Excellent post.
I agree with each of you about this. Inner light brightening, dancing, Godzilla, and all that. Dan - even the part about babbling coherently? here on the forum. I, on the other hand babble incoherently here sometimes.
I was not bedridden, but I was not able to ride a bike without great and lasting pain. I love riding my bike to and from work now, in the dark cold rain, and I still like it. I hope that a year from the second op, (8/2012) I'll be playing soccer. I do suspect that many of the folks I played with, will say things like "you don't have the same speed and aggresiveness" That's ok, we all get older and slowing down is not a bad thing.
For a specific Godzilla moment, there are probabaly quite a few, if I put my mind to it. However, I had one just 2 days ago. I was on a tour of an abandoned mine in the forests of Oregon with about 10 colleagues and I was the second youngest and was happy to speedily walk up thickly forested hills ahead of the gang, simply because I was having fun with my new hips. Been a long time since I had the drive to hike like that. I was also the tour guide so I needed be on track before too many followed. I did fall twice, once when I stepped on a lose rock and fell into a soft hole covered in ferns and then another time when I was stepping over a log, still not getting my feet high enough, I tripped over the log, again with lots of ferns to protect my fall. I snapped right up both times with nothing but a slight extra stretch feeling from my newest hip. Actually felt kinda good. I plan to do a vigorous walk up a small here by my office for lunch shortly.
I can hear the Godzilla scream in the distance. Beware Mothra, here I come.