My Cane

When I first had my hip surgery I was dependent on a walker.  Within a week I graduated to a cane and I still use a cane most of the time.  Canes can be great and canes can be a pain in the a$$.  Today, between 9 and noon I lost my cane and it was a pain in the a$$. Without a cane I looked in every room of my house 4 times, on both levels.  I remember taking it downstairs to do laundry and then it got lost.  I searched and searched behind doors, under tables and inside closets. I tend to put it in corners because it falls to the ground if I don't.  A good friend came to visit me and I told her I couldn't find my cane.  She asked me what it looked like.  Before I could finish the sentence describing my cane it leapt into my view.  There it was leaning against the kitchen table and a kitchen chair.  Darn thing!  I walked past it 8 times before I saw it.  This old cane has history.  I really would hate to loose it because it has come with me to Africa, to Australia, to the east coast, to the west coast, and many other places.  I love the cane and hate the cane at the same time.  Now I am using it more than ever before.  When I come in from outside I change my shoes so don't track slush into the house.  Unless I wipe off my cane I have round spots of slush left on the floor.  One day I used it to break the ice in the chicken water bowl on a cold day.  When I came in I almost fell because a cube of ice formed on the tip of the cane.  This ice was solid and could not be wiped off.  I ended up limping to the kitchen sink and melting the ice off the cane tip with hot water. A cane can be a pain inside the house but even worse out in public.  Getting out of the car is difficult between holding the cane, my mittens and my car keys much less a bag or a book.  I have to watch for ice where I step and also where I place my cane. At a sales counter there is no place to hook a cane and keep it from sliding to the floor.  At the grocery store I can set it in the cart and that is helpful. On the other hand, when my library books fell to the floor of the passenger seat, I used my cane to bring them back within reach without breaking my bending restrictions.  I have gotten pretty good at picking up socks, underwear, blankets, and pillows off the floor. All these tiny complaints are miniscule in the bigger scheme of things.  Once this hip heals I probably won't need to use a cane for years; possibly decades.  I heard it is bad juju to get rid of equipment like canes.  If I sell the cane or give it away I will need a cane again sooner than if I just retire it to a closet.  In a few weeks I hope to put this cane in a closet for a long, long time.