Crutches

It's been another challenging week. I've taken a necessary leap of faith by following doctor's orders.  I've stopped taking my normal medications for pain 7 days ago. I'm thankful the weather has been pleasant and warm. I've always heard that cold or damp weather would make the old joints more sore. I've been tracking the weather for several months and haven't found a clear, reliable correlation between my pain levels and the weather but I still put some faith in years of human experience and tradition.

Nonetheless, I now know for a fact that the pain I've felt hasn't been a product of my over active mind. Yes, I can just imagine calling the surgeon and telling him, "I'm so sorry but apparently I just THOUGHT there was a problem. Let's just cancel this whole surgery idea." That would have been nice.

As the week has gone by, I find myself looking for things to hold onto. It's almost like when I had toddlers along on a shopping trip. I always made sure I knew where the public restrooms were everywhere we went.  Now, I'm looking for hand holds and landing zones for myself. 

Someone at church today mentioned how he'd used crutches in the past.  He was talking about things or actions we come to believe are necessities: coffee to wake up, a beer to unwind, a cigarette to relax, good chocolate, etc. We all tend to have a few but do we really need them?

As I anticipate needing to use real crutches after surgery, I'm prompted to consider if there are some other  crutches I need to throw away. Maybe, just maybe, I need to de-clutter more than my home. It's something to consider.