...and December addendum.
I always end a month with a wrap up of what is going on with my shoulder but I could not resist the natural segue from gifting to re-gifting. The first public exposure of secret re-gifting was on Seinfeld when the dentist character re-gifted Elaine's label maker. Of course it has been going on since Adam gave the resident serpent a Harry and David fruit basket...and you know who ended up with the apple. It's just no one talked about it. And perhaps the growing affluence and materialism of our society makes for an abundance of "things" we neither want nor need.
So morally, ethically, is it okay to re-gift? And if it is, why do we deny it? After all, the item gifted to us is ours as surely as if we had gone to the store and bought it. Mainly, I guess, we don't want to hurt the feelings of the original giver. We have to believe they put some effort into choosing something special just for us. And we wouldn't want our recipient to think they did not warrant the same effort of shopping and choosing a present. But sometimes the item is so egregiously wrong for us that we have to wonder, as we are wrapping it to give to someone else, if we are re-gifting a re-gift!
There are some rules to re-gifting. You can't have used the item. If an item of clothing, it has to be in the neighborhood of the right size and appropriate style. If food, it has to be re-gifted before the Sell-by date has expired. If the gift/re-gift is a hobby related item, the new recipient must actually participate in that hobby already. You can't claim you are introducing them to a new activity. And most importantly, you must be certain the item has not been personalized and there is no note or gift card tucked in a hidden spot. Everyone has probably heard the story of the newly weds who re-gifted a wedding present, a crystal vase. Nice re-gift but the new recipient was dismayed to discover the
vase had the wedding couples' initials etched in it. So a thorough inspection is in order before wrapping up that re-gift.
Now, back to the serious stuff...I am just over six months post reverse total shoulder replacement surgery. I have healed well. I have very good range of motion in all fields except behind my back. My surgeon says reach back but don't force it. Yes, it hurts but less and less, the more I do. What hurts is not the joint. It is the muscles where they attach to the bone. Dr. Kai says the muscles are pulled tight in order to be able to lift the arm and it is the tightness that hurts. That is exactly how it feels. He says that should improve with time and use but may always hurt some. It's okay. I am so pleased with the function that I will accept the discomfort as a necessary evil. I am hoping to build up some strength in that arm in the next six months. It is still a good bit weaker than the other arm. So lifting and pouring from a gallon of milk pushes the limit. Tincture of time, as Dear Husband says.
Oh, my hair? Still falling out but maybe the loss has slowed down. Not growing much at all.
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems,
August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October - getting back to
normal. November. -still in recovery, December-6 months and holding.
I always end a month with a wrap up of what is going on with my shoulder but I could not resist the natural segue from gifting to re-gifting. The first public exposure of secret re-gifting was on Seinfeld when the dentist character re-gifted Elaine's label maker. Of course it has been going on since Adam gave the resident serpent a Harry and David fruit basket...and you know who ended up with the apple. It's just no one talked about it. And perhaps the growing affluence and materialism of our society makes for an abundance of "things" we neither want nor need.
So morally, ethically, is it okay to re-gift? And if it is, why do we deny it? After all, the item gifted to us is ours as surely as if we had gone to the store and bought it. Mainly, I guess, we don't want to hurt the feelings of the original giver. We have to believe they put some effort into choosing something special just for us. And we wouldn't want our recipient to think they did not warrant the same effort of shopping and choosing a present. But sometimes the item is so egregiously wrong for us that we have to wonder, as we are wrapping it to give to someone else, if we are re-gifting a re-gift!
There are some rules to re-gifting. You can't have used the item. If an item of clothing, it has to be in the neighborhood of the right size and appropriate style. If food, it has to be re-gifted before the Sell-by date has expired. If the gift/re-gift is a hobby related item, the new recipient must actually participate in that hobby already. You can't claim you are introducing them to a new activity. And most importantly, you must be certain the item has not been personalized and there is no note or gift card tucked in a hidden spot. Everyone has probably heard the story of the newly weds who re-gifted a wedding present, a crystal vase. Nice re-gift but the new recipient was dismayed to discover the
vase had the wedding couples' initials etched in it. So a thorough inspection is in order before wrapping up that re-gift.
Now, back to the serious stuff...I am just over six months post reverse total shoulder replacement surgery. I have healed well. I have very good range of motion in all fields except behind my back. My surgeon says reach back but don't force it. Yes, it hurts but less and less, the more I do. What hurts is not the joint. It is the muscles where they attach to the bone. Dr. Kai says the muscles are pulled tight in order to be able to lift the arm and it is the tightness that hurts. That is exactly how it feels. He says that should improve with time and use but may always hurt some. It's okay. I am so pleased with the function that I will accept the discomfort as a necessary evil. I am hoping to build up some strength in that arm in the next six months. It is still a good bit weaker than the other arm. So lifting and pouring from a gallon of milk pushes the limit. Tincture of time, as Dear Husband says.
Oh, my hair? Still falling out but maybe the loss has slowed down. Not growing much at all.
Archive timeline: 2014: May and June - preparing for surgery, July - surgery and post op problems,
August - recovery and physical therapy, September - thinking medically, October - getting back to
normal. November. -still in recovery, December-6 months and holding.
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