She's Not Heavy, She's My Mother

Man has today gotten away from me. I like to get this done early so I can go about the rest of my day without the weight of my blog pushing down on me. I'm late today because I was trying to be a dutiful son.

You may remember I wrote about my mom having her hip replaced. Things went better than expected and she's home now. She's walking better than she has in years and isn't in pain anymore. Today was her big six week check up, and because her bionic hip had not been cleared for driving, I offered to take her. I'm sure other people had offered too, but I always feel guilty if I don't make the gesture. All those years of Catholic school have sewn the seeds of guilt deep into my fertile mind.

I have to give the doctor credit. All day he deals with people who need new hips and knees. It just so happens that a lot of these people are old folks whose joints have betrayed them. I've seen the way my mom peppers this guy with questions, sometimes asking the same question a number of times in only slightly different ways. If he gets the same interrogation from the rest of his patients, it's a miracle he doesn't lose his mind. The one thing I think a lot of these folks have in common is fear. I understand it to a degree. You were just sliced open like a fish and had metal and plastic parts put in you. I suppose the thought of falling and having to go through the process again is terrifying.

What I want to know is, at what age does falling down become a person's over riding concern? I know toddlers seem pre-occupied with it, but I think that's mainly a parental concern. Once you reach four or five, falling down just happens. You don't give it a lot of thought, and you definitely don't plan your day around avoiding a tumble. The only time as an adult I find myself worrying about falling is on icy pavement. Then I immediately become Tim Conway's character Dorf. I take little baby steps and mumble to myself about being careful. I have to do this, I've taken a couple of spills, and there's nothing fun about my girth hitting the street. Funny, but not fun.

So I've done my familial duty. Mom is home safe and sound. Dr. Patience even cleared her to drive, so she's on the loose again. I hope she's careful. I hear falling is problematic. Later...Brian