Friday, November 2, 2007

horses, dirt bikes, vicodin, and other things

Where shall I begin?

As you can see by the previous entry, I hung out with a five-year-old yesterday.  Nathaniel is a natural-born comedian; I wish I'd taken notes so I could tell you some of the hilarious things he said and did, but alas, my aging mind can't remember all of them.  And the things I do recall wouldn't be as funny in the re-telling... you know, the sort of things where "You'd have to be there". 

I don't spend time with many small children these days, and I had forgotten the tender side of a little child's nature.  Nathaniel was walking alongside me when it was almost time for us to leave and spontaneously reached up and took my hand as we strolled.  I guess just because we'd had such a good time playing. 



Here you see him showing me his "Pa-pa's" calf.



Cracking walnuts...



and hamming it up for the camera.

Cliff and I got home in time to nap in our Lazy-boys in front of the TV during Law and Order reruns, before he went to work.   It's our routine:  we call it "Watching TV", but very little watching gets done.

When I recently got a tooth pulled, I was given a prescription for Vicodin, which I filled; it only cost me a couple of bucks, and that way I was covered if pain set in... which it did not.

When I ride Blue, my right knee gives me some fairly intense pain, especially after an  hour or so on the horse.  It's been bothering me when we go for our daily walk, too, although we've slowed down some, so it's still "do-able".  Anyhow, those twelve pills were sitting in their little bottle just above eye-level as I sat here at my computer desk, and a couple of days ago, I asked myself:  "Would one or two of those pills do anything for my knee pain?"

Don't worry, folks; I'm not going to go ask for more Vicodin for my knees.  But I hate to let anything go to waste, and by george, they did ease the pain!  Yesterday I went on the longest horseback ride in ages.  I won't say it was totally pain-free, but the  pain was at a more tolerable level.  In fact, after I put Blue away I saddled Libby.

As I was getting her ready to ride, a young fellow who lives up the road came roaring up our drive on his very noisy four-wheeler, looking for the grandson; I suggested he take his vehicle back to the road, since I was getting ready to work with my filly and she's spooked by things like that.  He complied.  I didn't know where the grandson was; his pickup was sitting in its usual spot, alongside his friend's truck; and the shop was open.

So I took Libby to the round pen, where she absolutely did great.  The farrier, Randy, pulled up and parked within sight of the pen.  He had an appointment with the folks who board their horses here.  I took Libby out of the pen and kept riding.  She was calm as could be, and I rode her around the two lots for at least a half-hour.  Randy commented on how well she was doing.

That's when I heard dirt bikes approaching... and so did Libby.  I turned her in circles to keep her from running off, trying to dismount at the same time.  My grandson and his friend turned off their dirt bikes just in time to see me land on my back.  No, Libby didn't throw me.  I'm just not well-coordinated enough to gracefully dismount a horse that's spinning in circles, so as I set foot on the ground trying to hang onto my horse, I lost my balance and more or less laid down.

The minute the bikes were off, Libby was fine, and I got back on her and rode for another few minutes.  I'm no worse for the wear from that particular incident.

However:  that vicodin eased the pain, which allowed me to do more riding yesterday.  But today my knee feel the effects of all that extra activity.  God gives us pain for a purpose:  to keep us from doing things our body has no business doing!

Yep, I'll take the rest of the pills on days of high activity.  No, I won't be getting another prescription.  Yes, I do have an appointment with the orthopedist.  I scheduled it last week, when I decided the increased knee pain is starting to cut into everything I enjoy doing:  horseback riding, motorcycle-riding, and taking walks. 

Oh, the grandson sold his dirt bike last night for $200 more than he had invested in it.  He said it was too much bike for him anyhow.

AND...
I  just remembered:  I like to mention something for which I'm thankful each day of November, right up through Thanksgiving.

Today I'm thankful for the great day I had yesterday, and especially for a little boy reaching up to hold my hand.


15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your pictures were good. Glad you didn't get hurt bad when the mishap occured with Libby. Nice that you enjoyed the time spent with the little boy. He is so cute. Helen

Anonymous said...

OK....tear time.  I'm love little children and the sweetness they bring to life.  

Anonymous said...

Nathaniel is a cutie pie, I'm glad that you're none the worse for wear after your fall.  Libby is doing so well.  Vicki

Anonymous said...

Children keep you young, help you to remember what it was like. He seems very sweet..love that he reached to hold your hand...very sweet. :)

Anonymous said...

I have knee problems too but since I lost a lot of weight it is not so bad. I have a bottle of "Mobic" for arthritus pain and seldom take it but if my knee flares up, I take one for a few days and it settles right down again.  I lost my mother 2 weeks ago and while I am certainly sad she is gone, I am thankful I had her for so long.

Anonymous said...

 MY BOYS AT THE AGE OF FIVE WERE A GREAT ENJOYMENT.       sam

Anonymous said...

Vicodin has really helped with my knee pain, too....  I have to take it every day though.... I suck up the pain for as long as I can, but when I'm hurting pretty bad, it sure helps....

~Amy

Anonymous said...

I took Vicodin for back pain and it really helps me. I keep an RX here just in case because it can get aggravated with my type of work. Sometimes advil or aleve just isn't enough at night!
Love the story of that little boy holding your hand. The little ones are so innocent and loving.
Have a good day today...and be careful!
Pam

Anonymous said...

I've never taken Vicodin..  I can't stand the fuzzy way those kind's of drugs make my head feel.  I'm weird.  I stick with Motrin.  Luckily for me, it generally does the trick.

What a wonderful day you had, and I love the way you put it all into perspective..

Hugs
Jackie

Anonymous said...

Funny... I used to keep the pain pills I got from all the oral surgeries I had (wisdom teeth extractions).  I would hord them for months...even years for those days when other things hurt worse than my teeth ever did.  I recently came across a bottle with 2 percocet that expired 10 years ago. Hee hee!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're okay after your little spill.  I bet you are also thankful that you grandson sold his dirt bike.  Am I right?  That is so sweet about Nathaniel holding your hand.  It's the smallest things that mean sooo much!  You had better get that knee seen about.  I hope that it feels much better soon.

Hollie

Anonymous said...

Its always fun to have a child around that is well behaved. Looks like Nathaniel was just that, fun and well behaved. Glad you weren't hurt in the fall. Paula

Anonymous said...

Don't we wish that more "afults" were as sweet as a little child?
love ya,
carlene

Anonymous said...

Your great-nephew looks sweet and sounds like a sweet little boy.  I'm glad the vicodin did help, and maybe the otho doc will be able to help you with the knee pain in the future.  Glad you didn't get seriously hurt when coming off Libby!
Lori

Anonymous said...

Well, that was an eventful day and I love that the little boy reached up to hold your hand.  I could feel the warmth of his little hand slipping in to my hand just reading that.  I'm so happy my children are mostly grown, but I miss the spontaneous moments with the little ones.