Thriving

Despite only being away for two days, I am struggling to get back into a routine. Yesterday I felt like I was floating through the hours, trying to tend fires at every interval. Is it too early to declare my need for another vacation?

Thankfully the boys are not struggling to resume their schedules. Timmy has been attacking his new curriculum like a champion. Being in class for 7 hours a day took an adjustment for my feral little boy, but he is thriving through the structure. I have never seen him so energized and excited about learning. Each day he eagerly runs to me with his journal in hand, frantic to show me what he mastered or discovered. He is growing academically, socially and emotionally and I could not be happier with his accomplishments.

Robby continues to chug his way through his classes. He offers minimal complaints and is fairly self-sufficient with his schedule. I still cannot believe that he will start exploring colleges soon. Sigh. I suppose that is a topic for another blog.

Waiting

Yesterday morning I learned that a friend's daughter suddenly passed away. I've never met her daughter, but her loss struck me deeply. I cannot fathom the heartache that my friend is feeling right now. I pray that I never know her reality.I am not ashamed to admit that I hugged the boys a little longer last night.

Life can change in an instant. By this point in my life, I shouldn't be surprised by that reality. I've had my own life switch tracks without warning so I certainly appreciate the vulnerability of our plans and dreams. Lately, it feels like the Universe has been working overtime to remind me of our fragility.

My brother is back in the hospital, this time battling an infection in his amputation site. I am worried and frazzled because I know there is nothing that I can do to help. Sitting idly by and waiting is not a strength. I wish I could be active in his care, but circumstances have conspired for a different approach. I am forced to wait and hope. 

I've never been good at waiting.

NYC

 What an amazing weekend!  

On Friday we headed to West Virginia to tag our Christmas tree. I assumed Friend would be welcome at a tree farm so we happily brought him along. Unfortunately, we did not know that they restricted dogs from their fields. Scott and the boys ended up heading into the field to tag our tree while Friend and I stayed by the car, greeting other patrons and peeing on random twigs (him not me).  

After the boys carefully selected our tree, we continued to Pennsylvania to see my Mom. She agreed to watch both boys so Scott and I could go away for the weekend. He and I have never gone away for a weekend by ourselves (without it being connected to work) and we figured it was time to give it a try. 

We had an amazing time! On Saturday afternoon we met our friends for lunch before heading to the hotel. We spent Saturday evening exploring and eating. On Sunday we headed to Time Square before I discovered a final surprise: tickets to see Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden! I was gobsmacked. 

The show was absolutely amazing. I think I smiled throughout the show and sang along with every song. I had to keep pinching myself because it didn't feel real. I could not believe that we are at the Garden to see Billy Joel!

Yesterday morning we hopped onto a train to head back to reality. We picked up the boys at my Mom's house and continued back home. Today we return to reality, although I am not ready. After such a great weekend, it is hard to return to routine.

Festivities

 Another week has flown by and I am considerably better than I was last week at this time. I'm especially grateful to be breathing with comfort because we have big plans for today. Scott is taking some time off this afternoon and we are going to West Virginia to tag our Christmas tree.  The weather is going to be beautiful and I can't wait to kick off the holiday season.

Yes, I realize that it is not the Christmas season right (although I can tell from my Snowman Countdown Clock that we are only 78 days and 16 hours away from Santa's arrival). Tagging our tree has always marked the beginning of the autumn holidays. After we tag our tree the holidays start rolling through the calendar. Between Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, my house will be in full-blown holiday mode until New Years. 

This is definitely my favorite time of year!  Let the festivities begin...

Paced

Slowly but surely, I am regaining my strength and my ability to breath. While I still struggle with endurance, I am able to get through the day without becoming dizzy (always a good thing). I still go to bed early but, considering how ill I was just last week, I consider myself lucky. I can handle an early bedtime for a few more weeks as long as I can get through the day without collapsing from coughing. 

Robby and Timmy are further along on the road to recovery than me. While they still cough, it is not as frequent or as violent as it was just a few days ago. They both have full energy reserves and, much to Scott's chagrin, they are not going to bed early. In other words, they both stay up later than me and bedtime is now Scott's responsibility.

Soon I will be back to normal, but in the meantime I am forced to pace myself. Slowing down is not something that comes naturally, but it is definitely necessary. I am determined to not set myself back in my recovery because of a stubborn refusal to pace myself.

Healed

 For the first time in nearly three weeks, we are fever-free in the house. My goodness this has been a long and frustrating ordeal. I haven't been that ill in nearly a decade. I am grateful for the vaccination and the boosters because I don't want to imagine how I would have fared if I wasn't protected.

With everybody on the path to recovery we are trying to return to normal. Timmy and Robby will be busy at school today while I tackle some work projects. The rainy weather continues to keep us inside but I'm not complaining. I feel better but I still lack the energy and the endurance for a lot of physical activities. I am going to have to pace myself to regain my strength. 

While I hated being sick, being forced to stay still has helped my leg. The skin sores have closed and healed, allowing me to walk without pain. My leg seems to fit more comfortably, although I don't know if the comfort is because I am still only walking short distances. Either way, I will happily accept the lack of pain as a benefit. 

Done with Covid

 For the first time in over a week I woke up feeling happy and well.  My head no longer hurts. I can breath deeply without wheezing and I can walk more than 10 feet without becoming dizzy from the lack of oxygen. I know that it is going to take me awhile to regain my strength, but I am delighted to have turned the page on my battle with Covid.

I spent the weekend working on my computer, napping on the couch and binge watching Hulu. The steady rainfall provided the perfect backdrop for my hibernation weekend. The only thing that was missing was the smell of freshly baking cookies wafting out of my kitchen. While I normally attack the first few days with baking enthusiasm, this time I didn't have the energy to toil in my kitchen. I'm sure that I'll resume baking soon, but right now I'm content to light a bakery scented candle while cracking open a bag of Oreos.

Hopefully I was able to rest enough this weekend because this week is going to keep me busy. I think the next few days I am going to need to make a concerted effort to pace myself. I really don't want to end up back in the sick bed!