Crushing

A hug from my dad on my wedding day.

My dad. Oh, my, could that man hug! It's as if it were his calling: hug the shit out everyone you love. And he loved a lot of people, especially his daughters. And nieces. And daughters-in-law. And grandchildren.

Take-aways from My Trip to Europe

Winkie, me, Pat at le Château de Gruyères, Switzerland

It's been almost two months since I returned from my big European adventure with my Aunt Winkie, and three things that I discovered on that trip have become part of my everyday life.

Feeling the Pinch!

Where the iPad landed.

Do you remember this picture from my recent post about pain? Here I've made a note of where the iPad actually made impact with my foot, and where most of the swelling occurred. Today, I saw a podiatrist and learned more about why, a year since the injury, I have even more foot pain.

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Acupuncture on my knee

'Way back in April, I wrote about hip pain that had put me on bed rest (for a day). When bed rest and continued walking didn't resolve the pain, I ended up seeing a massage therapist who also did acupuncture. I love her.

Pain in the A$%

One of the reasons I quit my job last fall was joint pain. In my hands, feet, hip, shoulder . . . it sort of migrated from one week to the next. I had hoped that the more relaxed lifestyle since then -- especially the daily long walks with Kane -- would alleviate much of that joint pain. Alas, I was wrong.

Delicate

Source

In high school, I had one teacher who moved in a remarkable way. For a while I couldn't figure out what it was that seemed so odd. Then, one day, as she opened a door, I realized it was something about how she moved her hands.

She did so delicately, as if they were made of glass.

It was fascinating to watch, her fingers ever so slightly splayed, arms lifting as if she had butterflies wings.

I can't recall a single thing she taught, but I remember her hands.

Over the past several months, years really, I've come to appreciate what might have made her move like that: arthritis.

While we were living in Colorado -- so, about four years ago -- I developed pain in the large knuckle of my pinkie fingers. It was in both hands, but worse on the right. Over the past few years, the pain has migrated to other joints and, this year, it seems to have made its home in my top knuckle of my index finger, though both hands are in varying degrees of pain almost constantly. Sometimes an ache, sometimes a sharp jab. I can't do up a button using my right index finger. [I secretly curse people with "strong" handshakes!]

In terms of pain management, I already take three Ibuprofen a day for bursitis. Heat is soothing and helps me exercise my joints, but cold (ice) is really the best thing for at least an hour of relief.

What's bugging me about all of this is that I am relatively young, I think. I mean, I always figured that this kind of achiness was something I might face in my sixties or eighties.

Any suggestions or tips?