Impact

First of all, thank you to everyone who messaged me or commented on my last post. I'm grateful for your kind words. I've had a great week full of affirmation and positive physical exertion.

This past week was Spiritual Emphasis Week at school, and we cut classes by ten minutes to start the students' days with chapel led by some nice folks from South Carolina. I was told they were nice; I'll be honest, I had no personal interaction with them. I also had limited interaction with students on Wednesday which is still something of a sadness to me. During SEW, we have a single day called Impact Day where classes are suspended and students and staff alike engage with the community in numerous service projects. My first year at BFA, I had the absolute joy of pulling weeds with a small group of my freshmen girls. Last year, Impact day coincided with an appointment at REHAB, and I wasn't able to participate the whole day. Well, I wouldn't have been able to participate in the same capacity anyways.

This year I had a similar role to last year at the command table where my incredible neighbor and friend, Kristy, coordinated the entire event. I made what positive impact I could, and while it wasn't the role I would have liked (burning debris in the forest, picking apples in a local orchard, washing windows for an elderly widow, painting a bus stop, or any other hard physical labor side by side with my students), I know that my job needed to be done, so I did it to the best of my ability.

Some days I wake up and expect my ankles to move properly, and they don't, but I continue walking to the best of my ability. Some days I wonder if my physical therapy is making any impact on my ability, but I have to remind myself that it took months for that flicker of movement in my butt to translate to me being able to push off properly in each step. Those silly daily exercises do have an impact, and I can't stop practicing for the day that my ankles come back. I'm still hopeful; with my ankles back, wearing Toms again is a possibility.

Little things like my job keeping Kristy sane at the command table can have a big impact; little things like your prayers for my ankles can have a big impact too.