage 20 years from now?  Will I be frustrated and angry?  Hopefully I'll have some grandkids to take the sting out of aging.  If not, Lindsay has promised to supply many cats.