I took a call from the Dr's office today. I have a date for surgery, second week of August. The pleasure of knowing what and when is delicately balanced with apprehension. I remember how little fun recovering from these things tends to be. And this is a more involved procedure and recovery than what I've undergone in the past. (sigh, if only I could go back and have a "redo" of those few moments it took to set me up for this grief!)

On the positive side, my guy is back to work, sort of. He's in the office for the time being, and continuing with P T, or Physical Torture. He claims physical therapists are the second most cruel folk in the medical profession, right behind X-ray techs.

Is there a specific epithet, slang term or curse word that you absolutely cannot stand?

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

From on high.

Earlier today I was visiting the blog of Shades of Yesterday. Her youngster's adventures reminded me of something that happened when my sibs and I were in that age range. Let me know what you think of my effort to make a story of it. Please?

Farther up, you can see forever.

Farther up the hill you can see our house on one slope, and Uncle Leonard's on the other. Farther up the hill to the peak, in the middle of the hayfield, you can see the town. Not just the church steeples, but the square tower of town hall, rooftops among the trees, and even a bit of the greek revival columns on the American Legion hall.

When, on occasion, Dad brings home the big truck from work, you can see Mt. Washington. On a clear day, if you can persuade him to extend the 40 foot sky worker straight up in a crystal sky, and mom will let you go up with him, that white peak flashes a code to heaven as the sun goes down.

Up is peaceful. Little sisters and brothers, and mom too, as it happens, don't like too much up. That's how I came to like sitting on the roof above my bedroom window to read or daydream in peace. That's why I still grin each time someone offhandedly asks "What's up?"

Back then, gravity didn't seem to have as much power over me. If I buttoned on an oversized coat during a storm the wind might, just for an instant, lift me like a kite. The shed roof was just high enough to yield a momentary weightlessness before striking the ground. The euphoria was addictive. -As I was the oldest child, it was also contaigous.

Dad had caught on to my disappearing act, and "sneaking" out onto the roof became everyone's favorite sport. There was no point in going out there any longer. The moment they couldn't locate me the rest of the kids would be out there shouting and laughing, daring each other, pounding back and forth along the porch edge, and drawing the attention of the adults.

They were out there whooping it up when Mom called everyone to supper. I was at my place on the bench when the three boys ran giggling down the stairs. The six year old looked worried. That should have been a sign of upcoming trouble, but in the nightly mayhem I barely noted it. Mom, busy getting food to plate, didn't notice.

Just as Dad was ready to say Grace and Mom was asking where Sis was, we heard a staccato pounding overhead. In the time it took most of us to wonder what the noise was Dad had sprung out of his chair, cleared the length of the trestle table, and jumped from the porch rail to the bulkhead roof. As his feet hit the bulkhead Sis raced off the roof edge above him.

He scooped her from midair with one arm then sat on the bulkhead roof with her in his lap. He saved her that day. Our prayer of thanks and our Bible reading that evening were focused on the gift of life and Jesus gathering the children to him.

The boys reluctantly promised they would never lock anyone out again.

It HAS been a while since I posted, hasn't it?!

We had a wonderful vacation at Disney World, returned, and a day later Doug had his shoulder repaired. At the first post-surgery doctor's appointment the surgeon commented that he'd done "a good job tearing things up in there."

Even one day post surgery Doug said he was in less discomfort than he has been since he blew it out in February. He's continuing to heal nicely, and is looking forward to getting into physical therapy, and back to work (light duty) though he doesn't really enjoy the office work.

I saw him through the first few days after surgery and then returned to my job. It felt good to be back. I'd missed all the personalities and funny little social things that go on at the firehouse. I started checking out my truck before roll call, where I hadn't looked at it in a few weeks, and went back to finish after roll call.

There were a few items missing, so I talked to the captain, just to make sure there hadn't been an order to change what we usually keep on the truck, then grabbed a bag of absorbent to throw in the compartment on the side of the truck. I leaned forward to grasp the handle on the compartment door, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground screaming.

A couple of weeks out from that moment the orthopedic surgeon thinks I tore the ACL this time. It'll be "scoped" and probably they'll graft a new ligament in there. Either way, my summer of horse shows, gardening, and fishing is not going to happen. It's been replaced by a summer of physical therapy, homebodyness, and boredom. Yes, I'll probably do other things, like crafts and such, but I'm having a tough time adjusting with good spirit and grace.

It's a constant irritant having 4 horses in the backyard and not being able to do anything with them. Right now the knee is unstable enough that I don't dare even lead them back and forth from their stalls to their outdoor pens for fear of another "incident".

Andre', the youngest one, will be going to Connecticut for training. We're taking him there on Sunday. Neice Rachel is interested in riding Windy, the 21 year old mare, this summer. That will give Windy some exercise. Fiery is just hanging out eating hay for now, though he too will be going out for 1 month of training later in the summer.

That leaves my girl, Electra. I'd planned to show her at a few carriage driving shows this summer. I can't do that now. I'd started to think maybe it would be a good time to have HER trained to saddle work, too. I'm not sure we can afford to do that, though. It would be a good time to do it, where she's not doing anything else, but 2 horses out at training stables is more than our budget can bear. If I can afford to have someone come here once or twice a week, and can find someone who I'm convince can deal with E's dark side, that's an option.

Right now I'm in limbo. There's not much that I'd usually do with my time off from work that I can do now. Just this minute the grey weather is getting me down, and I don't know what to do with myself. I think I'll go to Starbucks, then get a pedicure. There are a couple toes on my left foot that I can't clip evenly, and with all this time on my hands little things like that are driving me crazy. 

Things are looking up

I saw the physician's assistant Friday afternoon. He's pleased with my range of motion and could not see any sign of torn ligaments. Thank God. -And I mean that as a prayer of thanks.

It still feels pretty yechy, but I can bear full weight on it. I'll use the crutches at Disney (oh, joy) to keep it from swelling up as quickly, and follow up with the Ortho doc. when I get home. We'll see how it goes, regarding the horse shows.

See  you all when we get back from FL.