Catching UP

 Happy Two-Hour Delay Day!

Although the delay has little to no impact on my personal schedule because of my later start time, I have come to love the days when Scott can relax a little longer and sleep in before heading into work. He benefits greatly from the two-hour delay, so I celebrate when they are called. Thankfully the major storm skirted past us and only brought huge white flakes that melted on contact and a little black ice overnight. 

Robby surprised us Saturday morning with a request for us to come for a visit. The majority of the students packed up and headed home on weekends, leaving the campus with an isolated feel. He planned to stay for the weekend to attend an event on Saturday night, so our visit was just for the afternoon. 

We had a great time during our impromptu visit. While I had planned to spend the day cleaning my living room and bathrooms, hanging out with the boys was a much better option.  We went shopping and had lunch at an amazing Mexican restaurant before taking him back to his dorm in the early evening. He arrived back on campus in plenty of time to get ready for his party, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday was miserable outside, so I spent the afternoon cooking and cleaning. I made beef stew, which apparently I haven't made recently because Timmy had no idea what it was. Initially he claimed it looked like "an old poor person's food." After a spoonful he happily slurped it down and even asked for a second bowl. It may look icky, but it was tasty!

Stay safe and have a great day!

 

Healing Slow

As anticipated, my pinch cut is proving difficult to heal. Because of its location and my need to constantly walk, I feel like I am undoing the healing that takes place throughout the night.  I know that it is slowly getting better, but the progress is slower than I would prefer. I'm mobile. Not mobile without pain, but mobile. I suppose, for right now, that has to be enough.

This morning I woke up to news that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested in the UK. I grew up enthralled by all things royalty. I remember watching his wedding to Fergie and being completely mesmerized by the pomp and pageantry. To see how far he has fallen is both astounding and oddly uplifting.

This is a man who is being held to account despite his social and financial status. Hopefully we will take a lead from our friends over the pond and start looking at the men on our shores who have abused young girls.  

Hibachi

 Yesterday was wonky because our schools were open while everything around us was closed for the holiday. Because of this disconnect, more than 1/2 of my students did not show up for school yesterday. I'm not complaining though because it was a nice way to ease back into the week. As a bonus, I was able to surprise Timmy with Hibachi for lunch because my afternoon kiddos were AWOL. Needless to say, Hamlet was delighted!

Today we are waking up to a two-hour day due to ice. Sadly the decision to delay was not called until 6:40, at which point we were already up and ready for work. If the call had come an hour earlier we could have slept in, but instead we are watching TV and waiting for the time to click by.

After several days of rest, the sores on my leg have begun to heal. I'm again comfortable in my socket, although I'm continually nervous that something else will happen. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain a status quo until summer break, when I can start the process for a new leg. 

Have a great day!

 

Shook

 In the early morning hours on Friday Robby was awoken by commotion in the parking lot outside of his dorm. He viewed the heavy police presence as an annoyance because he was trying to sleep. It wasn't until he woke up that he learned the reason for the police activity and it shook him to his core.

A student at Shepherd University was 'fatally shot.' He was murdered, but for some reason 'fatally shot' is the softer explanation. Because the victim was in the same incoming freshman class, Robby recognized him from the orientation activities they participated in last year. It's hard to process when a peer dies so tragically. 

I must admit that I am impressed by the campus security response. Within moments of being notified the surveillance cameras were pulled from across campus. The assailant was identified and cornered in parking lot adjacent to the dorms. He was taken into custody without further incident, and for that I am eternally grateful. 

Robby came home over the weekend to get away from the chaos on campus. We spent a lot of time talking about senseless violence and how to regain your feeling of safety. I know he is going to be okay, but this is going to stay with him for awhile. 

Ouchy

 Yesterday was physically difficult. My Thursday schedule is always busy. I've tried rearranging the kiddos service times, but I haven't figured out who I can move without completely disrupting their existing schedule. So, I go into each Thursday morning knowing that I'm going to be exhausted when I come home from work.

Yesterday was especially painful because the pinch cut opened up about 1/2 of the way through my day. Ouch! I spent the remaining hours struggling to keep my liner from rubbing against the growing sore. By the time I finally walked into the house at the end of the day I was hobbling and walking more like Frankenstein than I care to admit.

I spent the night tending to the wound, and thankfully this morning it is scabbed over. My schedule today is rather light so my leg should begin to heal. I'm going to keep it off for most of the weekend, so hopefully by Monday morning I'll be ready to go!

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, but we are referring to it as Saturday. All of the males in this house detest the holiday, so I have abandoned my aspirations of pink and red hearts decades ago. If you celebrate, I hope you enjoy your day!  

Lonely

Neosporin and Tegaderm patches have become my best friends as I try to heal my impressive pinch cut. I'm grateful that I worked out a solution so that I can remain at least quasi-mobile during the healing process. Unfortunately I've been forced to slightly modify my gate to keep the weight off of that area of my socket. This has caused muscles to hurt that I didn't know existed. By the end of the day I'm exhausted and I feel tied up like a pretzel, but I am also relieved that I made it through.

Between the pinch cuts and an increase in work frustrations and meetings, this week has been rough. I am feeling incredibly lonely, which is strange in a house full of people. I love my job and my students, but I really miss having local friends. I've tried to form friendships with co-workers, but it feels either pushed or my attempts are not reciprocated.  

I am struggling because I don't feel like I fit in. I never appreciated how difficult it is to forge friendships in your middle years. I'm just feeling very.... lonely.

 

Ouch

 Ouch.

Yesterday I ended up in the middle of a small scuffle in the hallways, which resulted in my getting shoved into a locker. I'm fine except for the ginormous and extraordinarily painful pinch sore that was created as a result of the impact. Right at the brim line of my socket, the sore slowly bled and oozed throughout the day which made working and concentrating difficult. By the time I finally came home, my liner was encased in dried blood and the skin was raw.

Sometimes being an amputee really stinks, and yesterday was one of those days!

I spent the evening nursing my injured limb, trying to coax the skin into premature healing. Despite all of my efforts, I know that it will take about a week for my limb to completely heal. In the meantime, I am going to be aware of each tenuous step.