Everything Going Well

friday

I joined the I Grew Up in West Vancouver Facebook page quite a while ago, and recently I read a post on that page saying that my grade three teacher, Mrs. Gilbert, was the brother of our elementary school principal, Mr. Dickson. It surprised me, so I wrote to Susan E., a dear friend who I have known for 73 years. We met when I was four and became instant friends.

In the email I wrote to her, I suggested that we Facetime together when next she had our mutual friend Kathy S. visiting her, and I got an immediate reply saying that Kathy was at her place now and did I want to Facetime. So, last night we Facetimed for almost two hours!! It was wonderful fun to be together and to travel through our memories together.

By the end of the call, I was unable to participate except for short phrases or single words. I was absolutely exhausted from laughing so hard at things we shared, but I had more fun during that call than I’ve had in ages.

Late in the afternoon, I took Sheba to Rollo Park where she could walk, with her three bandaged feet, on soft grass. It was a short walk, and she is still clearly very tender, but we did it and it felt good to get her out of the house and walking a little bit.

saturday

This morning, I was shocked when I went outside to fetch wood for the fire at 5:30 am. It was 11° and it ignited a very strong desire to spend some time outdoors today, but when the sun came up it revealed a dark and damp day, and it began to rain. Sheba and I will get outside, but probably only briefly. Still, it is wonderfully warm, and that warmth is most welcome.

Soon the rains set in, and they lasted all day. I had lights on because it was so gloomy outside and, of course, a fire. But at noon, the rain stopped so I took Sheeb to the park again and we had a longer walk and she was walking rather spryly. I was thrilled to see it.

When we got home, I changed her bandages and settled in for a quiet afternoon, and lucky for us, the rain stopped and soon the sky was bright. Sheba and I took advantage of the break in the weather to go for a short walk. Then, when we got home, it was time to change her bandage and clean her feet. I’m rather thrilled with her progress.

It's been weird not walking with our friends for the past two weeks. It means I speak to no one unless I say something in passing to the clerks of Nester’s. But time passes pleasantly. Slowly, we are getting back to normal. We walk, but the walks are very short, and we must walk where there the ground is not soaking wet.

sunday

This morning, Sheba wanted out quite early, so I went out with her at about 5:30 am, and I took all her bandages and socks off. It went very well. It’s now almost 8:30 and she has been content to chill without violating her feet at all. But I check on her constantly to ensure she doesn’t bite any of her feet.

It’s a beautiful sunny morning this morning, so my plan is to walk the Elder Cedar path once I’ve had my shower. If we do that, she’ll want to sleep when we get back and I can likely monitor her less often. It will take time for me to trust her again, not to bite herself. And we’ll do another long walk this afternoon if all goes well.

My horribly scraped arm is healing well, my neck is completely better, and my shoulder (rotator cuff) is almost pain free. I have lots to be happy about. Plus, it’s only one more week until I see Dr. Chen.