Walking Spirit

is the only way I can describe the past week. For my first week back on full time I hit the ground running (figuratively of course). As I mentioned in the last blog it was an important week so, I worked six days. Not only did I work six days but I put in a minimum of nine hours each day which, when you add in two hours of driving equates to a minimum of 11 hours! When you then add in the length of time it takes me to prepare for work, or bed for that matter, there is very little time left in my day before it is time to sleep.

About half way through the week I realized I wasn't getting anything done at home. Luckily my roommate Jamie took care of my laundry. I went in a little late on Saturday so that I could take the time to get my bills and other correspondence organized, unfortunately there was no time to actually do anything with them. Of course, as a result I stayed at work until 9:30pm.

With Sunday being my only personal day of the week the plan was to go to breakfast with the family, then church, grocery shopping, and then finishing the bills and other correspondence. However, on Saturday morning my cell phone took a dive into the toilet. (The toilet was clean but, after drying it off, I sanitized it with an alcohol swab anyway.) It worked for half the day on Saturday and then crapped out. (excuse the pun) This added a new errand to Sunday and, if you know Verizon, there was no way to tell how long it would take. Something had to give!

Jamie stepped up yet again, as he had with the laundry, and volunteered to take care of my grocery shopping on Monday. (Before I go any further I should mention that Sunday was an all walking day for me, and I was wearing pants, which meant that to the general public I was just a guy with crutches who obviously had issues sitting down and standing up.) While on my way to Verizon I decided to stop for a haircut. When I pulled up I could tell that there was only one customer in the store, so I figured this would be a quick trim. Of course, while I was getting out of the car three other people pulled up and went in before I could even make it to the curb. Luckily I didn't have to wait long and about 20 minutes later was on my way to Verizon.

There's a store next to Verizon where I used to get my cologne. Since I haven't had any cologne for about a year (don't ask why, I'm really not sure myself) I decided to stop in and pick up some cologne. After that side trip I walked back out the car and dropped off my new "smell good stuff" and walked down to the end of the strip mall to go into Verizon. I didn't realize how busy it would be and was quickly regretting leaving my wheelchair in the car when one of the employees noticed me and brought a chair out from the back. After about an hour I was finally finished with the Verizon ordeal and one of their sales people walked with me back to the car to carry the box for my new phone and open the door for me. As I was stepping off the curb (something I had done about four times already that day) I commented to the sales person that it would take a moment for my hydraulic knee to bend.

As I was making that comment, and getting into the position where my right foot is suspended above the ground below the curb, my left knee, which normally bends slowly during that maneuver, collapsed. Down I went onto the concrete side walk. It obviously scared the sales person and the other people around me. I wasn't scared, just disappointed. It had been several weeks since the last time I truly fell and I've never fallen while stepping off a curb.

I wasn't injured, not even a scrape. Yeah, I fell backward onto concrete but, I've learned how to fall. I guess that Karate training from so many years ago is finally coming in handy. I'm still using those skills to defend myself, just not in the way I thought I would when I learned it.

This week has continued to be hectic with long hours at work. I've also been trying to prepare for a trip that Mom, Dad, Sarah, Madeline, and I are taking this weekend. Tomorrow I'll be leaving work early for two reasons: first to make certain I'm on time for my Pilates class, and second to ensure I get enough rest before going to the airport early Friday morning to fly to Amarillo Texas for my Cousin's wedding. Yes, next weeks blog will be about the first flying experience since the accident!