Home At Last!

Day 13 since foot surgery and I'm home. It feels so good to be on this side of the last five weeks. And thank goodness I worked so hard to unpack boxes the weekend our furniture arrived. The only things left to do now are hang a few pictures and organize my closet in the master bedroom (I still have clothes in wardrobe boxes). I can do both at my leisure. The priority this week and next is to let my feet heal.

All the hard work of the last month is paying off right now. Instead of manuevering through the chaos of boxes, I walked in and felt instantly at home . . . especially when I saw that John had hung this on our bedroom wall...



John took over the new dealership (www.howertonhonda.com) on February 10. I spent the first week here with him, then went home to Murfreesboro and started packing on February 18. Our things were loaded onto the moving truck on February 29 and delivered to WV on March 2. I made the drive by myself for the first time on March 1, spent the weekend unpacking and putting things away. Returned to Murfreesboro on March 5 and had surgery on both feet (to remove Morton's Neuromas) March 6. The last two weeks have been spent recovering at the home of a dear friend. And on Friday, after getting my stitches out, I went to my son and daughter-in-law's for a little more than 24 hours. And then John arrived shortly after noon yesterday. We got to spend some quality time with the munchkins. And then last night Danny was ordained as a priest in the Anglican church.

It's going to take a while for me to get used to calling him a priest. I think of priests as Catholic. And I knew almost nothing about Anglicanism prior to Danny attending Church of the Redeemer in Nashville. I will probably always refer to him as a pastor. And the liturgical form of worship is still a little formal for me (I always manage to get lost while trying to follow the readings and responses.) But I believe with all my heart that Danny and his family are where God has planted them. And I've loved watching him grow in his calling. Redeemer is a warm church where I always feel God's love and presence. And last night was no different, even though the actual ordination service was held in a Methodist church in Hendersonville. (There was a wedding already planned for March 17 at Redeemer.) I am truly thankful for all the people who make a point of telling me how much they love and appreciate my son.

We stayed for the reception following the service (longer than we'd planned) and then hit the road for West Virginia. It was late and we didn't know how far we would actually drive before stopping. We thought we could at least drive an hour or two. We wound up driving all the way to Kodak, which is the exit for Gatlinburg. We wanted to make sure we were not driving through Bristol at the same time people were arriving for or leaving the Nascar race today. We slept in and were still back on the road by 10:30 am. Three hours later, we were home.

We relaxed for a while and then decided to go out for Chinese food at a place called Young Chow's. It's one of the few places we had not tried yet. And a lot of people rave about it. We had a very good meal. John had Chicken Fried Rice. I had Scallops in Garlic Sauce (with broccoli, mushrooms and water chesnuts). The garlic sauce was sweet and spicy, and delicious. John liked it too.

We then did a Kroger run and got a few things for this week. I will not be driving. I will be hanging out in the townhome all day while John is at work. So I wanted to make sure I had food! And then we got back and accepted our neighbor's invitation to see his townhome. So I have been on my feet a little more than I planned to tonight. But I'm not in pain. My feet just feel sore. I'm going to stay off them a lot tomorrow. (And yes, I know I said that LAST night. But this time I really mean it.)



I wore a normal shoe for the first time tonight. I bought a pair of Merrells in early January at TJ Maxx. They have thin fabric uppers with a zipper, and rubber soles. Plenty of room for my pre-surgery Walk Fit orthodic inserts. And very comfortable. I decided to try them on and see how close I was to being able to wear them. When I put them on with the orthodics, the inserts felt good against my arch. And the rubber felt good under my heel. So I wore them. And I walked on them all evening without problem. But my knees are getting really tired of this walking on my heels and the sides of my feet, trying to keep the weight off the balls of my feet. My sciatic nerve has been flaring up sporadically, too.

Tomorrow is going to be an absolute day of foot rest. I may even have a cup or two of coffee in bed. Oh, that sounds so good. Waking up in my own bed. And my Keurig Pumpkin Spice coffee.