On Bended Knee

Eight weeks ago I decided to get younger. I re-bought weights that I had left on Grand Turk. I started walking everyday around the museum grounds. I bought and began to take the regimen of vitamins that I was taking on Grand Turk.

OK, just so you know. My new goal here is to free climb the distances and types of terrain that I dove on in the Turks and Caicos. It is part of my current "opposite" theory of life experience. This is not going so well.

Now the back story...

In September, right after we had returned from the Turks and Caicos Islands, I helped roof Arron's house. My left knee became inflamed from going up and down the ladder caring bundles of shingles. Six months later, it is just getting back to normal. In January, I slipped on the ice and fell directly on my right kneecap. My knee has been sore for two months, but I decided to exercise the pain away.

Exactly five weeks ago I turned my walk at the museum into a run. Then that night I did yoga. I sat down on the couch and my knee was swollen up the size of an orange. I got on the intenet and some sports medicine website said it would take two weeks for the swelling to go down. And, that there were over 5000 yoga related injuries reported in 2009. For a week I wore a knee brace and tried not to move too much.

The next week the swelling went down and I started building shelves at the museum again. Then, on the second day a furniture dolly I was using to move shelves flipped up and hit me directly on the kneecap. My knee swelled up to the size of a grapefruit (OK maybe a small grapefruit).

That was three weeks ago. I was getting concerned, but finally in the last couple of days the swelling is down and I finally have mobility again. But after five weeks of not being mobile, I am having to start all over at getting younger.

I am begining to know what it feels like to get old...

You know you are getting old when someone gives you their arthritis medicine to help your "sports" injury.