Remember the primary school joke about the centipede with a wooden leg? Such luck - he had another ninety-nine to choose from!
I have discovered that a one-legged woman on crutches is actually without hands either - as both arms are fully employed doing a very poor impersonation of the other leg. In the morning the heel of your hands ache as they grip the spongy handles afresh, and your side muscles (technical term that!) say, ¨Aren´t you sorry you didn´t do those arm presses in the gym now?¨
You can´t even hold a cup of tea, water a plant, carry a phone, etc. without a measure of creativity. Funny bags and little pockets come into their own, along with baskets that can be pushed along, typists´ chairs, innocent vegetable trolleys... everything takes on a possible new function. The most important goal, however, is to absolutely ensure that the remaining ankle stays intact!
Just when self-pity threatens to close in, the SABC provides material to save you: permanently wheelchair-bound people in Lenasia are only asking for a decent bus service - but in the meantime are coping superbly with caring for babies, doing shopping, wheeling themselves up potholed roads, navigating small houses, little money... (Okay, I am ashamed now.)
There comes a time in everyoneś life when you hear the distant call, ¨Slow down¨. I did - resigned from work. But the urge to fill the vacuum is inexorable. So, I got slowed down a little bit more! Now there is no escape. I am with myself all the time, going nowhere slowly, doing little - and that very carefully.
Does the noise in my head bother you? It is starting to bother me - so I thought it was time for (more activity?) to revive this little blog! Well, letś see if I can keep it real this time...
