by Judy Handley | May 22, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 143: The Routine of Recovery
Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 66, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I find I am struggling with the routine (and pain) of knee replacement recovery. I know if I do not do the required exercises multiple times a day that the outcome will not be good. But the stretching hurts which makes me dread doing it. I much prefer just lying on my back, icing my leg with it elevated. Even the beautiful weather today did not tempt me to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. The physical therapist was here today, and she assures me I am still ahead of the recovery curve, and that I just have to keep exercising through the pain. I know it will get better, but I sure wish I could transport from here to there!
by Judy Handley | May 21, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 142: Election Results
Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Weather: Finally, A Sunny Day; High Temp 62, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I am starting this log at 8 pm, sitting here at home on pins and needles, awaiting the results of the local election. Is Heather going to be a member of the Falmouth Select Board or not? We should know in the next hour. And in a few minutes, Heather will pick me up to take me to campaign headquarters, Grumpy’s, to await the results with her most ardent campaign members. Before leaving, however, I just wanted to say that children should not do things that make their parents so nervous! Just kidding.
10 PM. She did it!!! Heather Martin Handley Goldstone is Falmouth’s newest Select Board Member. A coalition of people who did not know Heather or know each other pitched in to support her. Many of those people were at Grumpy’s tonight to celebrate with Heather. She managed her own campaign, but she had the help of a few women who have worked with candidates in the past, a few good friends, and this newly formed group of eclectic supporters. Plus, Jed who has been super supportive, and me. I did what little I could do between my two surgeries. It takes a village. So tonight, I am a very proud mama.
I know Heather is the right person at the right time to help Falmouth make decisions for the future. Go, Heather!!!
So, Heather had to find a place downtown where people could gather to be thanked for their support and to celebrate if she won. The restaurants don’t stay open after 8:30 and the main restaurant/bar downtown was hosting a Trivia Night. Just out of town on the road to Woods Hole is Grumpy’s. It is a bar, not a restaurant, and has been a local dive for many years. When Heather and Jed were in graduate school, I remember them talking about going to Grumpy’s. The name definitely sticks with you. Heather never got to leave the community television station as planned to come pick me up. They asked all the candidates to wait for the results. But Jed called and came to get me. I just couldn’t miss this. When the first word came through that she had ‘unofficially’ won, I could hardly believe it. In a small town, it is always difficult to get elected if you don’t have the endorsement of the political powers that be. She did not. But she obviously had the endorsement of a whole lot of Falmouth friends, old and new. Thank you, Falmouth.
by Judy Handley | May 20, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 141: Get Heather Elected!
Date: Monday, May 20, 2024
Weather: Mix of Clouds and Fog with Some PM Sunshine; High Temp 62, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Tomorrow is local election day. It is time to get Heather elected! I have never been very good at sitting on the sidelines, but here I am, hobbling on a replaced knee and not really able to be helpful. This election is a nail biter, so I will just sit here and do just that.
I woke up this morning with more pain in my knee than I have been experiencing. The physical therapist assured me that all is well, but the home health nurse comes tomorrow, and I will check with her as well. But it seems a bit better tonight. Rehab for a knee replacement is a tricky combination of exercises that are painful and ice and elevation. Too much or not enough of any one thing can set you back. I’m hoping tomorrow is a good day and that tomorrow night I can attend the thank you party, hopefully a victory party!!!
by Judy Handley | May 19, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 140: Healing Day, Dinner at Goldstone’s
Date: Sunday, May 19, 2024
Weather: Overcast, Some Fog; High Temp 55, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
This was a quiet Sunday. I woke up with more swelling in my right leg that comfortable, so I spent my entire morning on my back on the sofa with my legs up on the arm of the sofa. The keeps them well above my heart level and helps reduce the swelling. It worked, but I was more active in the afternoon and tonight they are swollen again. After I send this, I will be back on the sofa with my legs over the arm. Just sitting up with my legs up doesn’t really do it, but you can’t just lie on your back with legs up all the time. Exercises and movement are equally important. It is all a balancing act.
Heather and family had a quiet day after last night’s prom. Sam came home at 5:30 am when the After Prom at the rec center ended. But Heather was on food prep duty there until 11 pm and Jed was on chaperone and then clean-up duty from 3 am until the clean-up was done. Jonah and Ollie had sleepovers with friends after attending a Revs game at Gillette Stadium. They didn’t get back on the Cape until after 11 pm, so they had late nights as well. I was invited over for dinner. Thank you, Goldstones. And I think that after bringing me home, they were all headed to bed to get ready for another busy week. The local election is this Tuesday, so tomorrow and Tuesday are super busy days. Then Jed flies to Amsterdam on Friday and Memorial Day weekend begins.
It was also a busy weekend for Justin and family in Puerto Rico. Justin and Jo’s music ensemble, Silvermouse, had their first concert of Summer Tour 2024 at the Earthship in Aguada in Puerto Rico. The just after Memorial Day, they fly to Washington, DC, for the next concert and then to come visit here in Falmouth before heading to the UK. Jo said last night’s concert was a huge success. Go, Silvermouse.
by Judy Handley | May 18, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 139: Prom Night for Sam
Date: Saturday, May 18, 2024
Weather: Overcast with Periods of Rain; High Temp 54, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I watched my children grow up and now I am watching my grandchildren do the same. There are those special moments along the way that mark the transition from stage to the next. Tonight was Sam’s Jr-Sr Prom and this afternoon Heather called to see if I would like to go to Sebastian’s home, one of Sam’s friends, for a pre-prom photo shoot. I jumped at the chance to go, and as I stood there taking photos, I realized this was one of those special moments.
Sam has been friends with Sebastian since they were babies. And this afternoon they were dressed to the nine’s and certainly no longer babies! Sam’s friend Robert was also there. They met in 5th or 6th grade, so that history doesn’t go back as far, but still they were boys when they met, not the young men they are today. Sebastian has a steady girlfriend, so she was there with her family as well. But many kids these days go in groups rather than with a date. Looking through the camera lens was like looking through a window into the future.
The prom here is held at the Coonasmessett Inn where they had dinner followed by dancing. That ends around 10 pm when everyone goes home to change into comfy clothes. They then check into the rec center by 11 where they spend the rest of the night into the early morning playing games of all sorts. Once they check into the rec center, they cannot leave until one of the chaperones has called a parent. Students over 18 can then drive themselves home, but anyone under 18 must be picked up by a parent. The hope is that it is a fantastic, fun, but safe event. This has happened for 30 years in Falmouth and every year the students really look forward to After Prom.
by Judy Handley | May 17, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 138: Bits of Sunshine
Date: Friday, May 17, 2024
Weather: Sunshine AM, Clouding Over in PM; High Temp 65, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
There were bits of sunshine today, but not enough to say it was a sunny day. The gray sky returned in the afternoon and there is a chance of rain tomorrow. Maybe Sunday? The PT arrived at 9 am and gave me a good report. Flexibility has gone from 98 to 102 since Tuesday, and that is great. I still have considerable swelling in the right leg, but that is to be expected. I no longer need to use the walker, but she suggests a cane when I am outside. No walking Shadow on a leash for another week, but I can walk outside, just no further than around the block. Detta left at the same time as the therapist, so suddenly I was alone. And actually, that is not a bad thing when all you are supposed to be doing is keeping those legs above heart level as much as possible. Detta got me through the worst days and now I am totally independent. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to Detta.
This afternoon, I got a card from a good friend from my days in Concord, NH, Cheryl Dolin. I have always had this aversion to resting during the day, but this card said, “It’s PRODUCTIVE to REST. Slow down, take care, and grant yourself grace.” Great advice, Cheryl.
