I remember the hop, skip and jump
between the ends of a jump rope with childhood friends
and practicing the hurdles and running a relay
was the thing I did inside the gym.
Our coach yelled, “Go!”, and we set out to win.
All of the walking and bicycling back then
was enough to stay fit and trim,
and when I put away my hula hoop
to go dancing to a new kind of ‘hop’
I was thirteen and moved about
and around on a polished wooden floor
to music of the sixties and ‘be-bop’ tunes.
But, as I got older the pains, creaks and cramps
wore down my knees, and I’d had enough.
Whatever my fears, dreading the outcome
I succumbed to a ‘procedure’ providing the way
to find relief and walk again
without the pain from arthritic knees.
Now, I look forward to the things I can do,
even though I’m no longer a child of ten
with jacks and jump ropes and hula hoops.
I can walk and bicycle, dance, or prance,
and feel like a filly let loose at the gate.
The world is my arena and I sport ‘new’ knees.
_________________
Joyce E. Johnson © 2015
Footnotes: I had my second ‘total knee replacement’ surgery done on June 30th. The first one (left knee) was done almost four years ago. The second one (right knee) done on June 30th is I think going well, as I am in the middle of my therapy, so I’m taking some time off to recuperate and recover before getting back to my usual posting and writing routine.
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