Transition Tales / Real stories from regular people about the inevitable changes of life: Chronicles of an Empty Nester.
After a couple of months with both of the kids out of the house, silence has become the new normal. Well... it would be silent if one of us were trying a little harder. They say that opposites attract, and, in our case, I like to use the analogy that a cat married a dog. The cat is sleek and smooth, gliding stealthily throughout the house on his catspaws, never causing a creak or a crunch. Shannon, on the other hand, is like one of those puppies where the feet are too big and everybody says, "Oh, she is going to be huge! Just look at those feet!" Shannon galumphs through the house as you would expect a puppy to do, never meeting a door or a drawer too big to slam. Phone conversations in the back of the house can easily be heard in the front of the house at the volume she barks. But you know what? The noise is okay because there are no kids here that we have to worry about waking up.The last year that our home was childless was 1995. A couple decades have passed since then, but so far the transition to empty-nesting has been pretty smooth. Our brains strain to remember those days when it was just the two of us, but somehow we recall getting along pretty well. We also notice that we have more free time. With all of her free time, Shannon decided that now would be a good time to open up a new business. Shannon is a physical therapist by trade, but she decided to try niche-ing herself and opened up her own practice specializing in pelvic floor physical therapy. "Pelvic floor" is a very polite way to say butts and hoohas. Personally, I would not want that kind of intimacy with those particular body parts, but she is a healer and is having amazing successes.
I, on the other hand, decided that, with my free time, perhaps I was ready to start training again for some running races. I had knee surgery about four years ago, but that felt like the distant past, and I had run many miles since recovering without any ill effect. With my mind made up, I treated myself to a brand new pair of running shoes and began to train. The new shoes felt delightful, but it was not very long before I felt a twinge in an old familiar place. I am used to running while hurt, so I just noted the jolt in my knee and kept on plugging away. Soon though, my knee said, "Whoa, Buddy... you need to chill for a minute here." There were no races on my schedule yet, so I figured I could just walk for a while until the twinge went away. The twinge chose not to go away.
I made an appointment with my orthopedist who, in turn, set me up for an MRI. A week later he read me the results.
"You see this white thing that looks like an explosion? That is a stress fracture. You see this bump over here? That is a bone bruise. You see this jagged edge over here? That is a cartilage tear."
Now, I am no rocket surgeon, but I could see where this conversation was going. He gave me a running death sentence. "Oh! And by the way," he added, "you need to stop walking for exercise too. Stay off your knee as much as possible, and in two months, we'll do another MRI to check your progress."
Well, that was certainly a figurative kick in the butt. Walking is just about the easiest exercise I can think of Even babies can do it, and now it has been banned from my fitness routine. I am already imagining how I will be that guy you see on the beach that always skips "leg day" at the gym.
I am definitely not happy with this month's transition from runner to used-to-be-a-runner. But they say that a big part of healing is believing that you will heal, so for now, pass me the placebo pill and let me believe this is just temporary. I'll report back.
by Brian Dutter
Guest Writer
Brian Dutter, a recovering runner and father of two kids that grew up too fast, was born in New Jersey and currently resides in Santa Barbara, California. He is forever open to learning new things with his adventure partner and wife of 25 years, Shannon.
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Author: | Dutter, Brian |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Nutrition Health Review |
| Geographic Code: | 1USA |
| Date: | Dec 22, 2018 |
| Words: | 752 |
| Previous Article: | BRAIN SCANS OF DIETERS PREDICT WEIGHT-LOSS SUCCESS. |
| Next Article: | American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) Release New Cholesterol Guidelines. |
| Topics: | |