Monday, November 21, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Monday morning.  Dan is at Physical Therapy, I dropped him off and then went to the gym.  Now I'm on the boat waiting for him to call so that I can meet him where ever his bus drops him off and then we can continue on with errands and the day's projects.

Mondays are my day off from work so I try to help Dan get things done that he wants to do but can't because of his driving restriction.  It's forcing us to be organized and purposeful with our free time.  We have settled into a new way of being - a new "normal."

Dan still has therapy 4-5 times a week (Physical and Cognitive).  He is able to take the bus to most appointments.  I am working really hard now - so busy at work around the holidays.  Then we collapse on the weekends - but just for a bit.  Saturday usually begins with our morning ritual of talking for a couple of hours over strong coffee.  Then we do errands, drop off laundry and anything that might come up on our "to do" list.

That list is pretty long right now because of a pending trip down to Panama.  We leave on 12/15 and will be there until 1/22.  OK - put those jealous, hateful thoughts out of your head.  We had this planned way before the accident - but just 2-3 weeks.  Then, when we lost our summer vacation following the accident, decided to tack it on to this trip.  We have the blessings of Dan's doctors AS LONG AS he promises to keep up with his daily therapies while he is down there.  (He does - in fact he is the one asking for a full regimen of instructions and exercises that he can track.  And I'll be sure he does.)  The warmth (as opposed to icy, slippery docks) and stimulation (a different culture and language, which we will be learning) will be good for his body and brain.  His therapists agree.

There is someone else in this equation as well.  ME.  I am so tired that I can't get rid of the heavy fatigue feeling that plagues me constantly now.  I plow through it just as we all did when our kids were tiny - but it doesn't lift and I am convinced that I need a long recuperation from the emotional, physical, organizational, mental strains of the last 4 months.  So we're off!

Sarah & Julia will be with us for 2 weeks so we will celebrate Christmas and Julia's 20th birthday together.  This is their first time down there so it will be very special, indeed.

I'm sorry to have been such an absent blogger of late but we have been busy and - yes - tired.

Our new "normal" is very much tied into Dan's accident/injuries/recovery - but then again, we do have long stretches of just doing stuff and living our lives that are acutely noticeable and make me feel hopeful.  Ain't that great!

Still no driving or working for Dan.  Still hurting from certain physical injuries - and - he has a way to go for his brain healing.  But we are positive and keep our eyes forward.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family.  (15 weeks since the accident on Thanksgiving Day.)  We have so much to be grateful for this year.  So much.

Love to you all.

Irene