Thumbs Up

My senior moment arrived at the tip of my thumb. Interestingly, the thumb is used in many ways: all thumbs, thumbs down, thumbs up, thumb through, under one's thumb, thumb a ride and thumb one's nose. Some are negative or derogatory; others are salutatory or hopeful.

I was helping my wife do the dishes (which I usually do). We have at least three cheese slicers but none are perfect. I was washing a slicer, trying to remove something red on it. The washcloth wouldn't work so I tried using my thumb resulting in a neat slice. Later, my wife said it was red wax used to wrap the cheese.

Soon it began to bleed and wouldn't stop so my wife trotted off to get a band aid. I finished my chore and began to brood over my minor misfortune. I was reminded that even experienced seniors can have accidents (a good reminder, folks). I also was pleased that my blood pressure was adequate enough to reach an extremity of my body. I noticed that the color was good and I was also thankful for the pain.

Pain, you know, can be a friend alerting us that something is amiss. Now, as I type, I notice that my thumb edge meets the keyboard, not where the cut is. But I am also reminded how often my thumb is used in mundane matters.

Frankly, it is quite adept and involved in ways I seldom fathomed. Once again I realized how wonderfully we are created. Even the thumb nail, a protective (and decorative) device, is located in such a way making the thumb so much more useful.

Amazing, isn't it, how often we take things for granted? There are so many aspects of our lives that function beautifully without any obvious direction on our part. However, when things go wrong, band aids are helpful but not always adequate. Too often, though, we settle for a band aid when more is needed.

Any moral to the story? Band aids are important but not all-important. Sometimes we give them a thumbs up when it should be a thumbs down. And sometimes we're all thumbs, right?