not necessarily in this order

  Random life updates :  1. More on the puppy when she’s here – expected arrival is the week after next! So much to get ready, but also so much excitement and anticipation.  2. Lil Momma survived her first few days of 7 th  grade but is having trouble with the noise levels of having THIRTY SEVEN other kids in the classrooms. There is a whole other post I could write about public schools and overrides and how we’re failing our kids and our teachers and staff, but that is not for today. Foot/Ankle/Morale Update    I am almost 5 months out from having this foot/ankle surgery. If you had asked me before the surgery, I would have thought I’d be 80% back to my life: Walking in the woods, if not hiking. Strength workouts. Slow jogs on the treadmill. Intervals on the bike. Dragging my family on weekend adventures.    That is not how it has gone down.   I severely underestimated what recovery would look like. My expectations were so far out of reality...

I've been deep in my thoughts and feels the last couple of weeks. I know I keep saything this, but I don't know what I expected from this recovery. I think, possibly, that I didn't expect anything because I was so busy doing so many things (so many) that I never took a beat and thought about what this might be like. Bella sitting in my feels with me, haha! Recovery so far is a roller coaster and so much more mental that I ever thought.  Tomorrow will wrap up my third week of PT.  I've gone from using both crutches and not putting my right foot on the ground at all.... to putting my booted foot down with both crutches... to using one crutch with my booted foot... to walking around inside in only the boot! Amazing, right? 3 weeks! Six appointments! I'm really proud of my physical progress and my mental progress, too, as moving on to each "phase" has come with a lot of anxiety. Will my foot even hold me up anymore? What if I fall? How do I even walk? HOW DID ...

  42 days post-surgery. Crutches and shower stools and scars and swelling. A house I never lived in but somehow own went on the market, got oh so many offers, and hopefully closes on Thursday. A too-soon return to work (leading to a chest cold and exhaustion) and an immediate organizational change and so much stress and feelings. 3 dance competitions that involved a knee scooter, a wheelchair, hotels. tears of joy and sadness from Lil Momma, and way too much takeout. A cold and a pinched sciatic nerve. I thought I'd write more during this time, but I've been stuck. Stuck in a chair, stuck in my head, stuck in this moment. This is a big week: follow-up at the orthopedic surgeon tomorrow where I hopefully get cleared for the next part of this and then  start PT and close on my aunt's house on the same day later in the week.  I'm taking both of those happening on the same day as a sign from the Universe that it's time to start moving on and into what is next.  Wow, tha...

 Hello! It's been a minute... I had all these expectations for what my recovery would be like: I will read all the books! I will watch all the shows! I will write all the letters! I will take up art as a hobby! I will be going out of my head to get back to work! That wasn't my journey - and that's ok! It's been a wild trip so far and I'm figuring out how to navigate this moment and what happens next with grace and an open mind. Day 0 (surgery day):  My surgery was outpatient so I was a bit loopy when the Mr. picked me up. I had this heavy and huge splint on that went up to just below my knee - we were shocked! It wasn't a full cast - the front was open on my shin - but it was so heavy and impacted my balance, which made my first forays into non-weight-bearing (NWB) a trip (in more ways than one, haha!)... I had been given crutches, but they were not much help once we arrived home and I had to get up 4 stairs (SO DAUNTING) to get into the house. My poor dyslexic...

Hello from the other side! Yesterday was the big day. 5am wake-up to get ready and head to the surgery center, I said goodbye to LM and the Mr in the waiting room at 6:30am, and the Mr had me home by 1pm. I’m settled in my recliner with LM’s mat as a Bella-blocker. Overnight, all Bella wanted was to jump up and be with me which was sweet but quite ill timed. The Mr is hanging downstairs with me while I get the hang of crutches and the unexpected weight of the splint so luckily he was there to help put up my “gate”. Later this week, I hope to write up a recap and where I’m at - did I mention I got myself a laptop as one of my recovery “tools”? - so this is just a quick drop in to check in. Hope you’re having good starts to your week!