I have bad knees.
They often ache, don’t like standing for long periods, often refuse to bend tightly, and on occasion complain loudly about kneeling. Why?
In reality, it’s because my knees are as old as I am, and they have carried too much weight most of their lives. I also think there’s some genetic predisposition going on here, as both sisters have similar issues.
However, I find it more satisfying to blame the nuns at my high school. Like most Catholic high schools of the era, we had to wear uniforms, consisting of white blouses, blazers, pleated skirts, knee socks, and saddle shoes (in a unique design of navy blue & grey). I distinctly remember waiting for the bus after school in the middle of a western New York winter. Between the bottom of the rolled-up skirt and the top of the knee socks, my knees were a bright red. When the wind blew, the wool skirt hitting my knees felt like knives slicing against them. This couldn’t have been good, and couldn’t have done my joints any favors. (Ooohhhhh, perhaps my sisters did the same thing and it’s the nuns’ fault that we ALL have bad knees, as opposed to my parents’ genes!)
Regardless of the cause I believe I have some wear/use issues to the cartilage in my left knee and arthritis in both knees. I try to take care of them by daily walking, regular yoga, and routine applications of a wonderful product called Flower Power For Pain made by my herbalist friend, Anne Romance, of Green Heron Gardens. (Anne doesn’t have a website, but you can read a little bit about her here – scroll down to near the bottom of the page for her mini-bio.)
Then the other day I had a big DUH moment. Like a “physician, heal thyself†sort of thing, although I’m no doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But why, oh, why hadn’t I made myself a talisman to help my aching knees?
So I did my research and made one. I’ve just started carrying it. Check back in a few days and I’ll tell you all about my new talisman. I’ll also give you some periodic updates about how my knees feel now that I’m using it.
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