My big 5th grader August 7, 2009

   My daughter just called to breathlessly tell me she got the teacher she wanted and that her two best friends in the whole world (keep in mind these names change daily) are in her class and that she’s so excited to start school Monday and (take breath) that she and Daddy are getting barbeque to celebrate.  I have a huge smile on my face while listening to this because for weeks she has been explaining to me the importance of having this particular teacher and these particular friends with her as she tackles her last year of elementary school. I’m thrilled for her I say, and then I need to have her pass the phone to Daddy because I’m getting choked up with the thought that our little girl is not so little and that soon, too soon, she’ll be in middle school and high school and then, gone. 

  Despite being about the same height as one grandmother and wearing contacts and deoderant, she’s still my baby sometimes. You know that great age where little girls are not yet young women and they will still allow you to hold them in your lap, to snuggle, to want to be picked up ‘like a baby?’  She’s still there and I’m holding onto it with everything I have.  Now don’t get me wrong, I look forward to knowing her as a young adult and watching as she matures and becomes her own woman. But I will miss that little girl so much.

   There’s a picture by our bed of her when she first came home from the hospital, maybe she’s two days old, and she’s staring right at the camera with the cutest frown in her brow, pouty lips and the biggest, bluest eyes you’ve ever seen.  I stare at this when I’m having trouble sleeping. I remember what she smelled like and sounded like and how she fit in your hands and I can’t believe that she and the girl asleep in her room are one in the same. And that the tiny baby who was so stubborn she came two weeks late became the toddler who traveled cross country twice so mommy could take new jobs became the little girl who was so bright we sent her to school early became this big girl.

    I want to tell her I’m proud of her, that she’s the love of our lives, and may this final year of elementary school be that wonderful combination of the innocence of being my little girl and the anticipation of being your own.

Hip Resurfacing August 4, 2009

    In this week’s health alert we discovered a fairly new treatment for young, active people who develop arthritis in their hips. At one time, a painful, arthritic hip meant a total hip replacement and a lot of time recuperating. With hip resurfacing, doctors shave away some bone and replace the joint. The pain associated with osteo-arthritis (the kind of arthritis we’re talking about) is caused by the bones rubbing together. The new joint, made of steel, is nice and smooth and no more pain. The best part for the man we featured in our story was that he was back to work in a couple of months. And he’s a firefighter so he’s active and on his feet a lot. He said he feels great since the surgery and that it feels so good to be free from that hip pain. Doctors say this type of repair is more common in young, active people who develop arthritis. Keep in mind though, the resurfacing work won’t last forever, so maybe in 20 or 30 years, you may need a new hip.