on wheels

Another emotional roller coaster day for me yesterday but, at the end of the day, a minor/major breakthrough: Mark and I went to the Y and I rode the recumbant bicycle! Of course, my speed and pressure was so low the digital reading said "pedal it!" but I was, best as I could. I actually put on a shoe what we had to cut a bit to fit my still mildy swollen foot and it was weird to have a shoe on my foot. My left leg did most of the pressure, but as I gained confidence, I pushed a bit with my right and moved the ankle up and back (range of motion) and it felt okay. I did 10 mins., then did a few weights (which I adjusted from my former weight pressure so that I didn't rely on my legs for lifting), and back to the bike for another five minutes. My right thigh, I think, felt the effort although I didn't suffer at all during the night and didn't need to take a tylenol last night or this morning. After the cycling, the color on my foot looked almost normal.

So another example of restored normalcy is at hand. Timing is good because I will be on my own a bit more for a few days and I needed to feel more confident about my strength. I made the bed again this morning and it wasn't as hard to do as when I tried over the weekend.

I have a conference call soon and I expect we will hear more news about whether my billable work continues or not. I am expecting "not" and so will be surprised if we do still have work this summer. I am not going to get stuck on this. I can't. I do have this new little humanities project (and July trip to New Orleans) to look forward to and my other community/pro bono project is picking up some steam. I am also going to volunteer to be on a housing commission board and try to reengage with my passion for housing that way.

As I slowly open up my mind to writing possibilities, the concept of home and housing resurfaces. I wrote about the meaning of home while in grad school and I can revisit that essay and add layers to it, I think. Since I am spending so much time at home, it makes sense to write about my environment in more detail. Our water bill this month shows that we are spending more money on watering the flowers and tho it's a luxury, as I sit here and look out my window, the sight of flowers make the scene softer. I am not sure that I will be on wheels enough any time soon to "walk" around my block, but eventually I will and eventually I will walk without a walker, wheeled or not, and eventually, I will be able to ride the Y bike and register more strength as I "pedal it"!