Monday, May 16, 2022

 Monday, May 16, 2022

 

   I was in pain for a good part of the night, sciatica. My tennis ball application didn’t do much good. I took ibuprofen early in the morning and finally slept. I was in less pain when I walked. It reminded me of a previous time when I suffered so.

  Mike and I were on a Thanksgiving vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. My back hurt badly. I could lie down and walk; sitting was out. When we went to a restaurant, I made my selection, went outside, and walked up and down in front of the restaurant. I returned once the meal was served, ate it, and then went out and walked until the check was paid. Once a man made me an offer I politely refused. We never discussed money, so I don’t know how much he thought I was worth. I was already in my early 50s. I took it as a compliment- or maybe not. Maybe he thought I was going for cheap because of my age. Oh, well. I will never know.

   Okay, I was in love. I tried my new Spinbrush Pro toothbrush. It was a whole new experience. I could feel how clean my teeth were after using it. The battery-charged toothbrush I used had nooks and crannies where mold collected. Good thing I wasn’t allergic to yuck. The Spinbrush doesn’t have the same problem, or at least less of one. Also, the color on the Spinbrush bristles fades with use. It will tell me when it’s time for a change.

   I had an acupuncture appointment at 9 am. I didn’t think to wear a mask until after we started the session. All the windows are open in the room where we work, but still . . . .  I was concerned about catching Covid or the bronchitis that was going around. Any illness will cause me to cancel the surgery on the 2nd.

    Terry gave me exercises to help increase my turnout in my left leg. It was already remarkably straighter than it was before I started PT. Jennifer helped me discover a way of working on it that did not engage my hips. She had me turn out my right leg to see what it felt like and then apply it to the left leg. I have close to zero turnout on that leg.

    No one signed up for the Reading/Writing office hour this week. Actually, someone did and then canceled shortly after. I decided to be present if someone decided to show up. No one did for half an hour. Long enough. I shut down the Zoom and went for one of my short walks.

I used both walking poles. Borrowing a page from Aston, I push down on those poles to strengthen my core muscles. Very interesting.

    I sent emails asking for feedback on my gravestone design yesterday to Damon, Cylin, and Judy. Damon and Cylin said they liked it just as it was. It was simple. It has my full legal name at the top of the stone, two entwined hearts, and Mike’s Beloved Betty at the bottom. That’s all I want to be remembered for in that context. I was disappointed by how small the two entwined hearts were. There wasn’t enough room for my death date with larger hearts. Judy suggested I put two sets of hearts, one on either side where there is room. That would be four hearts, and it would be symmetrical. Nay. I didn’t know yet if Judy thought it was okay the way it was and was throwing out a suggestion because she thought I wanted one.