love to paint

 I had my first follow-up appointment today.  It went well and I am grateful.  In some ways, I'm amazed that I was able to stay in my house for two weeks, not go anywhere, and not go stir crazy.  I am thankful I have been occupied.   Two more weeks--then I can hopefully start PT and beginning to walk.  Two more weeks of taking it easy and living while time passes.    In the waiting room, I had two conversations with different men.  The first asked what happened.  I explained that I had ankle surgery and had a good follow-up visit.  He then replied that he wouldn't tell me what happened to his friends.  I inferred that they had hard experiences. The man sitting across from me shared about his ankle pain and arthritis.  I felt bad for him and asked if he did exercises to strengthen his ankle.  He was older and in his 70s.  I commented that it was a blessing he could walk.  I sympathized with his pain.   P...

 This is a real concern.  When I was at the hospital for my surgery, the two women that left before me had pants with form fitting legs on them.  They were sweats, but not loose sweats.  I'm really thankful for the pants I bought on Amazon and I thought I would post a link in case anyone is ever searching and trying to figure out what to wear.   So, here is my recommendation: Loose capris.  It's spring, but we still had snow.  When I first broke my ankle, I borrowed a pair of wide leg sweats from one of my girls.  But, I knew I needed some pants to get me through 1-2 months.  I tried the local stores, but none of them had anything in stock that would work (I looked online, not in the stores to check).  So, I looked at Amazon and found these pants:  ZOOSIXX Soft Black Pajama Pants for Women, Wide Leg Comfy Casual Lounge Yoga Capri Pants 22''  I bought three pairs of 22" wide leg capri pants. From the  Zoosix brand on Amazon...

I listened to a podcast on Sunday by John Piper.  He talked about choosing what to focus on in a moment by moment basis.  One of my friends said to me yesterday that God gave me time to slow down.   It is true.  As a mom, this is an interesting season.  My kids don't need me in the way they did for so many years.  But, they still need me.   My kids have watched me be very busy for the last year and as many times as I've told them I always have time for them, I know life has felt rushed. But, now I'm stuck on the couch and my kids come talk to me.  I love their stories and hearing about their lives and their days.  That is a blessing of being forced to slow down.  

I realize I need to settle in.  Adjust.   What are the practical challenges of breaking your leg? 1. You can't carry anything.   So, my daughter swapped my purse supplies into a backpack purse.   I always wear a hoodie because I can stick my phone or glasses in the pocket. 2. Normal pants don't work.   I found some loose knit capris on Amazon.  These were a great, comfortable purchase!  I have 3 pairs and I'm very thankful for them.  Totally worth it! 3. Keeping track of medicine.   I set alarms on my phone to repeat daily.  But, I found it was easy to forget if I had taken it if I got distracted.  So, I write it down on a piece of paper.  I also set out my mid-sleep tylenol in a cup so that I don't get mixed up.  

 6 Days.  I worked on the couch today.   What Is. Covid changed a lot of things, but one of the silver linings was that it allowed workplaces to adjust to people working remotely in an ongoing basis.  So, I can work now.  My day has passed.  It's almost dinnertime. After work, I sat on the front porch and listened to my husband chat with our neighbor.  He shared stories of the bones he'd broken in his life.  Then, I opened up facebook and saw that the son of a facebook broke his leg or ankle.   I'm not the only one who has broken a bone.   I can't rush.  Anything.  Everything I do is slow right now.  Except typing.  I can still type. What Isn't.  I can't get my own food and I'm hungry at the moment.   What Is. My daughter cooked dinner and we ate.  It's not exactly on my time, but I'm grateful she's cooking. She made us bibimbap rice bowls for dinner with roasted vegetables and an egg on top.  She'...

 It was Daylight Savings Time this morning.  My phone automatically adjusted to the time change.   My oldest daughter has adjusted her sleep schedule so that she can wake at 5:30 am and let our dog Iggy outside and make me coffee before everyone else wakes up.  So, when she came down this morning, I talked her through how to change the clocks downstairs and upstairs.  Changed them on the oven and the microwave oven...   It's a little thing.   Ten years ago, I got sick and the consequence was that I have to exercise every day.  I'm grateful for that now.  Yoga has made my legs strong and strengthened my balance so I can get around on crutches and lift up my leg to elevate it.  I had to accept at the time that exercise wasn't a choice anymore, but rather a requirement.  I'm glad for that.  Exercising hasn't always been easy and even often painful, but I had to tell myself it wasn't a choice.  I've realize many times that it ...

 It's been a long time since I last wrote on this blog, but it's home to me.  When I was raising my kids, this was where I wrote thoughts, book reviews, homeschooling lessons I learned...  But, my life shifted.  My time and attention shifted.  I stopped reviewing books and volunteered with my kids activities.  And then they grew up.  I started working outside my home and my kids became independent.  They didn't need me to drive them places anymore.   And then the ice won last Wednesday before the last of it melted away. We've had snow and ice where I live for a month and a half.  I was careful not to slip.  But, it was the last of it and I had stepped through it in the backyard so I didn't worry about it anymore.  And then I slipped.   The ice won and I broke my ankle. And now I'm on the couch.  I look forward to walking again, but don't know when that will be.  I hope for 6 weeks until I can walk again, but know...