Dear Friends,<\/p>\n
I’m at the rehab facility, checked in by admissions, checked\u00c2\u00a0out by physical therapy and settled into\u00c2\u00a0my private room.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0After \u00c2\u00a0my first knee surgery,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 rehab had me paired with a delightful, \u00c2\u00a0interesting\u00c2\u00a0 80 year-old roommate and we talked most of the time we were not in therapy.\u00c2\u00a0 I do miss the sweet company of Miss Betty, but\u00c2\u00a0the new policy of private rooms for all ortho patients will leave me, I hope,\u00c2\u00a0with time\u00c2\u00a0to write some blogs, do some smocking\u00c2\u00a0and read some good books.<\/p>\n
According to my surgeon, the knee\u00c2\u00a0replacement was routine and “almost boring,” which is good from his perspective. As I raised my eyebrows at this comment, he reminded me that no\u00c2\u00a0patient wants her surgery to stand out in the doctor’s memory.\u00c2\u00a0Of course, as the person whose leg was at the other end of the bone saw, I would have to say that this particular\u00c2\u00a0 surgery is quite memorable.<\/p>\n
I have met some lovely people, \u00c2\u00a0each with an interesting personality and personal story.\u00c2\u00a0 One such person is Carole, a very caring, dedicated hospital nurse.\u00c2\u00a0 I brought all my own pillows, with embroidered pima cotton pillowcases so they could be easily identified as mine.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Carole, probably around 55 years old, \u00c2\u00a0commented that she too had a\u00c2\u00a0sewing\/embroidery machine but she was going to sell it.\u00c2\u00a0 She had never gone for\u00c2\u00a0the lessons and had never sewn a seam, nor\u00c2\u00a0stitched out \u00c2\u00a0a single embroidery–she just didn’t have time.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Women sew for a lot of reasons, but I sew because\u00c2\u00a0I must<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 I suspect that is true of most of you readers.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve heard from ladies who have no little ones to sew for, so they make clothing for foster children or for sick babies in the hospital\u00c2\u00a0or for their friends’ children or grandchildren. \u00c2\u00a0These \u00c2\u00a0are all busy women, women\u00c2\u00a0with jobs and homes and husbands and yards to care for.\u00c2\u00a0 But they sew.\u00c2\u00a0 Because they must<\/em>.<\/p>\n I have given a lot of thought\u00c2\u00a0to\u00c2\u00a0Carole’s comment. I suspect that if she were not a nurse, if she\u00c2\u00a0lived alone in a condo, \u00c2\u00a0she still would not\u00c2\u00a0sew.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just not in her heart to do so.\u00c2\u00a0 I hope she finds something that she must <\/em>do, something for which she develops a real passion.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0Maybe it is nursing, but if she went to the trouble and expense of buying a top-of -the-line combo machine,\u00c2\u00a0it seems there is some void that she is trying to fill, even at this time\u00c2\u00a0in her life.<\/p>\n The flip side of her story came from Cynda, a 20 year old CNA (certified nursing assistant). She, too, is caring and dedicated to her job.\u00c2\u00a0 When I asked her why she does this for a living (one of my standard\u00c2\u00a0getting-to-know-you questions), she gave me\u00c2\u00a0 the same answer that Carole did, “because\u00c2\u00a0I like helping people.”<\/p>\n When I asked Cynda what she does for fun, I expected she would say clubbing, or running or shopping. But I soon realized that I had grossly underestimated her.\u00c2\u00a0 This lovely, lithe black beauty with perfect nails, hair and make up\u00c2\u00a0replied, “Write.\u00c2\u00a0 I love to write.”\u00c2\u00a0 I asked\u00c2\u00a0what\u00c2\u00a0she liked to write–\u00c2\u00a0short stories, poems, a novel?\u00c2\u00a0 She replied, “Short stories, essays, poetry.\u00c2\u00a0 I want to\u00c2\u00a0write all the time.\u00c2\u00a0 Even when I come home from work and\u00c2\u00a0I am tired (they work 12 hour shifts), I write poetry for a little while.\u00c2\u00a0 I just have to express myself.”<\/p>\n Cynda has found her passion and so\u00c2\u00a0have\u00c2\u00a0we.\u00c2\u00a0 I hope some day Carole finds hers, or she might need a different kind of therapy than I am getting here.<\/p>\n Happy sewing to all,<\/p>\n Janice<\/p>\n “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive.\u00c2\u00a0 And then go and do that.\u00c2\u00a0 Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 ~Attributed to Howard Thurman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Friends, I’m at the rehab facility, checked in by admissions, checked\u00c2\u00a0out by physical therapy and settled into\u00c2\u00a0my private room.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0After \u00c2\u00a0my first knee surgery,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 rehab had me paired with a delightful, \u00c2\u00a0interesting\u00c2\u00a0 80 year-old roommate and we talked most of … Continue reading