Getting Older

I realize I haven't posted in a while. We've been experiencing computer "issues" at our house which means that I am now sharing my laptop with the teenager. That in itself should tell you that MySpace, AIM, MSN, etc., has taken prescedence over any mindless activity that I may want to do or explore. Deep breath,....ANYWAY, It's the end of my summer "vacation", and the flippin watermom is back to school for the mandatory meetings, inservices, etc., on Monday. I will also have to de-muck my room, as the black mold is dripping down its walls. That's another story.

It is my summer routine that I cram all my yearly medical visits into my last week of summer off time. I do not want to complicate summer busyness with doctor stuff. Needless to say, I bit the bullet, saw my Internist, got the good news/bad news about my age old battle with cholesterol, weight, thyroid, etc. I also got a referral to the podiatrist because of my sad feet. As a teacher and a reformed exerciser, I put a lot of steps on these 53 year old feet. They are very sad and often very angry with me. I knew that they had plantar fasciitis and that my rather inflamed big toe joint on my right foot was arthritic. I just wanted to help them out a bit with the proper orthotic or correct shoe. You know, a very simple solution to the aging issue as I depend on those two feet so much. Sheesh! Dr. Podiatrist happily injected my left heel with a cortisone shot, which, being naive, I assumed would only hurt upon the initial injection. NOT! Hobbling for 24 hours is not the way I'm used to dealing. It's too slow for me and I have things to do. My manicurist, face scraper, officially called, esthetician, Traci, promised me that in 48 hours I would be shouting Hallelujah and wondering why I didn't get that shot sooner. Ummm.....72 hours and I'm not shouting. I'm not hobbling, but no smiling yet for my tootsies. The big old arthritic toe joint sadly is supposed to receive lots of Ibuprofen to stop its swelling. The question is, with other joint issues and a migraine or two, how do those little blue gel caps know to anti inflammatory my big toe and foot? It's a puzzle. In the meantime, I'm wearing a silly Birkenstock sandal that will be acceptable on my school campus while also marveling at the fact that they don't look like my hippie Birkestocks of the 70's.

Next up is the lovely "growing flippin older" topic, cholesterol. Eyeww! I just can't seem to make it go down without the help of statin drugs, ie: Lipitor, Crestor, Pravachol. You see, they make me a little nuts, literally. The leg pain and joint pain and calf pain is nuts, and when I don't take them, the pain goes away. It also rattles and rolls my little brain. Believe me, post menopausal women do not need any more drugs that make them more forgetful, rattled, or confused. When I don't take them, I can actually focus, feel more in control, and less forgetful. That's very important because my children have promised that if I get really wacky, they will shoot me and put me out of my misery, collect the insurance, my Willie Mays autographed baseball, and my artwork. The teenager of course wants all the Mister's guns. I think the oldest is looking at our cash value and real estate since Vanilla Jesus won't help him win the Lottery. Well, Dr. Internist has said that I may try fish oil capsules to and lower my cholesterol, overall and bad, to a reasonable 200 overall and 110 bad. Do you know how many capsules of the super concentrated COSTCO fish oil caps you have to take? Bazillions! Well actually, the scoop is you have to ingest 4 of those humongus caps two times a day. Yes, I am attracting cats to the house, and swimming underwater is no longer a problem. I also have a real longing for a saltwater aquarium.

The next "you are getting older" doctor is sending me for a dexascan because, you know, family history and all, no horomone replacement therapy, and I'm shrinking just slightly. That is a huge bummer. At 5'2 1/2", this watermom needs to stand tall as best she can in the world.

You know, I think it was Mark Twain that said something like this, "Growing old is the pits, but the alternative is a lot worse." You know I love to paraphrase. Keep smiling all you 20 somethings, you got a ways to go!