I tried to upload a video a couple of days ago, but I guess I got too long-winded, and the file was too big to download.  

I just walked to the end of my driveway and back for the first time!  Furthermore, when I got back to the porch, my foot wasn't nearly as swollen and red as it was just a couple of days ago when I would have it down without walking on it.  I definitely think going on an antibiotic was the right thing because it was much less angry even by my second pill. 

I had two days my first week home where I got a bit down and was impatient with my progress and my output.  A little prayer was the key to getting to a better mindset.  Since then, the days have been floating by like the clouds that I sit and watch from my front porch. Some days, I barely accomplish anything; I just sit and listen to the birds and watch leaves flutter--and feel pretty content, to be honest.  I've often thought of my Grammy and Grandma Cooley, who were also porch ladies.  I used to feel bad thinking they must be bored out of their minds, but now I realize it isn't a bad life at all.  

I've also had some adventures the past few days.  Thursday was Lizzy's graduation.  It was a great day for a kid who has never really liked school -- and for her mother who would get stressed about her not liking school -- ha ha!  The graduation took place in "The Pit" which is a lovely field in the middle of Clarks Summit, and it is a pit in that it is below everything else.  There was no way to drive down and drop me off, so I rode my knee scooter down with the handbrakes on all the way.  It was fun, actually.  However, I had to get back out of the pit afterward.  That was an adventure.  My other leg isn't used to working so hard, so I had to stop halfway up to take a breather, but I made it to a street where I could sit on the scooter and wait for Pat to come pick me up.  Then we went out to eat at Lizzy's favorite place for wings -- Fratellis.  I sat with my leg up on the scooter while we ate, but by the time I got home I was in agony.

The next night was First Friday, and I had an author signing at Tom Grudis Optical.  The SHS Band was there, along with my friend Maria with her lovely art, and an aerial photographer. This time I brought a pillow to put on my scooter so I could elevate my leg a bit higher. I had so many great conversations -- and I was serenaded by these two men with lovely harmonies, a banjo player and a guitarist.  It was a much shorter night, and I was basically sitting the whole time.  Again, we went out to eat afterward, and even though I had my leg propped up, I was still very uncomfortable that night.  It was hard for me to fall asleep.

So, I've decided that my purple trench as to come with me from now on -- my leg has to be elevated higher than what pillows can accomplish in between activities.  I brought it with me to church again Sunday, and tomorrow, when I visit my students (hopefully), I will bring it with me.  

Saturday, my sister-in-law Claire brought quiche and blueberry buckle and had breakfast with me on the porch.  Then, we accomplished some sorting together to make room for a new sectional.  It felt good to see her leaving with a bag to drop off at Salvation Army and another for the trash. I'm so grateful for her.

And, I'm grateful for my other sister-in-law, Aleyda, who delivered chicken parmesan on Sunday.  She and so many others check up on me regularly. 

Yesterday, the sectional arrived -- and it is a MONSTER.  I knew it was huge.  And my first reaction to it at Raymour and Flanigan was "That is hideous."  But Pat convinced me to sit down on it.  It is literally the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on -- and in a moment of weakness, I didn't care if it didn't go with the bright, beachy aethetic of our first floor.  In the meantime, our other sectional has been gone for a few days, so our living room looked so large and sunny.  So when this monster was delivered, I was thinking, "What in the world have I done!"  But then I sat on it again.  Ha ha.  Last night, all four of us were sitting on it, and we were all so content that I decided to love it without regret.  

God has certainly blessed me. I often think of how "something" made me insist on getting that "ganglion cyst" taken out of my leg.  Everyone who knows me knows how much I hate taking school days off.  I never did ER & D and always made appointments during the summer for that reason.  But since April 2023, I've acted on nudges to get it checked out -- and then I insisted on having it out ASAP even though typical Amy would have scheduled it for the end of June.   Today, I talked to a guy who also followed a nudge.  When told an uncomfortable feeling he had was just scar tissue, he went out of town to get a second opinion, and he found out that he also had a very rare cancer -- of the appendix.  Like me, he was only in an early stage.  Talking with him, I could see that he was appreciative all over again that he’d been saved from a worse battle.  

Many of the women I talked with on First Friday have also had rounds with cancer -- way more challenging rounds than I've had thus far.  One woman had very little of her digestive tract left due to another diagnosis -- yet she still made it to First Friday especially to talk with me because she had read Nellie and loved it.  So many brave people who keep going with life -- and with being outward-focused instead of being inward-focused. I’m impressed and grateful for their inspiration.