There’s Gonna Be Some Changes Made

by Jackie Deal

Yeah, I’ve already started some of those changes. I’ve moved the kitty’s litter box! What? you ask. Why? Well, it’s like this: I have arthritis in both hips! Bending over, reaching around the foot of the bed to clean the litter box is a —rhymes with witch!

Now, cats don’t like changes (so I’m told) especially to their litter boxes. Think about it: you rush into the bathroom and there’s no toilet! How would you feel?

ASAP. I’m going to have bilateral hip arthroplasty. In every-day-speak that’s both hips are going to be replaced. Hip replacement, so they tell me, is the easiest of the common joint replacements. Easy? We’ll see. In the meantime I’m trying to make some beneficial changes; be pro-active, as they say. (BTW, who’s this “they” we’re always quoting?)

Bending over is supposed to be a no-no. Hence, the repositioning of the litter box. However, to clean the litter box without bending? I’d have to put the thing up on a stool. Do you think Amber (my cat) would go for that? That reminds me of a tourist attraction in a small mountain village in, I believe, Canada. The original privy on the mountain side hung out about 20 feet above the creek. Yes, the original no flush, direct deposit toilet!

But back to the changes we’ve got to make. No bending at the hip beyond 90 degrees. For those of us mathematically challenged that’s like the angle of the letter L. When you put your socks and shoes on, check the angle. Uh huh, more than 90. Okay, I can go sockless even though I hate the squishy feeling of sweaty feet bare-naked in shoes. However, it’s winter so maybe it won’t be too bad. Not squishy, just cold. And backless clog-like shoes? I’ve never worn them, always afraid I’d fall out. Time to try them.

Driving a car? Not for a while. Talk about being grounded. Might as well pluck the wings off a fly. The biggest change? I’m giving up “snow birding”. Forever more I shall be an Oregonian. (Pass the Kleenex) I’ve loved being an AZ-oregonian. Six months here, six months there. But the time has come. It’s called “life transitions” or “phases of change”. We all go through them: willingly or fighting and kicking, gracefully or bullishly. And while each phase appears formidable: life moves on. According to the Chinese proverb “Don’t push the river, it flows by itself.” In other words, the river flows on and so must you.

To paraphrase slightly:
“I’m gonna change my way of livin’
Change the way I strut my stuff.
There’ll be some changes made today.”