Pins and Needles!

Welcome back to SOLO at SIXTY!

I hate needles. I mean, I REALLY hate needles. Worst part of giving birth 3 times? The IV. When I have to have blood drawn, I don’t look. I get a flu shot every year at work – never look. When my kids got their shots, I never looked. I bravely gave blood one time at work during a blood drive for a co-worker’s husband. I was doing pretty well until the person drawing my blood said, Wow your blood is really flowing. I made the mistake of looking, and then all of a sudden I said I don’t feel very well and all I heard was the Charlie Brown teacher saying Wah Wah Wah. Felt like I was under water looking up and realized my chair has been inverted and sweat was pouring out of me. How embarrassing! A fellow teammate threw a towel at me in sympathy and probably fear for herself – she was next.

“Don’t let your fear of what could happen make nothing happen.”

Early one morning last summer, I tripped on our downtown mall while running. I popped up and looked around frantically to make sure that no one had seen me. WHEW! Pride in tact, I checked to make sure nothing was broken – I have suffered 2 broken wrists from running – one in winter on ice, one in summer with heat – but with this fall I had basically landed on one hip bone. Since I was still in one piece, I continued with my run. When I got back to the gym and showered… OUCH!  I discovered I had scraped my knees, elbows, hands, and that one hip. Well… I continued running all summer and messed up my other hip. Turns out, I had been overcompensating to protect the injured hip (which healed nicely). I did not run as much last winter since it was so cold (and I am a wimp for cold weather), but once warm weather arrived, I got my mojo back and started running again. A lot. And probably overdid it with my hip. It never hurt while running, just after – walking, getting up, sitting down, generally moving. So my sports doctor diagnosed me with tendonitis and prescribed dry needling. Ever heard of it? Me neither. Just the mere mention of needles puts me in a stupor. But I wanted my hip to feel better so I agreed to give it a try. Luckily for me, our ACAC Physical Therapy Clinic (part of our fitness center) performs dry needling and I know the therapist. Dry needling is similar to acupuncture, only with much longer needles going ALL THE WAY into your muscles. I had six of these inserted directly into the muscle of my hip… with no numbing ahead of time. Electrodes were then attached to the needles for 15 minutes of treatment. Evidently, you have chemicals in your muscles that, when traumatized (as in overcompensating while running), clog up. They get knots. Dry needling breaks these knots up and get your muscles working in tandem again. And it’s working for me! Did it hurt? Well, yes and no. I did not scream, but I definitely gritted my teeth, and I definitely did NOT look at the needles! Once the needles are in, it does not hurt. Plus, it gives me an opportunity to take a nap during the day. (Yes, I can sleep anywhere – dentist chair, doctor’s office, physical therapy table with long needles inserted into my hip…) I had another nap, I mean treatment, today, which makes three. Only a couple more to go and my hip should be back to normal with no pain.

You know, I have no memory of being afraid of needles as a kid. But then again, sometimes my memory fails. Maybe I was traumatized and it carried over into adulthood. I had originally wanted to be a nurse, but the needle thing was a problem. My younger sister is a nurse. A great nurse!

“Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.”  Doug Larson

“How much convincing would it take to get you to go to this with me?” This is the text my younger daughter sent me last week, along with a link to a 40th anniversary screening and sing-along for GREASE. DUH… no convincing at all! I told her I was game! Ever been to one of these Movie Party Sing-Alongs? Me either, but it was a blast! We had the best seats, and they gave us props to use throughout the movie – a tambourine, candy cigarettes, a comb, a glow stick, and a popper. We watched the movie and as each song was performed, the words appeared on the screen and we all sang along. Holy Cow – I saw this movie 40 years ago in the theater. And even bigger Holy Cow – I was in my junior year of college, had transferred to Wake Forest, and was working with the youth of our church and took a group of 14 year-olds to this movie. What was I thinking?!?! Watching it now, I realize there are a lot of inappropriate parts for a church group! But what fun this movie was (and is)! Great music, and oh John Travolta is so adorable with those blue eyes and dimple in his chin. And Olivia Newton John was so fun to watch. (Have to admit when I was young I thought she was part of a singing group – Olivia, Newt, and John.)

“I love those memories that make me smile no matter what is going on in my life right now.”

Did y’all have a good Father’s Day? Funny thing… after church this past Sunday, I had my picture taken again for our church directory, SOLO. Needed to replace that “couples picture” since “that couple” no longer exists. And we sang “Here I am Lord”… are you familiar with this hymn? Oh my, I cannot sing this hymn without tearing up. So many friends have shared the same sentiment with me.

“Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can’t.”  Johnny Depp

After church I decided to go see my younger daughter at one of my favorite spots – King Family Vineyard, since she was working. I guess I am becoming a regular out there! Her coworkers are so friendly and welcoming, and it was a beautiful day. KFV hosts polo matches every Sunday from May through October, so there was also a great crowd. As I watched all the families celebrating Father’s Day, I realized that I really don’t celebrate this holiday anymore. My older sister texted that she was spending Father’s Day doing what our dad would have loved to have been doing, and was probably doing in heaven – sitting on the beach enjoying the sunshine. I mean there has to be a beach in heaven right? Because on earth, the beach is the closest place to heaven for me.

“Life happens. Plans change. And all that matters is that you’re happy with where you’re headed.”

When my daughter got off of work, we went to see Oceans 8 which was GREAT! Would recommend this to everyone! By the way, I also saw Solo: A Star Wars Movie this week. I enjoyed it because I saw the original Star Wars movies and wanted to see how Han Solo evolved. Besides, I love the title: SOLO! haha! (And yes, that makes 3 movies I saw this week. Thank goodness for Movie Pass!)

Cannot end this blog without wishing my dearest college friends HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! They are celebrating 38 years of marriage tomorrow. What a great example they are setting for their 2 married children. Love you Lisa and Chet!

Find fun things to do and fun people to do them with. Enjoy life, every day, because as we all know, none of us is promised tomorrow.

Best,

Leslie