Snap, Crackle & Pop!

At night when all is quiet in my house and I begin to use the handrails to pull myself upstairs to my bedroom, I hear it loud and clear. Snap, Crackle & Pop! Snap, Crackle & Pop! I'm not talking about Rice Crispy's either. This is the sound of the inside of almost all the joints in my body, especially my knees. I use to have good knees, somewhere over the years I ignored my little aches, pains, snaps, crackles & pops. I contributed those things to working out with weights, running for physical fitness, repetitive tactical movements, the impact of a 60 pound K9 throwing itself into you during attack training, getting pregnant, shipboard life and getting older. I say older, because then I didn't think I was that old, as a matter of fact I am not that old...but "It" makes me feel like an 80 yr old woman that can barley move at times. Today, the best way to describe my knee pain is to imagine walking and all of a sudden some crazy person decides to stab you right under your knee caps with an ice pick and then decides to pull it out and shove it in again with a side twist! This occurs when ever I try to do anything in which my weight is required to be supported by my knees. (Hence, the "Plop.") Oh ya. Whom ever thought that squats and lunges were cool exercise to do must have been high on some form of illegal narcotics. I no longer squat/lunge for anything! Nada! Out of all my joints, my knees, feet/ankles, lower back and neck are the worst. They wrestle with each other, playing tag-team to see which one will get the best of me throughout the day. I have to admit, most of the time they beat me down good. I counter attack with exercise, limited by what "It" allows me to do, no high impact what so ever. The doctors tell me exercise will help make me feel better and ease the pain. They have one part right so far, I feel better I have continued to push myself to exercise, at least it lets me know I'm not dead, I'm still waiting on the "ease the pain" part. While I'm waiting, and as I walk through the silence of my house everynight, I'll continue to listen to the rythmatic sounds of my unique Snap, Crackle & Pop as another reminder I have "It."

Definition of a "Plop"

Webster's Version: Plop: an intransitive verb; to allow the body to drop heavily -usually down

My Version: a comfortable way to avoid the sharpe pain in my knee joints caused by "It" when lowering my body to a seated position; a moment to recharge physical energy; or how I get on the toilet to take my morning "pee" after I get moving from my morning "limp" Lol!

Today is Friday. I always look forward to Fridays! After a week of juggling the schedules of four children, basketball, dance, medical appointment's, mandatory military functions, work meetings, physical therapy, physical fitness (yuck), grocery store runs, vehicle gas ups, lawn care, house maintenance, house work, haircuts, beauty shops, summer camps, runs back to the grocery store, dinner, baths, bedtime and the most horrific task of all..getting through rush hour traffic to be on time for all of the above. (As I heard on of my co-workers say, "I'd rather set my hair on fire and put it out with a steel hammer!) On Fridays, I know it will be an opportunity for me to find a comfortable place in the house to "plop" and attempt to recover from a hectic week. I say attempt because each weekend I play catch up on the things I was not able to make a priority during the week because "It" just did not leave me with the energy I needed to get it all done.
During this attempt, I walk straight over to the right of our big ol sectional couch, that is my spot, "Mom's Spot", take my uniform blouse off and drop it in the floor. This is where I think I have a compulsive disorder or something. I look at my blouse on the floor, think about picking it up, because I know it needs to be picked up, but I leave it there anyway as my way of saying screw it, it can wait, trying to convince myself there are more important things to get done like plopping myself down, yep you guessed it, I end up picking it up so I don't have to do it later and throw it onto the staircase hoping one of the kids will put it into the laundry. Floor -vs- staircase...what is the difference? I can't see the creepy looking mound sitting in front of me all balled up if it is on the staircase, therefore, I won't pick it up until later. I know the kids will go by it 100 times and it won't bother them..hummm...weird kids, or maybe it's me? Finally, finally, finally I get to "plop!" What a wonderful sigh of relief, the cushions are so soft and bear huggable, cool against my head and neck. I put my feet up on the ottoman, combat boots still on, I just hate bending down to get them off, it's easier to wait until I go upstairs to change all my cloths at once, turn on the television and within five minutes I have my little one pouncing on the couch next to me begging for a snack or something. I don't let her on my lap much anymore, her little limbs pressing against my body intensifies the pain I already have from "It." Well, my peaceful "plop" is over!!!! Throughout the weekend, I find those 5 to 10 minute "plop" sessions help me relax and gain just enough energy to make it through the next demand. Having "It" makes you realize, you have to take things one at a time or your body shuts down, I'm still in a denial phase, or maybe an I hate "It" phase...this is the most difficult for me. I don't like it, I push myself and "It" quickly reminds me with chronic body pain and stiffness that I will slow down, but who has the time for that???? My best guess...Me.