Giving Thanks

I haven’t written here in a while. I’ve been concentrating on living life, and trying not to think about surgeries and such. Things are mostly status quo, except walking is getting more difficult. I walked 6 city blocks to meet Perry at the optometrist last night – I thought driving would be stupid – and I’m regretting it today. It didn’t hurt much at the time, but I need to realize that the next day is always the killer.

My knee, elbow and tricep are also sore because of a fall Tim and I took on the ice yesterday. It was just a stupid fall during a free dance run-through, on our circular footwork of all things. I just went into a drape and fell for no reason, and took him down with me. I don’t think this fall was hip related, although I do notice that generally I’m not as steady on my blades any more and rely on Tim more for support. We got up and kept skating the rest of the session since we are so tough. I’m sure Dr. Mayo would not approve of any of this since I’m supposedly limited to “low impact” activities such as swimming, the elliptical machine, and sitting on "The Bean" watching TV. Ahem. Thank goodness Dr. Mayo's way too busy to read this blog.

The purpose of this post is not to complain as I usually do, but to give thanks. There are all kinds of reasons to do this. In frightening economic times, Perry and I both have jobs. We have health insurance (although it is doubtful mine will cover my PAO, but that is a story for a complaining post, not for a thankful post). Our parents are healthy. Overall, we are healthy, hips excluded of course. The kids are doing well in school and staying out of trouble. Other than our mortgage, which is at a low, fixed rate, we have no debt. Our home has lost a bit of value but we bought it at a good price before prices started to heat up; we plan to keep it for a while and we’re not under water. Our 401(k)s have taken a hit, but we aren’t planning to retire any time soon. We do feel very lucky that we are weathering these financial difficulties well, since we know that is not the case for everyone. Many of our friends have had setbacks and we can only be supportive.

I am thankful for all that I have, for my wonderful family and friends, and for Perry, who has cheered me up even when I don’t want to be cheered up. We are truly lucky.