When I was a baby The Knees were small too, cute, fat and dimply. They were soft and pliable.
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| Baby knees, innocent, unaware |
Before long they were helping me to travel as I crawled everywhere. Soon I learned to walk and climb stairs. There were The Knees, they helped my little legs bend and they carried my chubby load.
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Concentration & The Knees help me scale these stairs.
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| Falling & getting up, that is just a part of the job of The Knees |
They were there when I learned to ride my bike and skate. They held me up, when as a skateboarder, I flew down the high hills of my neighborhood, around un-level sidewalks, broken by earthquakes. They were there, unnoticed, unless they became scrapped, just helping me do all the things kids do. I would fall down and they helped me to get up with ease. I even got tapped by a moving car on one of The Knees but nothing would stop them.
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| Scrapped & cut, The Knees rarely complained through my learning years. |
As grew, I was called a Tomboy, I would jump from the roof of our house to the ground. I would leap from the swing into the wading pool. Who was there to aide my landings - The Knees!
As a teenager I played sports a little in school. I was a center on the basketball team. Center's jump for that ball, thank you to The Knees. And Volleyball, there they were again, supporting me as I made a serve or had to get under a ball! But my favorite sport was the running broad jump. In running broad jump is important to make sure you (1) land on your feet (2) don't fall backwards. Again, The Knees knew just what I needed them to do. Without complaint!
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| I can no longer get in this position, not without pain anyway. |
As I got older The Knees carried me everywhere, to the swimming pool, to school, to the library, to the park. Before I could drive, it was me and The Knees. Then I started having children and adding that baby weight, but The Knees didn't mind. They were strong and could carry the load.
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| My father would remind me, I would never be Miss America with my scared up legs & knees. |
Ah, my little children, how would I have raised them without the help of The Knees. Carrying around baby and all his gear was quite a strain but The Knees, they NEVER failed me. Before we knew it there 4 little runny noses to wipe, down I would go, resting upon one of The Knees. I did it so much that for years I was wearing out the right knee in every pair of pants I owned. And they were jeans, not slacks. I would get down on The Knees and crawl and play with the kids, I would run around bases or run after them to catch them when they did something bad.
The Knees, they never complained then. They let me do whatever I needed to do without even a whimper. One day the last of the babies went to school and my running around curtailed a lot. That is when I first started gaining weight. Oh Mr. Sciatic Nerve complained! He wouldn't even let me stand up sometimes, but not The Knees, they carried on. Pound after pound went onto my body but the good old Knees persevered.
As you know, with every good weight gain comes a good weight loss. Up and down, up and down, through the years. The Knees stuck with me. On good days at the gym, they would help me to push that leg lift with 240#s of dead weight. They were funny though, although they didn't mind a nice bench press they hated squats. And the despised the Elliptical Machine, they even began to avoid the bike. It was then when the complaining started. And the weight and the weights went up and down.
There was the time Tiffany the dog tripped me, down I went, falling upon both of The Knees. I was sure I crushed them, oh they complained, loudly for a while, but the recovered and I went on to climb stairs and walk distances and do leg presses. Oh and gain weight and lose it.
Suddenly, a few years ago The Knees, they began to complain a little more often, a little louder. Sometimes it would be a gnawing, annoying whine. Usually it was just one of The Knees, but more and more it became both. Then there would be weeks where they didn't say a word, just did their duty, carrying around my ever increasing girth. And there were the screams, oh, the screams.
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| The Knees. What a wonderful machine! It is the body that convinces me there is a God. |
A few months ago The Knees began to nag, even when they lifted me off the seat of a chair. And then one of them began to cry almost all the time. I bought it the most expensive lotions, I massaged it, I would apply ice to sooth the pain and even take medication, just to help it feel better. Finally, I had to change chairs so that The Knees could lift Big Fat Butt up a little easier.
My body no longer works together like a well nourished machine. Big Fat Butt and Patella Buster Belly hate The Knees. Patella Buster Belly, because it is nothing but a parasite, hates The Knees the most. Patella Buster Belly KNOWS it doesn't belong here. Big Fat Butt serves a purpose under that fat layer, but Patella Buster Belly has no good reason for being there other than it HATES me and The Knees.
Patella Buster Belly wasn't always so large and unruly, but it has been there for quite a few years. In fact, at first it was barely noticeable if it were covered with clothes. Now 40 years since it took hold over my womb and with the all trips up and down the weight ladder, it decided that these bones of mine made a pretty good rack to hang onto and Patella Buster Belly started to grow, like a yeast loaf. Oh yes, I have vowed to Patella Buster Belly that I would cut it off, detach it from my bones and have it tossed into the trash, but it laughed at me. That is only for the rich and it knew that at this point, no matter what I do, it will be with me in some shape or form until I die. And it hates The Knees. Patella Buster Belly is bent on destroying The Knees. It is destroying the knees.
I apologize to you, The Knees, my knees, I didn't know I was destroying you. I NEED you still. I want to be around a long time, I want to walk that entire time. And so, I promise to fight Big Fat Butt and especially Patella Buster Belly. I promise to stop neglecting that band of Merry Muscles - the Thigh. I will re-strengthen them so they can help you, my friends, The Knees, and so they can protect The Hips (oh The Hips, I can't even tell you what I did to them!).
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| I have athletic thighs, they are excellent tools! |
Dear God, I was wrong, I took for granted the gifts you gave me that are encased in this skin of mine. I abused it all, each and every minute cell. I was wrong, I hope it isn't too late to correct the damage. But you know me God, I need your help. The Flesh is weak...In Jesus Name - Amen. ME
