Today I watched Elton John perform in Golden Gate Park with my mom. My mom is not a huge concert goer, and is not especially fond of music festivals, but decided to make an exception for Elton.
When he started playing Saturday Night's Alright, her excitement became tangible. I'm not sure I've ever seen my mom dance like she did during those electric five minutes.
About four years ago my mom had knee-replacement surgery on both knees. The surgeon botched the surgery, and put one of the replacements in crooked. Her recovery was slow to the point of nonexistent, and finally, after struggling for nearly a year, she went under the knife again.
The damage from the first surgery not only left my mom without feeling in much of her affected leg, onset back pain, and other issues, it really damaged her psyche. My mom is a vibrant, lively person, who doesn't get slowed down by much, but the botched knee surgery brought her to a stop. Fortunately the second surgery managed to correct a lot of the damage, although her loss of feeling, among other issues, remained.
To see her years later, dancing harder than I was (and I dance hard), was inspiring. It was a good reminder that you can get through even the toughest times, and come out of the other side happy again. The human spirit is resilient, and my mom's is especially so.
That was fun! I'll make sure I am in good enough shape to dance at your wedding! Love you!
ReplyDelete