Dunkirk NY – It’s now two weeks since the surgery, and today marked an important event. I took my first turn behind the wheel of a car since the operation. My wife and I went out to do a little holiday shopping Part 1, and she allowed me to get behind the wheel and test the leg out (not without some misgivings). It felt good to be driving, since driving is one of my favorite activities. I experienced no pain at all in terms of leg pressure to the pedals. Sitting behind the wheel was fine. I suspect the upcoming longer trip on Sunday will tell whether or not my legs get stiff from sitting bent, but I should be OK.
Walking around the grocery store was also OK. The knee still feels stiff and walking is not exactly easy, but there is no real pain to speak of. What seems to be more at issue is the sheer physical exertion. Having sat around the house for the past two weeks, part of the issue is now stamina. If I were working, it would clearly be too much to go back to work and put in a full day. The hardest thing to do actually is stand still, and waiting in the short line was challenging. By the time we got back home, I slapped some ice on the knee to relieve the soreness. I think there is a difference between soreness and pain. The knee feels sore, but not painful. I also ended up crashing for a nap this afternoon, so I think my PT exercises, which I did in the morning, will not be getting a second round. Had I not gone out and walked about I’d probably get them done. I did eye that electric scooter car for a few seconds, but in the end decided that the shopping trip was going to be short enough that it would be better to test out how well the leg was doing.
The weather continues to be typical – grey, overcast, temperatures in the lower 40s with some wind chill. The snow that fell on my first weekend home has hung on for far too long, but is finally showing signs of disappearing. I haven’t yet felt the need to break out the SAD light, but it sits there up on top of my filing cabinet, waiting to be plugged in. I bought a cheap six-pack of daylight LEDs and will be replacing some of the lights in the house with them.
I am also getting hooked a bit on cricket, and am beginning to understand the game a little bit better. My middle son became a fan of the game, and he suggested it’s the perfect antidote to the baseball off-season. And he has a point. It has the same leisurely pace as baseball, but if you think pace of play in baseball is a problem, don’t watch cricket. I took in a test match between Australia and Pakistan last night, starting at 7:00 PM, and by 11:15 the match was still going on. It takes five days to complete a test match, and this is the first test match I have been watching. I took in some of the Super50 Championship matches this past week. Super50 is a different game than test cricket, designed to be much quicker (50 overs per side, highest score wins). I’ll probably be doing a larger post over at Joy of Baseball (which is losing a little joy this offseason) talking about cricket as an antidote to lack of baseball.
Thanksgiving is a week from today, and my two boys will be here for the holidays. Brian will bring his partner and her daughter, so there will be six at the table. That will be nice. Thanksgiving is my second-favorite holiday after New Year’s Day. I like NYD because it’s a holiday that is completely devoid of obligations of any sort. Thanksgiving in my family is bigger than Christmas, so if there is any holiday for which my kids come home, it’s Thanksgiving. My daughter unfortunately can’t come from Seattle this year, as she wants to put in as much time at work as she can to make up for the time she lost to the accident. The menu is pretty much set, we’ve begun the shopping, and my wife’s nesting instinct is on overdrive. I am looking forward to a good holiday. -twl