Freshly cut

Shecklet #3 decided she was ready to cut the blue (now gray) ends of her hair off. She looks so much older!

The Land of Stories

A family friend’s son read The Land of Stories series and his mom recommended them to me several months ago. Fast forward to today and Shecklet #2 is on the sixth and final book in the series.

6 months post-op

Time flies.

Usually I say that when referring to my kids and how fast they’re growing and changing.  This time though, I’m saying it about me.  Six months ago today, I was in the middle of a life-changing (life-saving) surgery.  A lot has happened in a short amount of time and every day when I wake up, I’m thankful for the gift of continued recovery.

✅ walking

✅ normal vision

✅ driving

✅ biking

Next goal: paddle boarding

We celebrated with 6-month post-op ice cream cones tonight!

Hammock swinging

We spent the day at Jake’s parents’ cabin today. Sun was out, wind was a tad breezy (read: cool,) but comfortable weather overall. Shecklet #3 brought her hammock and we took turns swinging in it.

There was also lots of swimming, kayaking, hotdogs on the fire and s’mores for dessert!

Sling shots

We went to Jake’s parents’ house today to see Uncle Jason and play outside. The guys made use of the paintballs and play house as they’ve done in the past.

Bride-to-be

Jake’s youngest sister is getting married and today was her “family” shower. Jake was at the bachelor weekend for his future BIL, so Grandpa Dave helped me out by watching the boys while the girls came to the shower with me. It was breakfast themed, which was delicious! Only three more weeks til the big day!

Dunkin stop

Shecklet #2 has been at b-ball camp this week. As a mini treat for the other 3, we stopped for donuts after dropping #2 off for his last day.

Just like riding a bike

It’s been a while since I’ve written about my recovery.  I continue to make gradual improvements in areas that most people would never notice.  Things like balance and fatigue continue to be areas I hope will keep getting better – albeit slowly.  One major victory to celebrate today though, is that I rode my bike!  No balance problems, no major sensory issues (while riding,) and I was able to keep up with my 5-year-old who has become quite confident on her bike as well!  We rode two miles tonight – down to the “big park” and back.  Hooray for both of us!

Unexpected visit

One of my cousins called me this morning as he was driving to pick up a piece of equipment for his business. The equipment was in MN and he lives in SD. He said his route was going to take him by our house, so he was going to try to stop to say hi and give me a hug before heading back home. It was a long day on the road for him – I’m so grateful he stopped to say hello.