CHANGES

Impossible feats of yesterday that are possible for me today

 

Typing with two hands

Throwing the dog’s ball with my left hand

Putting my right arm into a sleeve without screaming

Holding a water glass in one hand while adjusting the tap with the other

 

The process of daily living is an intricate ballet where each limb plays a unique role.  How little do we appreciate its complexity!  Observing the return of physical function is like noticing that the birds are returning after a winter’s southern sojourn.  The arrivals on one day, heralded and left unrecorded, will be taken for granted the next day, forgotten in a blur of normal expectation. 

 

Impossible feats of last week that are possible this week

 

Standing upright without nausea

Forgetting to take a painkiller

Sleeping without the sling

Promising to be somewhere and believing that I mean it

 

Bill is officially retired, but he continues to work part time in the plaster room, casting broken bones.  Today he has dropped by unexpectedly to speed my recovery with the delivery of a loaf of freshly baked bread.  How amazing that he should arrive at the exact moment when I am calling a taxi for my maiden voyage to the office!  Taking on the role of taxi driver, he tells me about the people who shrink from the prospect of using the limbs he has repaired.  Perhaps it hurts too much, or maybe they are not troubled by a few dozen commitments that must either be abandoned or rescheduled.  All of it speaks to the value of seeing yourself as part of someone else’s future, to the value of having commitments.