Time & Meditation & the Superbowl

There is something in the Superbowl that portends danger for me.  Four years ago on Superbowl Sunday while hastening across my kitchen I tripped on my lowlying dishwasher door(forgot it was open) and flattened myself on my tile floor.   Consequent clinical attention = one broken humerus.  Left arm.  No problem just medical bills, physical therapy bills, pain, movement restriction and a requirement to be patient with another orthopedic episode.  I did take comfort in that it was left side involvement which still allowed me to be a functional cook etc.  Now 4 years later,  not waiting a week for the great Superbowl, I mistakenly got into a war with a long sleeve top while hurriedly dressing.  Mistake.  One sleeve was inside out and I got tangled up with one arm in and one trying to get in and cussing did not work.  I heard a snap.  I thought I had torn the garment.  That would have been simple.  There is something in the body like a garment called a rotator cuff which has lots of tendons, muscles and stuff under the scapula.  This probably is why good football players wear shoulder pads.  Now I believe through the help of a good orthopedic surgeon I am going to become further acquainted with the appendage which is on the right side.  Although  I will not be playing football I will wear my ice pack, take my ibuprofen and Iwill empathize with the pain of every tackle and pile up I see this Sunday.

The internet docs are not too optomistic about aging shoulders and rotator cuffs.  I don't know if one can actually hear "tears" in a tendon.  That is, a tear such as tearing material or tears you get in a tendon, not sobbing because you are angry about being careless and hurrying.  Or angry because you may never swing a golf club again.  Or angry because you may not be able to lift your greatgrandbabies into your arms, or shampoo your loved shnauzer, Fritz.  The only thing you can take comfort in is that your name is not in the obituaries, you have a left arm that can learn to do a lot of things, you have a wonderful husband who knows how to cook, you can still dance, read and sing, take pictures of the great grandbabies... and buy a new IPHONE from Apple.  Hey make my day Mr. Jobs.  I am so lucky.  And when I get x-rayed or whatever I can have my right hip checked as well as my right shoulder and get a 2/4 one.

Everybody sing.  "Put your left shoulder in put your left shoulder out, Put your left shoulder in and shake it all about, Put your left hip replacement in.  Put your left hip replacement out.  Put your left hip replacement in and shake it all about.  Put your right shoulder in.  Put your right shoulder out.  Put your right hip out ......Ouch.  That's what aging's all about."  Lawrence, may I please borrow your shoulder pads for the next Superbowl?.....