It was also December and time to prepare for Christmas. I enjoyed shopping and tried to stick to my budget while choosing gifts that my family would appreciate. I gave up trying to do that by myself a long time ago. Most all of the kids helped me to shop and wrap. I would much rather get the right size and color the first time then have to make a bunch of returns after Christmas.
The biggest challenge that we have faced in the last seven weeks has been helping Larry to go through major surgery, a Total Knee Replacement. No one could have prepared him for the amount of pain he has been in and the difficulty of the actual rehab work. It has been quite a journey- oftentimes very discouraging for him. The rest of us have hated to see him hurting but have been able to see how well he is doing and how much better his knee is. He can walk!!!! In fact, today he went for a walk in the woods!
Physical therapy 3 times a week for five weeks and now 2 times per week for a couple more weeks has been the key. Larry has developed an excellent trust relationship with his physical therapist who is a guy about his own age and an avid history buff. They have had a lot to talk about in every session that exercises his new knee to the limit.
We all got a kick out of Sam's paper slipper!