The biggest thing to happen was also the best: a visit from our grandson who will soon be leaving for the Navy. What a blessing to have time with him before he leaves on this new adventure! He graduated from college last weekend and we could not go because of Larry's knee.
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| Clayton and granddaughter Haley who has been in the Army National Guard for 4 years. |
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| Haley, Clayton and Hannah, who is expecting a baby in October. The family grows! |
The other thing is Larry's knee and visits from his home health nurse and physical therapist, along with phone calls from his doctor and others at the VA.The therapist comes three times a week, and we love her--she's the kind of independent woman that I see my granddaughters becoming. The nurse is great too, very good at her job and so caring.
The downside is that the patient is becoming harder for me to deal with. He wants to do all the things he did before and I think he is getting tired of doing the exercises. He thinks he's "good enough" but he still has a long way to go. I feel like such a bossy woman, insisting that he do the exercises and get on his stretching machine; he is one recalcitrant patient sometimes! I think we are just in the hard part now--the exhilaration of getting through the surgery and recovering this far is wearing off, and now we're in the grunt work of getting that knee back into full service. It's the not-so-glamorous phase. I'll keep being the nagging wife, making him do the things he doesn't want to do, and we will get through it, but it's going to be a tough slog for a while. He's doing well, and I think in his mind he's good to go, and that will be my challenge to get him to continue working to regain as much range of movement as possible.
Along with this, we are packing the van and truck for this weekend's Ripley on Sale event, a big flea/antique sale on the courthouse lawn, Our grandson was a great help today loading my van; tomorrow I will finish loading the truck. I am sharing the space with a friend so I will have some help, and I will help her too. It will be a good time once we get set up. I cooked a turkey breast today and made bread and mayonnaise yesterday so we can pack sandwiches to take with us.
I am keeping up with the gardens and weeding as best I can--my flamethrower and string trimmer are my best friends--and Larry does a little mowing every day so that the place looks pretty good.
I'm also working on my presentations for summer storytelling, slowly refining my Summer Reading program and putting together setlists for other gigs. Here and there I list a few things on ebay, and clean house and do laundry in the odd free moments. This time of year is always so busy and this year I have to make time for Larry's therapy so it's a bit more crowded. But if I wasn't so busy, what on earth would I do with my time?
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
Now I am craving a turkey sandwich with mayo :)
ReplyDeleteI hope Larry will decide to tough it out and stick with his therapy. I don't think you get a second chance after surgery - you really have to do everything possible during the long, gradual (and sometimes boring) post-op healing process to get as mobile and strong as possible for the rest of your life. But then, I'm preaching to the choir!
I hope you have a great time and come home with empty vehicles - except for the stuff you buy :)
Wow, your yard looks great! You really are a bundle of energy this time of year. You must be so proud of your grandkids and how well they grew up. It's depressing to read about all the overuse of drugs going on, so it was a bright spot in the day to see your grandkids shining for our future! Hope your grandson enjoys his Navy life. I spent a little over 4 years in the Air Force and loved every minute of it. I also worked for the Navy and the VA for 25 years. There are many great people in your grandson's future with the Navy.
ReplyDeleteRivercrest, thank you for that! We have been lucky so far with our grandchildren; I am so sad for the young people that can't seem to find their way. Thank you for all your time in service. It is much appreciated, especially by those who know what it means to give that much of your life to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting caught up of blog reading. I know what you mean about being the bossy nurse. I often tell Mac his job is much harder than mine. Beautiful family,
ReplyDeleteHa, Quinn! I am trying to be more prepared food-wise these days to reduce the need to eat out. Not just to save money but to save some calories too.
ReplyDeleteI am just now reading this post. I hope Larry's much better this week & you're both getting past the hard part. I've heard knee surgery has a super painful recovery because the exercises just hurt so much.
ReplyDeleteI came through your area last week & thought of you guys! We drove from Watkins Glen, New York straight down through PA, through the edge of Maryland & spent a night in Morgantown before heading on through Charleston & stopping again in Louisville. It was pretty hard for me to go through so close to home & really not have time to stop. We'd been to Liverpool, NY for my husband's work & had to get back & baby sit our grandbaby. Still, it was glorious to see the mountains again if only for a day or so.