Yard Work

After several days of heavy rain and wind, the sun is finally shining this morning. The air has a chill and the wet leaves are covered with frost. Because I don't leave the house often, it is easy for me to lose track of time. This morning, the cold air and sparkling frost reminds me that it is almost Thanksgiving. 

When the yard dries out we will tackle the leaves for the final time of the season. A cord of wood was delivered yesterday which needs to be stacked. I also received my new outdoor extension cord with splitter, which provided me more excitement than I care to admit. I'm looking forward to spreading out my large holiday inflatables and decorating for Christmas. I'm glad that the next few days are going to be clear and sunny, because we have a lot of work to do!

Cheer

Another storm blew through our area, bringing heavy rain and winds throughout the day. Our yard, which had been cleared of leaves over the weekend, is now littered with newly fallen foliage. The trees are almost completely bare now, but our yard is carpeted in colorful colors. Thanks to the rain and frequent storms, our leaf clearing season has been shorter this year. After everything dries out, I think we will only have to clear the leaves one final time this year.

Every season has its own prosthetic perils. In the autumn, I am cautious around leaves and nuts. Last year I slipped in a hole that was covered with leaves and sprained my ankle. I hobbled around for nearly two months while it was healing. Ever since that tumble, I have refused to walk through the yard when it is the grass isn't visible. Hopefully everything dries out quickly so the yard can be cleared this weekend.

While the rain (and leaves) were falling, I took the opportunity to begin to decorate for the holidays. I love all of our little decorations and lighted features. I was going to wait until after Thanksgiving, but I decided to start early because I think we could all use a little cheer. I only tackled a few boxes of decorations, but my house is already becoming a festive wonderland!

Happy Walking Day to me!

 17 years ago today I took my first prosthetic steps. My goodness, so much has changed since that date in 2003. Although I'm comfortable and now feel as if my prosthesis is an extension of my body (something I never thought I would say), I like to take today to look back and reflect. In a way, remembering my Walking Day keeps me grounded.

While watching the video of my first steps, I am reminded of the fear and uncertainty I felt during that time in my life. So much felt uncertain, and I was terrified that I would never be "normal" again. Little did I know that "normal" only exists in my mind. 

I am often asked what I think my life would be like if I had two biological feet. I honestly don't know how to answer that question. Other than the obvious, I'd wear better shoes, I can think of little I would want to change from where I am today. Sure, I get frustrated with my prosthesis and sometimes I feel pain. But pain and frustrations would still exist if I weren't an amputee, they would just manifest in different areas. 

 I have a great life, and today I am celebrating a milestone that helped me to become this version of myself.  Happy Walking Day to me. Here is to 17 years!!

Recess

We have been treated to some absolutely gorgeous weather during the past week. With temperatures in the mid 70's and a bright sun against clear blue skies. The older I am becoming, the stronger the correlation between weather and my mood. It is really hard to feel overwhelmed and stressed when it is so nice outside! 

I closed the books and logged off my laptop in the early afternoon, calling an afternoon recess for everybody. We rode bikes, played on the swing set and just had a good time outside. With rain in the forecast for tomorrow, I suspect that we will repeat our recess pattern today. 

Leaf Fun

 What a bizarre weekend!

As much as I tried to avoid the news, I found myself glued to the coverage Friday night and Saturday morning. Finally, in an attempt to become productive and to break up our growing anxiety, Scott and I turned off the TV Saturday morning so that we could take our trash to the local dump. By the time we came home, which was only about 15 minutes, the election had been called by all of the major networks. 

Saturday was spent playing outside and enjoying the Biden victory. While I don't agree with all of his policies, I do hope that he will return empathy and decency to the Executive Branch. Hopefully our country will begin to heal, although with the mounting legal accusations, I don't hold expectations that it will happen anytime soon.

On Sunday we were treated to another gorgeous day. With the election anticipation behind us, we were able to log off all electronics and spend several hours in the sunshine. The boys (Robby and Scott) tackled the leaves while Timmy and I put away the Halloween decorations and prepped for Christmas. 

After the leaves were mulched and piled, we took turns jumping into the foliage mountain. I had forgotten how much fun it can be to play in the leaves. My foot shell is packed with crushed leaf bits, but that is a problem I will gladly accept. We had a great time!