Blogging A to Z: April showers

Málaga airport by Bert Kaufmann, Creative Commons license. Flickr. “Caution, moving walkway is nearing its end.”

April is a time to look forward. Sunshine stretches into longer days. Crocus and daffodils sprout and remind us that winter, as the moving walkway announcement at the airport warns, “is nearing its end.”

I’m thinking about what flowers I’d like to plant, what festivals I’m looking forward to, and what photography possibilities await me. The birds are singing and the intermittent rain we receive is painting the grass green. Things are looking up!

And, then I find out that in two and a half weeks, I am having knee replacement surgery.

Whaaaat? I can hear the needle scraping across the vinyl record on my spring solstice.

To say that I’m nervous is an understatement. During the doctor’s appointment and the informational “class,” I try to downplay the pain of recovery. After all, I’ve been in pain a lot lately and what’s a little more? If I stand on my right leg for more than 10 minutes, it locks up and I look like a pirate walking the plank. For work I went to an out-of-state trade show and was on my feet for 10 hours a day. Each night I iced and elevated my knee and got it ready for battle the next day. It’s essentially bone-on-bone and believe you me, that’s what it feels like. I even have times when two of the bones catch and slide on by. Talk about pain!

However, I’ve been told that because we have a lot of nerve endings on the outside of our bones, that it is extremely painful and recovery is slow. They cut off the bottom of one bone and the top of another and implant titanium pieces. “Take the pain meds,” they’ve advised. Oy vey!

So, I guess this is another type of transition that I need to welcome and embrace, if I’m going to make it through to summer. God has gotten me through many trials in my life and I’m doing my best to put my faith in Him, and his comforting arms. Spring is a time of new growth, new life. And, I definitely want “new life” from my new, bionic knee. If I do well enough, I hope to leap tall crocus in a single bound. Is that what it means to spring forward?