Ethan’s Journey

 I did a lot today for someone with a sore back. I did as much as my body would let me. I rested in between chores. But finally I got sore enough to stop. I was going to log in to work, but lately I feel like that is all I do. I work early, and late and weekends. Today I just said “no”. I did some reading instead. I don’t really like to read. But this was reading about St. Lucia and trying to plan things for while we are there. I read about this short hike that supposedly has stunning views. Apparently the hike is rated for kids 5 and older, so I should be able to do it. Ha! I guess we will see. I was also mapping out how far things were away. If we drive to one thing, what else can we do near it? This is the part of planning a vacation I find so fun. Paul arrived home at 12:30 am with the new to us jeep Cherokee. It is grey. That is all I know about it. That’s really all I need to know. There is no sense in cluttering my brain with more information about a vehicle I don’t anticipa...

 Paul flew to North Carolina to pick up a jeep to replace the rotten one we have. The frame has rusted through and is no longer safe. It is 24 years old. We paid $500 for it 9 years ago. I feel like we got our money’s worth. Paul flew there yesterday. Our nephew was instrumental in picking Paul up from the airport, giving him a place to stay and taking him to the person Paul was purchasing the jeep from. He was a HUGE help. When I went to visit him at the end of September, I took several little plastic ducks and hid them around his apartment. At least 35 or more. I sent a huge handful of ducks with Paul. I instructed him to hide the ducks all over when my nephew was in the shower.  Paul followed the directions and my nephew found one prior to leaving his apartment. He made a comment to Paul that he is STILL finding these ducks. Paul snickered to himself knowing there were so many new ones to find. Paul drove the 10 hours home. What a long day. I remember how exhausting it was ...

 This morning as Paul and I were chatting over coffee I was telling him about my thoughts and things I noticed at the Theresa Caputo show. Paul thought it was very odd the way that I process things in a crowd. When we arrived, we stood in a line going out the door. I noted that all the doors were unlocked and both sides opened that way in the event of an emergency, we don’t wind up in a situation where there is limited escape. This is something that my father taught me to check when I was little. He always checked to make sure that both doors were open and none were locked. If they were locked he would unlock them. He was once questioned by someone about this and he told them it was illegal to have both doors locked during business hours for public safety. He then went on to tell them he could call the fire chief on the spot if the establishment wanted to challenge it. No one ever took him up on that offer. As my friend and I found our seats, I located the fire exits just in case w...

 I have 4 1/2 days until my virtual presentation for the vet tech students. I want to make sure it is helpful and not boring. I worked on it this evening and really cleaned some things up.  My coworker that set this up said she was going to help jazz it up. I love teamwork. She is really good at making things look professional. I am excited for the presentation.  Today I was feeling much better. I didn’t need a nap in the middle of the day. Ugh! I even made a few laps around the field. My life is a bit boring but someone has to live it. Paul is getting ready for an upcoming trip. He is going down south to pick up a jeep. Since our other one rusted through the frame, this will be the replacement. Paul is going to spend some time with our nephew, spend the night and drive home the next day. If my back wasn’t in such bad shape, I would join him.  My back feels bruised from yesterday’s physical therapy session. My PT did the deep and painful massage. Today it feels like ...

 I woke up in the middle of the night in full on migraine mode. Luckily I was able to get it to subside enough to fall asleep. When my alarm went off, I was VERY foggy and my stomachs was off. I had back to back phone screens throughout the day. I had physical therapy at 8:00 am. I decided I could power through it, but it was rough. My physical therapist kicked my butt and I walked out more sore than when I walked in. At one point during the morning I had a point where I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Over my lunch break I set an alarm and took a little nap. That did the trick. I felt so much better after that. This evening I had a date with a friend to go see Theresa Caputo. My friend parked her car illegally and chanced getting a ticket. Her good karma must have paid off. She didn’t get a ticket and we were on the road relatively quickly due to her choice of a location with easy exiting. On our way in, we had some lady with ill fitting pants in front of us on the escalator....

 We have had Moe now for 4 1/2 months. I was watching him sleep today. I got mad at all the left over scars. Sometimes we can’t see them. Sometimes they stick out like a sore thumb. I still don’t trust him around a lot of people. Last night we had a visitor. He had his fur standing up and was not happy. I do feel safe in my house. I think he has really bonded with me and he is protective…even when I don’t need it. He is a project and he has taught me so many things.  I had trouble focusing today. I am not sure why. The day dragged on. I was hoping to get more accomplished, but I didn’t. It wasn’t a very satisfying day, but I made it through. Ethan shared how this week at his job they have government inspections. It sounds like everyone wants to make sure things go seamlessly. I started getting a headache this evening and decided to just go to bed early. I am just going to start over with a new day in the morning. I am hoping my headache decides to go away. 

Let’s take a moment and thank all the veterans that have served our country, so that we can have our freedom. Thank you!  I went to my follow up neurosurgeon appointment today. He confirmed that I have avoided surgery! Yay! I asked to continue with physical therapy for a bit longer as I felt it was offer slow and steady improvement. He offered to send me to the pain clinic for trigger muscle injections, which I declined. While I am still not comfortable a lot, I can handle this without injections at this point. Plus that sounds not pleasant. On my way home, I receive a gift. I turned the corner and standing in the middle of the road was a big, beautiful and proud turkey. He was in the way of traffic but everyone did their best to offer him some space.  He was crossing the street with no sense of urgency. He was more showy than I have seen turkeys in the past. All he wanted to do was to get to the other side. I had many meetings today. I worked until about 7 pm. I am hoping the...