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NUTS! to the charge that we PWP are lazy. Thank you, Margie, and AMEN. George 63/15 and counting. >David, Charlie, and listfriends - > >Your discussion of frustration with loss of the ability to do what you once >did gives me the opportunity to say a public thank you and an "atta boy" to >my husband, Dick (52/15). We're remodeling our house once again, and I >admire his perseverence in doing as much as he can do of it himself. This is >the 7th house we've remodeled, and the third remodeling on this house. As >you might imagine, it's something we've been doing for years. As you can >also imagine, every bit of it is a lot harder for Dick than it used to be. >This time, for the record, we've paid plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and >sheetrockers to come in and do the bulk of the work. But we've done some of >the carpentry ourselves, and some of the sheetrock, and Dick started >painting today. He'll end up repainting all the hallways and several rooms. > Then he or we will cut and fit the moldings. > >Although his balance isn't good, he did fine up on the ladder working on >ceilings and other high places. If he lost his balance, he could always >catch himself against the wall. His doctor had to bite his tongue to keep >from telling him to stay off ladders, and just warned him instead to be very, >very careful. I wished afterward I'd reminded the doctor that he'd probably >had 10 falls up the stairs in the past couple of weeks, versus 0 falls off >the ladder! > >Like the rest of you, Dick is frustrated by what he can't do anymore. He >found he can't plaster (or so he says - hmmm....), and has difficulty >hammering or scraping. In fact, any repetitive back-and-forth movement is >difficult to impossible. But he has learned that an electric screwdriver >works well for him, so he screws things instead of nailing them. Or I can >always pound the nails for him. I do all the ceramic tile work on walls and >floors, but I've always done that, so that's no change. > >This was longer than I intended (as always), but the last thing I want to say >is that Dick was sure he couldn't do any of this work anymore until he tried >it. Once he tried it, he found there was a lot he could still do, even if he >had to adapt his methods and have much shorter work days. I know he feels >good about what he has accomplished, and I want him to know how proud I am of >him both for the effort and for his accomplishments. > >Margie Swindler [log in to unmask]