Pardon The Interruption

The title of today's posting is instantly recognizeable by you real sports fans out there. It's a daily sports talk show on ESPN at 4:30 P. M., CDT, and hosted by two actual newspaper sports columnists, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, both of The Washington Post. I'm borrowing it today to write about the aging process as we're experiencing it, and I ask the reader's pardon because few people really want to hear about anyone else's aging aches and pains.

About 2 hours ago, I dropped my wife off at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a business trip to Kalamazoo, MI, by way of Detroit. Again, she looked frail and somewhat lost, but she's going because she has to if she wants to keep her job. She had a rough weekend, the pain from her bursitis returning with a vengeance. Recently, she tried again to take her suitcase onto whichever airplane she was boarding to see if she could lift it into the overhead bin. She couldn't and had to ask for help, but it sufficiently strained the muscles in her chest to kick in the old ailment again.

In order for us to clean our slate and depart the frozen north, we recently calculated that she needs to work at least 2 1/2 more years. I'll be truly surprised if she makes it half that. And the frustration for me is that with my spinal condition, even though most of the pain has been relieved through medication, and with my oxygen deficit, I can't work. It's so hard to know that your spouse feels like hell, both physically and mentally, as you send her off on another stressful trip. If there are any of you out there who talk to a power greater than yourselves, please post a prayer for my wife who's giving her best to keep us afloat.

I'm glad that I've had recently several positive things to write about. I'm grateful for all the good we've experienced lately. But I feel so much for her situation, and I can do nothing. You have a good week, and I'll keep you up-to-date on all of it.