grounded . . .

sigh -- ever feel like you just can't get ahead?  that's how i've been feeling lately.

on sunday afternoon i pulled a muscle in my back.  ouch!!!  well -- monday i had to go to syracuse to pick paul up at the train station - he was just coming back from his annual HOBY trip - to chicago this time.  because of the pulled muscle, my sister drove up and i rode along.  i was also on the go on tuesday ---

long story short --- my back has been getting worse instead of better, nothing i was doing seemed to help -  so decided i'd better go to the doctor's today.  well --- apparently not only do i have a pulled muscle, but i also knocked my pelvis out of whack.  sigh.  how did i manage that you may be wondering  --- good question.  i wish i had a good story -- sky-diving, rescuing a kitten from a tree, a summer camp trapeze accident --- nope, i simple bent over to pick something up off of the floor. sigh ---

anyway -- so he re-aligned my pelvis.  didn't give me any meds for now -- i have to go back on tuesday for him to check it again.  told me to load up on IBU and apply heat -- and REST.  told me the worst thing i could have done was go to syracuse -- sigh.  oh well ----

he also grounded me.  i can only travel for 15- 20 minutes -- and if any of you could see where i live, you would  know that won't get me very far -- town is 10 minutes from here, and not much there.

so -- i had stuff planned -- of course -- for the weekend, a reunion a festival, etc. all atleast an hour drive one way ---sigh.  frustrating.

a friend who called to check in on my said --- "don't you hate when God doesn't check your calender before messing with you"  hehehehe --- exactly!

 

well -- at least i'm feeling a little better. sigh -- if it's not one thing, it's another - -

the parable of the waterbug and the dragonfly --

when my mom died, my sister was trying to figure out how to explain it all to my nephew; he was 4 at the time.  she found a story book about water bugs and dragonflies -- since she has a love for dragonflies she bought it.  the book is very well written and i love how it explains to concept of death, heaven, and why we can't return.  the story has stuck with me.  a very good friend lost her mom over this past weekend.  i thought of the dragonfly story as i sat at the funeral today.  i found the story online, and shared it with her, and i'll share it with you.  i'm not sure of the author. . .

-The Story of the Dragonfly-

Down below the surface of a quiet pond lived a little colony of water bugs. They were a happy colony, living far away from the sun. For many months they were very busy, scurrying over the soft mud on the bottom of the pond. They did notice that every once in a while one of their colony seemed to lose interest in going about with its friends. Clinging to the stem of a pond lily, it gradually moved out of sight and was seen no more.

"Look!" said one of the water bugs to another. "One of our colony is climbing up the lily stalk. Where do you suppose she is going?" Up, up, up it went slowly. Even as they watched, the water bug disappeared from sight. Its friends waited and waited but it didn't return. "That's funny!" said one water bug to another. "Wasn't she happy here?" asked a second water bug. "Where do you suppose she went?" wondered a third. No one had an answer. They were greatly puzzled.

Finally one of the water bugs, a leader in the colony, gathered its friends together. "I have an idea. The next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk must promise to come back and tell us where he or she went and why." "We promise," they said solemnly.

One spring day, not long after, the very water bug who had suggested the plan found himself climbing up the lily stalk. Up, up, up he went. Before he knew what was happening, he had broken through the surface of the water, and fallen onto the broad, green lily pad above.

When he awoke, he looked about with surprise. He couldn't believe what he saw. A startling change had come to his old body. His movement revealed four silver wings and a long tail. Even as he struggled, he felt an impulse to move his wings. The warmth of the sun soon dried the moisture from the new body. He moved his wings again and suddenly found himself up above the water. He had become a dragonfly.

Swooping and dipping in great curves, he flew through the air. He felt exhilarated in the new atmosphere. By and by, the new dragonfly lighted happily on a lily pad to rest. Then it was that he chanced to look below to the bottom of the pond. Why, he was right above his old friends, the water bugs! There they were, scurrying about, just as he had been doing some time before. Then the dragonfly remembered the promise: "The next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk will come back and tell where he or she went and why."

Without thinking, the dragonfly darted down. Suddenly he hit the surface of the water and bounced away. Now that he was a dragonfly, he could no longer go into the water. "I can't return!" he said in dismay. "At least I tried, but I can't keep my promise. Even if  I could go back, not one of the water bugs would know me in my new body. I guess I'll just have to wait until they become dragonflies too. Then they'll understand what happened to me, and where I went."  And the dragonfly winged off happily into its wonderful new world of sun and air.

word of the week . . . patience

well, we're one week post -op.  things are going well.  patience has been the word of the week, but i think things are going pretty well.  things seem to be healing well - and we're adjusting the "sore spots" as they come.
 
i'm starting to eat real food - soft foods, but more then pudding and yogurt!
 
talking is getting better - still a little garbled, but better.
 
so -- patience.  and practice.  it will come - in good time.  rome wasn't built in a day, and this will take time.
 
be watching for pictures soon -- i promise! ;)

baby steps . . .

i ran across this photo online - and i thought that it summed up where i am at this point.  the title of the photo is 'baby steps".

this process has been interesting to say the least --- the healing is going "as planned" i guess.  right now we are in the process of fixing 'sore spots' as they arise.  dwindling down the plastic as the gums and tissues heal and settle.

i'm not eating a wide variety of foods just yet -- still haven't been able to chew very much - but, at least i'm eating!  i didn't eat anything for 2 1/2 days after surgery because i couldn't get it down.  if it wasn't for the gag reflex, it was something else.  my mouth felt  like a tunnel - plastic everywhere.  once the dentist adjusted some of that it made it alot easier.

surprisingly i haven't had alot of pain.  mostly some discomfort as they settle and we figure it all out.  for that - i'm grateful.

i've been told my appearance is very different from what it was -- i see the obvious, but at the same time it is hard for me -- i still feel swollen and puffy, and i'm still getting used to how my mouth "works" now.  so i haven't taken any new pics just yet.  i will.  they will come in time.  i'll post some here - along with the "before" pics - which, btw, i was looking at -- i took some the day before surgery.  wow.  of course there is a difference.

all in all -- things are going well.  i don't regret my decision, and i'm in love with dr. k.  -- she rocks!  :)

i'll keep you posted! :)