This is a book into which many things are written. Things that we learn throughout the years we are given on earth are “written” in this book along with memories we gather along the path.
For most of us, life is a never ending learning event. An old Chinese proverb says, “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” It’s like a shadow that is stuck to our heels never to leave us until we cease to exist.
Sometimes we learn big things like how to use a computer or fix a car or sew a dress. Sometimes we learn small things such as how much fun it is to play Uno with grandchildren or facts such as why some flamingos are dark pink and some are light pink.
In the past few weeks I have learned several interesting things. One thing I have learned is that all physical therapists are not created equal.
Before now, the only contact I ever had with a physical therapist was one in Huntington when I was having trouble with my feet. A foot doctor didn’t know what was making my feet hurt so badly, so he sent me to a physical therapist who didn’t know what to do either. He put his ink pen next to his lips and said, “Hmmm,” then told me to walk around the room to see if I could make my feet hurt.
After walking a few minutes, I informed him that I didn’t think this strategy was working. He said, “Well, when you come back the next time…” I thought to myself, “What next time???” Besides wasting my time, the fact that he looked like the guy nobody likes on “Becker” didn’t endear him to me.
Several weeks ago, my husband had to have physical therapy on his shoulder because of a torn rotator cuff. In the past, when I heard on television that a ball player had torn this part of his shoulder, I didn’t think much about it. Now, I can really empathize with him.
For this part of my husband’s recovery, he went to Logan Physical Therapy. We had heard good reports about this office, and they were all true.
The people who work there are probably the nicest people in any office of this type. From the receptionist to the physical therapist, everyone is nice and friendly and takes a real interest in a patient’s recovery. Besides that, they make really good coffee which is important at 9:00 in the morning while I am waiting.
Most importantly, under Doug’s (the therapist) directions, my husband’s shoulder is improving. He can’t swing the grandchildren upside down yet holding them by their heels, but it won’t be long.
During this past week, I have learned how much fun (and work) it is to take two grandchildren to the beach without their parents’ going along.
First of all, they know no danger, so I had to stand (or sit) on the edge of the water to make sure they didn’t go out too far, etc. etc. Several times, I was “caught” by the waves and soaked from my thighs down by sandy greenish stuff called sea water. I remembered why I only like the ocean as seen from a balcony with a good book in hand.
Also, I don’t like the sun, so while everyone else was brandishing every part of their bodies in skimpy suits, I was hunkered down in a folding chair with Olivia’s towel over my head trying to keep the sun off.
I did learn one thing, however. If the towel is wet (even if it is wet with sandy salt water), when the wind blows, it makes a mini air conditioner that is actually very comfortable.
I also learned that the ride through dinosaur land at Ripley’s Believe It or Not is not a ride for people over 12. It nearly thumped me to pieces. The sides of my legs are still sore from hitting the little handles where you are supposed to hang on.
Why in the world these handles were at my knees, I don’t know. I think this was to make it harder to “hang on” as I was being thumped to pieces. Of course, Chase (aged 8) wanted to “go again.” I told him to tell his mother how nice the ride was so she would take him on it the next time they go to the beach. I told him I would lie and tell her it was great, too, but never again in this lifetime was I getting back on it.
If the ride had been free, it would have been bad enough, but the worst part about it was that I paid to be tortured.
I learned the world is a small place. Our youngest daughter and her husband went to Hawaii this week. While waiting in line at a luau, they discovered that one of the employees had lived in Delbarton and had attended Tug Valley High School in 1991.
Talk about a small world!
When I got home from the beach, I found an email that taught me some other interesting things. However, I have not tested any of them, so I don’t know whether or not they work.
• Use Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint. If kids eat it, it won’t hurt them.
• A Slinky will hold toast and CD’s.
• If you want some body paint, mix Crisco with food coloring. Heat the Crisco in the microwave, mix with the coloring, let it cool, and apply. Getting it off is another trick.
• Pam cooking spray will fix a sticking bicycle chain.
• Use meat tenderizer on bee stings.
• Use brewed Lipton tea to rinse your hair if you want it to shine. (No sugar)
• Use a mixture of Kool Aid and water to tie-dye shirts.
• Put sugar on your tongue if you burn it on hot liquids.
• To preserve a newspaper clipping, combine a large bottle of club soda and a bottle of milk of magnesia. Soak the article for 20 minutes. Spread the article out and let it dry. Try this first on something that isn’t important.
• Sometimes life isn’t fair, but it’s all we have.
• When it comes to chocolate, you might as well give up in the beginning.
• If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
• No one can make you unhappy except yourself.
• If something bad happens, ask yourself, “Will this matter in five years?”
• God loves us because of Who He is not who we are.
• Don’t audit life like you do a class. Learn the information, take the test, and pass the course.
• I don’t like growing old, but it beats the opposite—that of dying young.
• Children only have one childhood. Don’t ruin it by giving them bad memories.
• Friends are what we have when we don’t have anything else.
I have many friends who are sure I don’t have enough to do, so they send me emails filled with questions knowing I will wonder about these even though they usually have no answers.
Even if I live for 200 more years, I will still be looking for answers to most of the following questions:
• Can you cry under water? (Since I don’t even like to be under water, I don’t see that this will be answered soon.)
• How important does a person have to be before he is considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
• When you go to Heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in?
• Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
• What disease did the “cured” ham have and can we catch it? Could it have been swine flu?
• Why did we put a man on the moon before we figured out we should put wheels on luggage?
• Why do people want to sleep like a baby when babies wake up every two or three hours to cry?
• Is it still a hearing if a deaf person goes to court?
• Why is a person in a movie but on television?
• Why do people pay to go to the top of a tall building and put money in the machines so they can look at things on the ground? (I have done this many times.)
• Why does Goofy stand up while Pluto remains on all four paws?
• Why can’t you get the tune out of your head when someone asks if the “Alphabet Song” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” have the same tune?
I know that last one was really mean. How long will it take for you to quit “humming” that silly tune??
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