I wish I could start writing again, but right now that seems like a thankless task. Do you really want my opinion about any of the topics on my exhaustive (and exhausting!) list?

1. COVID 19 and the next booster shot (and the next?)
2. COVID and the new variant – to mask or not to mask.
3. The Ukraine.
4. Putin’s state of mind.
5. Biden’s statement that Putin cannot stay in power. Isn’t that what everyone is thinking?
6. The Academy Awards.
7. The Slap Heard Round the World.
8. The stock market roller coaster.
9. Virginia Thomas.
10. Our former president’s role in the January 6th insurrection.   
11. Gas price increases
12. Food and restaurant prices.
13. Out of control inflation.
14. Global warming.
15. Subway safety.
16. Gun violence.
17. World War III.
18. Diversity AND Fairness.
19. The Weather.

Is there anything I can say about these colossally depressing subjects that you haven’t already heard or read about ad nauseam? Here’s my antidote to useless rumination. I try to focus on my world and autism issues because often I can find a silver lining, sliver of hope, or a soupcon of humor.

But now my personal issues are neither compelling nor inspiring. Who wants to hear about the abrupt arrival of old age? Or the debilitating aches and pains that come after 65?

As it happens, I can’t spend longer than half an hour writing about my life because I can’t sit still for long. The cyst on my spine has grown back only 8 months after surgical removal and is pressing on my sciatic nerve AGAIN. The regrowth of synovial cysts only happens 15% of the time and it turns out I’m one of the unlucky ones.

What will I do? I better keep this short for your benefit and mine.

My options are limited:

1.Repeat the same back surgery with probably the same result (Horrifying!).

2. Repeat the back surgery and add spinal fusion to the mix. (Even more horrifying!).Or try a third steroid injection (two already failed) but add PRP—a relatively new procedure—to heal the disk and possibly protect the area from    irritation and a third cyst, thus avoiding surgery.

Needless to say, none of these are very appealing options.

For now, I’m wearing my husband’s old back brace when I try to take dance class.  Think Zumba in a straitjacket.  Meantime, Howard has been taking power walks in my knee brace (leftover from my early 50s when I was bothered by arthritis). Is this what older married couples do? Take turns wearing each other’s orthopedic braces and talking about our aches and pains?

Okay, no more (for now). I promise.