Still August

Guess it is best to get started before I have the use of only one arm. I've neglected the blogs for over a year, when Dad and I were on the RV trip to The Thousand Islands.  With so much sightseeing and spotty Internet connections I didn't do much posting, but I was writing in the late evenings after Dad had gone to bed. I laid in the sleeper over the cab in the SunRader, headlamp around my forehead, propped up on the sleeping bags packed for cool August nights that never materialized along the mighty seaway, The St Lawrence River.  And in the morning I'd search for a hot spot to connect my laptop to the Internet. Finding electricity was often as difficult as finding WIFI.  I gave up, to enjoy being on the road, hanging with Dad, enjoying upstate New York.

Now a year later, I have yet to post some of those blogs. Nobody was begging for them. And I anticipate no one will be begging for this one either. But this one is for me.

In a week, I'm having rotator cuff surgery. Six weeks in a sling. And in a week, August melts into September, my least favorite month. It always seemed to me that once Labor Day passed and school got back into session, the temperatures dropped out of the sky along with frost, leaves and snow. It was September’s fault. And now, I'm going to physically and mentally plow my way through the month with my right arm in a sling.

My mission: occupy myself. I have a dozen things to do. And some will take me through four to six months of recovery and physical therapy.

1.     Be patient. I got all day to wash, dress and take care of self.  I've been practicing.

2.    Get off pain meds as soon as possible. 

3.     Journal about the stuff I can and can’t do. Be mindful that this disability is temporary, while others have permanent disabilities. Show gratefulness for healing.

4.     Draw, sketch and pencil.

5.    Read to enjoy and to learn. Might have to convert these books to digital as holding books with one hand is cumbersome.

a.       Bone Tree

b.       History of the Jews

c.       Defeating Jihad

d.       Battle for the Soul of Islam

6.    Crossword and word unscramble.

7.    Puzzles – jig saw

8.    Daily walks of six or more miles. High bar is ten miles. To Saratoga, Greenfield, Corinth, Saratoga Lake, infinity and beyond.

9.    Watch weight and diet while eating simple proteins to build and repair muscle.

10.  Listen to Dennis Prager. There’s three hours a day.

11.  Be kind to Dad. At 92, he is taking care of me and my cats.

12. Read a chapter of Proverbs daily.

That ought to keep me from lamenting September in a sling.