Surprise!

Don't you love how perception of mood changes according to even small variations in placement of button eyes or other features?

Even though she is allergic to cat dander, Alyssa bought this funny plaque to go with our wall quilt. I've been amused by the expressions on the feline faces for quite some time. And cats definitely do have attitude. Sometimes I do, too. And it is variable as well. For three years now, we have been going on the assumption that Art had a hip problem and that my knee was getting increasingly worse. Neither of us was aging particularly gracefully. So what do you do when you discover that all my symptoms have been caused not by a knee but by a severely damaged hip? Knee, lower back, left leg (side and front), the pain has been referred from my hip. You scramble to believe the changed diagnosis but the x-rays are right in front of you. After a while it settles in as reality. Then, I guess what you do is count your blessings. We are seeing the premier hip surgeon in the state and hip surgery has a much shorter recovery time. During this adventure, I have discovered that I have the stamina to do physical therapy. We have found out how much people care and formed new bonds. My attitude now is this: we are both feeling that no experiences are wasted. So what's next? Art and I both have summer appointments for surgery. For now, we will both have time to recuperate from some other nagging health issues before surgery. Eventually, we'll be able to celebrate mobility, as well as the longevity of our marriage. Hip! Hip! Hooray!!!!!