The Cane

I've decided if I ever come to the point in my life, that I need a cane, it would not be just an ordinary, Walmart variety. I would have to paint it, decorate it, do whatever I could to make it a part of me. Maybe even find a stick, and carve my initials in it. If I could figure out how to put blinking lights on it, I would. I would decorate it with the seasons, and celebrate each spring with a new color scheme.

My dad has come to the point in his life that he will need a cane. He is loosing his ability to do even the simplest tasks. The bracelet on his wrist, given to him by his kids for father's day, has his name and where to return him, if he gets lost. At first he was thrilled, and then he wanted it off. No one could figure it out for him. No one knew how. The one good thing about his Alzheimers- he forgets quickly and moves on. Now he is limping and he looks like he might fall at any moment. He can't tell us if something hurts, and my mom doesn't know if he has gout, or he needs a cane.

We all use canes everyday. The physical ones are easy to spot. The people that walk with me every day, are the canes I carry with me now, until the day comes, and I get my glue gun out and start decorating one. I have friend canes, and family canes. I have dog canes and food canes. Anything I lean on becomes a cane. I used to have a huge Starbucks cane, and then one day, two weeks ago, I woke up and the thought of drinking coffee, turned my stomach. I don't use that cane anymore. It's the stranger cane, that I find most interesting. It's that brief moment during the day, when someone, whose name I don't even know, does something that touches my spirit, and helps me. They'll never know, they were a cane.

I saw two elderly ladies the other day, walking arm in arm. Something tells me, that if they walked unattached, they would be wobbly. They were each others cane. I have many elderly friends and their spirit and wisdom, playfulness and grumpiness are wonderful canes. Their canes come out to help them recover from their latest illness, and then tossed aside as they get their strength back.

I'm going to see my dad in a few months. I think he'll will be walking with a cane. He will be surrounded by his family of canes, and I'm going to put my name on his. Right below his initials, carved deeply in my heart.