1. A successful surgery. Everything went even better than I expected. I had a private room with a view of the tops of the trees and the sky. My health insurance is covering everything. I had much less pain and restriction than what I’d prepared for, was up and walking just hours after leaving the recovery room, was able to manage what pain I had without any opioids, and experienced no nausea. The day after my procedure, my surgeon was willing to discharge me if I wanted, but since I still needed to be taken off my IV drip of lidocaine and hadn’t pooped yet (sorry if that’s TMI, but I did have part of my colon removed), I wanted to reach those milestones without difficulty before I went home so stayed one more night.

Every day, I feel a bit better, have been walking a lot and resting a lot. Today’s milestones are putting clean sheets on the bed all by myself, doing laundry — folding and putting it away even, and my second day on no pain meds. Later I’m going to take a longer walk (there’s a 1.8 mile loop Ringo and I take around our neighborhood in the afternoon sometimes and I’m going to try that) and while in the shower I’ll remove the last of my steri-strips from the two bigger incisions. I have a follow up with my surgeon on Tuesday and hopefully I’ll get cleared to get back in the pool, starting a return to movement practice that I’m guessing will take another 6-8 weeks to complete.

My surgeon was brilliant and all the nursing and other staff were awesome. I am beyond grateful. You can really see in the progression of pictures of me how I kept feeling better and better, the first of the set being me just out of surgery and the last one being me showered and home.

2. Eric. Poor guy was so nervous the day of my surgery. He’s been extra busy at work and had to take over all the dog walks and has taken such good care of me: before, during, and after. He brought me a “kitchen counter” love note every day I was in the hospital and just about every day since. He’s one of the best things I ever did for myself.

3. Good friends. Mikalina sent me gorgeous flowers. Shellie sent me a heart with “embodied” written on it. Chloe’ has been checking on me and sending me love and funny stuff and pictures of her tiny family, like always. Carrie and Chelsey and Janice have been regularly checking in. I got lots of well wishes and direct messages, far and wide. I even got to talk to my CSU friend Deanna, who I haven’t talked to in so long. Yesterday, our whole Wild Writing group was able to meet, to practice together, and it was so good to see them. I feel so lucky to know all these wonderful, tender hearted humans.

4. Ringo. He’s been such good company during my recovery. Our only issue was yesterday, which was cold so he wanted to cuddle on my stomach while I was lying on the couch, which I normally love but as I explained to him, I have stiches in my belly and he weighs almost 50 pounds. He finally gave up trying but he did not approve.

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. I am so glad to be home and recovering and I am excited for what comes next.

Bonus joy: lots of naps, my blackout curtains and sleep mask, birds at the feeder, good books and TV, listening to podcasts, potatoes, peach sorbet, plans for the future, everything turning green and a few things in bloom, other people’s dogs (cats, bunnies, birds, donkeys, etc.) and kids, a massage, comedy specials, on demand streaming content, good health, clean water, libraries, reading in bed while Ringo and Eric sleep.  

1. Morning walks. We walked some unusual routes and times this week because of snow, cold, and then mud, but it was still so pretty out there. People who’ve had the surgery I’m getting on Wednesday all say that the three things that are most important for recovery are: drink lots of water, walk and walk and walk and walk some more, and “don’t trust your farts.” 

2. Snow. I know lots of people are ready for winter to be over but I really like the snow and even the cold — not the gray sky though, never that. On Monday we were supposed to wake up to maybe a few more inches, and instead we got NINE and everything was canceled — SNOW DAY!!! The only drawback was the ground cover meant that the robins had to come to our bird feeder and those dudes are messy! Poop on and in the feeder and the whole thing went from filled that morning to nothing left by the end of the day. Thankfully once the snow melted they left the seed alone for the little birds and went back to pulling worms and bugs out of the dirt.

3. Hanging out with friends. I got to spend two whole hours with Chloe’, went out to dinner with Chelsey and Jon, caught up with Mikalina, and made art with Janice. I am calling this week’s collage “Church of the Wild.”

4. My big “Christmas” cactus finally bloomed. My friend Susan, when I posted that it was late but lovely, suggested it was an “Easter” cactus. 🙂

5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. I have been soaking it all in, knowing I’ll be away for a bit. Eric and I went to our first movie in an actual theater in three years! Every single day here with them is the best, my favorite.

Bonus joy: good books (just finished Cloud Cuckoo Land, so good!), listening to podcasts, watching good TV, naps, grocery shopping, soft sourdough sandwich bread, Squeezed Vitamin Water, knowing I have everything I need, canceled plans when I can’t “people,” other people’s dogs and kids, a new notebook, stickers, Dot’s Honey Mustard Pretzels, down blankets and pillows and coats, wool socks, finding replacement bulbs for my HappyLight which is over a decade old, peanut butter and banana, refried beans, sweet potatoes, raspberries, writing in the morning while I drink a mug of green tea, the pool, the hydromassage chair, sitting in the sauna with Eric, pay day, clean laundry, health insurance (although, universal healthcare would be even better), good neighbors, the river and the trees, all the early flowers starting to bloom, bird song, how cute Ringo can be when he’s being so bad, libraries, flannel sheets, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

And then there’s you, kind and gentle reader. I don’t tell you often enough how grateful I am for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. ❤