I have now put post-it notes on the kitchen counter to remind myself not to lean there. The blank piece of paper I put on my bed every day has almost cured me of leaning on it, so I’ve moved the focus to the kitchen.

There is no telling how long I’ve been leaning on things, but I realized I have callouses on my arms! That didn’t happen overnight. I remember seeing my dad leaning on his kitchen counter, and now I am doing the same thing. He had arthritis, and doctors have told me I have it in my back and hips. (The effects of arthritis were erased from my knees 15 years ago.) Surely I can fight back, using my mind, to stand on my own two feet without leaning on everything in sight.