John did the laundry, and grandson Nathaniel brought the basket back. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? We tend to make things more complicated than they need to be and more amusing than is strictly necessary. Nathaniel was carrying a vinyl record to his room and dropping the basket off on the way. This is what I saw.

I told the fellows what happened to me the other day. I was sitting on the big green exercise ball while typing at the desk. I shut out everything while reading or writing. After quite a while, I looked at my arms and wondered why they were at a strange angle. I needed to reach upward for the keyboard. My knees were bent and cramped. Standing up was not a simple push up with both feet; I grabbed the desk for balance. What on earth??? The exercise ball had been shrinking for an hour without my noticing.

The next time I was in front of the computer, I used my dad’s office chair, forgetting how hard the wooden seat was. When Nathaniel walked in, I lurched upward. “Uhh!”, I said. “My bum is asleep!”

“Why aren’t you using the ball?” he asked.

“Look at it,” I said. “It shrank to half its size last night.”

He turned it this way and that and found a tiny hole. I must have rolled over a stone or some other sharp object. He went into fix-it mode, asking if I had a pump and going for tough tape. That reminded me of my dad, who always repaired things instantly. In moments Nathaniel removed the plug and began using the hand pump.

It was a tough job. I thought having the ball under-inflated would be acceptable, but I was nearly crippled after using it for an hour. Replaced knees do not take kindly to being twisted. One of us will try again when Nathaniel is not working or my arms are feeling strong.