A hardened spine: softened life

Friday one could not much avoid the news but it seemed even more distant than usual. I was on hospital time. My mom had 4 vertebrae cemented, or glued or plasticized -I'm not really sure. Unlike my younger self I don't even ask. All I needed to know was would there be much recovery time? No. Little enough anathesia that she only seemed mildly drunk for an hour or so. Naturally nothing started on time, but I was determined to still make it out of town by 7 -and we did. We left my mother with my daughter and eldest, grabbed the youngest and went to... Grandma's house.
 We did check on the cats. We did pick up laundry and look for things Grandma wanted and measure for new windows in the garage. With a friend and her younest to keep us company we also swam and sat... and sat some more.  Our life is so hard. This is the sky as seen from the middle of the river with a good breeze.
 After 4 days I can say the kyphoplasty procedure was a success. She is now merely miserable some of the time, 94 all of the time, and in agony none of the time as far as we can tell.  I've run into at least 4 people who have a family member who just had or will have the same done. It's nice to know that for once my mom is in with the in crowd. My clever husband has decided when I turn 70 (that really isn't in the immediate future) I should just go in and have my whole spine reinforced just in case.
Then I can lie on my back and stare at the sky some more.  For another 24 years?  Only if the drugs are better.