The Silver Lining

Remember that *rush* you felt, when you were 16, and you'd just passed your driving test?  That license -- still warm from the laminator -- fresh in your hand, gave you a new-found freedom.  You could DRIVE! I remember the day I got my license in 1972.  The examining officer in our town had a reputation for NEVER giving a 16-year-old a license on their first try.  I was nervous when my mom took me to the little white cinder-block building that served as the Highway Patrol Office.  Sure enough, there was Officer P. -- sitting at a cluttered desk, typing rapidly with his index fingers only -- which I thought was absolutely absurd, and stifled a giggle!  He growled at us to sit down and wait, he was busy.  I wiped the snicker off my face and did as he ordered.  Rat-a-tat-tat went the manual typewriter -- pounding on my 16-year-old nerves.  Then another officer came in the building.  He looked at me and my mom, smiled, then said, "Hey,...

I try to be upbeat and optimistic most of the time.  I poke fun at things to get a smile, even when things aren't necessarily "funny."  It's just my usual way of dealing with life's challenges. However, some weeks are not "usual" and somethings are not always humorous. Last week was one of those times. It started off on a high note -- my doctor had reduced my prednisone dosage by 10 mg.  I was really excited about that.  I have a love/hate relationship with prednisone.  While it has been a great medication to "prop me up" and get me moving, it has a lot of side effects that are not so pleasant.  For example, I feel like I am constantly vibrating inside, and my hands shake constantly. It makes me want to eat anything that is not nailed down.  Plus the long term side effects include bone loss, which is not a good thing to have either.  So I was really doing the happy dance to come down a peg on the dosage.  The tremors and vibration fee...