2019 Life Logs, Day 65: The Day After
2019 Life Logs, Day 65: The Day After
Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High 29, Low 13 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was like having a hangover after having a bit too much fun the previous night. Yesterday was such a wonderful celebration of my birthday with friends and family, so spending today alone paled by comparison. I did have a visit from the physical therapist, and she gave my knee another thorough workout that my leg didn’t forget about easily. I am having a little muscle pain still tonight, but exercise and ice will take care of that. I spent the rest of the day either exercising or propping my leg up and reading or resting. I am very pleased with how things are progressing, and I know I need to keep following the prescribed plan, but the part I find the hardest is keeping my leg above heart level for part of each day in order to reduce the internal swelling. In that position, I even find it even hard to read, but hopefully I have only a few more days of this. Today I talked on the phone with friend Christina Brodie who had the same surgery three weeks ago. She said she views her exercise and rest routine as her job right now, and I’m going to adopt that thinking. Going through the prescribed exercise routine four times during the day only takes two to three hours, but when you add the leg-up rest in-between exercises, it takes a great deal of the day. And as the swelling subsides, I’ll be able to sit up at the table and work on my long list of computer projects. So, no lack of things to do . . . just hard for someone who is used to being on the go much of the time to sit still for so long. But that’s my job.
Jonah stopped me right there and said, “Oma, nothing is perfect. How about saying it was an amazing celebration?” Okay. I’ll buy that. It was an amazing birthday. Despite being only one-week into the recovery from knee surgery, with the help of friends and family, I really did have an amazing day. Friends brought lunch here to the cottage
and then we drove to the Woods Hole Library to see a viewing of the independent film, “Tea with the Dames.” This was a delightful visit with Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, and Joan Plowright where the audience is invited to ease drop as they reminisce and discuss their acting careers. It was a perfect birthday film as these four British Dames truly show what it means to age gracefully. Together, they are 342 years old, still going strong with lots of wit and wisdom to share. On the way home, I was dropped off at Heather and Jed’s where the boys were busy preparing for Oma’s birthday dinner.
Artichokes, of course! With gluten-free cupcakes decorated deliciously and beautifully by Heather
and so many presents to open.
Homemade cards by Sam, Jonah, and Ollie, a couple of books, one by a favorite author, the other called “Educated” which looks very interesting, lighthouse earrings, a strawberry topper, kitchen scissors, and even a small ammonite fossil refrigerator magnet from Jed’s mother, Marti. Thanks, Marti! But my favorite gift is one that any mother would want to frame. It is a dish towel from Heather that says, “OMG–My Mother was Right About Everything!”
Now I have proof! I also got a birthday phone call from Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco and a photo from my 60th birthday dinner with the Kanegsberg’s in New Zealand. I do believe I’ve aged a bit since then.
He had a 7:20 pm flight to Ft. Lauderdale and an 11:30 pm flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Aguadilla. He will land there at 2:30 am and then take a taxi home to Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. The kids really miss him when he is gone, so I know they will be elated when they get up in the morning and daddy is home. It was so wonderful to have him here for those first days after surgery and I really appreciate the effort he made to be here. So, thanks to Justin and thanks to Jo, Ziggy, and Coco for sharing him with me. And thanks in advance to Heather who will take over the care. She checked at least three times today to make sure I could take care of getting my own dinner. So far, so good in terms of taking care of all personal needs. I can even get in and out of the shower with no assistance. After Justin left, friends Karen Baranowski and Christina Brodie came over for a visit. Christina is almost three weeks post-knee surgery and she is doing great. Gives me hope that I’ll do the same. The physical therapist moved me from a walker to a cane today and gave me quite a workout. She is pleased with the range of motion, but that does come at the cost of a little pain. As the saying goes, “No pain, no gain.” Hopefully the pain will remain manageable. March has evidently decided to keep roaring in like a lion as we are expecting snow again tonight. I have nothing I have to do tomorrow, so let it snow.
