My replaced right knee is having its ninth birthday next week. I barely remember the painful and seemingly slow recovery from that surgery. I do recall that my surgeon was not happy about how quickly I got back on my bicycle. I had to promise that I wouldn’t go up any steep hills for a while.

Now, I only think of that surgery on its birthday or on the rare occasions when I notice the six-inch scar on my knee.

But I do remember enough not to want to go through it again. So when I feel a twinge in my other knee, I tell Kathy, our trainer and she adds exercises to strengthen it.

Like me, knee replacements don’t last forever. Like me, so far so good.