It has been a long time, but I'm back. For the past several weeks (months?), I have been either drifting on the deep blue sea of despond or bouncing frenetically from one adventure to another. Whichever, my blog has been on the far, far, far back burner. Now it's time to pick things up again.
I don't think I can cover everything that happened during my blog-less hiatus, at least not in one post. For now I'll just outline some of the factors that led me to abandon something that, really, means so much to me.
As I said above, I was caught for some time in a severe case of the "glums." My ALS symptoms were increasing, my dexterity was decreasing, and my thoughts about the future sinking lower and lower. I had two bucket list trips on the horizon, and I was so worried that my physical condition would prevent me from either. Driving was becoming more difficult, threatening my independence. My mood swings were increasing to the point where the slightest, vaguely perceived negativity would bring me to tears.
Then, to add insult to injury, I fell and broke my arm. My "good" arm. This gave me a bitter, bitter taste of things to come: with both arms useless, I was totally, embarrassingly, depressingly dependent. Luckily, my husband handled my dependence with aplomb and good cheer. Luckily, too, it didn't last long: surgery, a plate, and pins shortened my recovery time to weeks instead of months.
So a quick recovery, rapid response to PT, and the best caregiver ever helped lift me out of the glums. Then – tra-la – it was suddenly time for hyperactivity!
Time for a visit from my vet-student nephew and his wonderful family: first time meeting the beautiful baby, not nearly enough time to spend with her incredibly smart, ball-of-fire big brother. Next, a visit from my sister-in-law and her husband, my absolute favorites. Touring, eating, talking, more eating – my kind of fun. And then, finally, one of the aforementioned bucket list adventures: a road trip to Washington State and a ferry ride to Orcas Island in the San Juans. I did it. We did it. We had the most wonderful time imaginable. Challenges, yes. But we met them and we truly did have a wonderful time. And now I have every faith that my next bucket list trip will be wonderful, too.
So -- now we're home. My mood is better, my schedule less hectic, and I now feel drawn back to my blog. Heads up, dear friends. Films at 11.
