Doing What You Can
I understand in the broad range of all possible disabilities, I am not all that disabled. It is true that I can't walk right now but I can ride in my wheelchair and I can walk a bit using my walker and all the while not needing to get to work, to put food on the table or put clothes on my children's backs. And in another month or so I should be back to walking just fine. For now I can't put any weight on my left foot but I'm still eating, still sleeping in air conditioned comfort and generally doing just fine. OK. I get it. I'm lucky. But nonetheless, I've been a bit of a whiny butt.
Fortunately for the general balance of the universe, I have a family that doesn't really put up with my whining. My daughter has shaken her finger at me several times when I suggested maybe doing something outside of my surgeon's suggestions. My son was a wonderful help getting me to my local polling station so I could vote in the most recent run-off election but he too wanted me to do as I was told by my doctors. My husband is very concerned about my physical abilities. To that end he keeps reminding me to practice using my scooter so I will have more mobility. And to practice, practice, practice on my walker.
Peggy was out here on Saturday and brought me lots of jobs to do. We are teaching a weaving class at the end of the month for our new and totally wonderful knitting group KNOW - Knit At Night Out West. There are at least 10 Cricket looms that need to be warped. She brought me a large shopping bag full of yarn that needs to be tagged and undated on the website. I need to pull out the sales records for the Houston Fiber Fest from last year so we know what we want to pack for this year's show. She also brought me a couple of fun books to read.
So the bottom line seems to be this (or really these) :
Do not do anything your doctor restricts.
Do everything your doctor suggests.
Do not over do - you are supposed to be healing now.
Do not stay too sedentary - get up and move around. Just not too much.
Stop whining.
Warp looms!
As you can see, I've been warping looms. I'm working on the last two of the ten. I've also tagged all the yarn Peggy brought me and sent her the sales totals from last year's Houston Fiber Festival. I've been practicing on my scooter. Interestingly, it is a skill that requires practice even though it looks dead easy when you see someone sailing around the grocery store. I've not tried to get out of my boot. I'm not walking in the boot. I'm raising my leg when it gets swollen. I'm trying to follow the advice from all the nurses in my family - my sister, my niece and soon to be my daughter. So I'm doing what I can do. And trying to smile all the while.