Six Months! Feb 8

Some people travel the world taking pictures with a stuffed animal or pink flamingo in each frame. For us, it seems to be Teacup - our quirky mascot. She embodies such a wonderful attitude. With a sudden onset of arthritis four years ago, she went from being a marathon dog to a hobbler. Yet, she stays happy and excited and motivated. So, Teacup surfaces in our pictures as a symbol of good spirits in the face of adversity - and besides, we love taking her with us.

Friday was the six month anniversary of my accident. It is also the "halfway" point, based on the medical opinion that it would be a full year recovery. I feel like I'm able to take the long view - able to see that this will turn out fabulously well in the long run. No matter what bumps in the road I encounter in the short term, this can be a long-term source of motivation and staying present. It doesn't go away, so I have to keep paying attention - keep listening to what I need to do to heal.

Taking stock at six months:

- I'm alive
- I have a leg
- Melissa and I care deeply about each other
- We're not bankrupt
- I'm happy

What else?

I hiked 2 1/2 miles last weekend! Up a rocky trail in the Great Blue Hills just south of Boston. I did pretty well and didn't have to use my poles until the very end. My strength is coming back, and I'm supposed to do squats and lunges. I started with 65 lbs squats (yeah, I'm pretty ripped...).

Melissa is taking her last classes for her Masters in Social Work. We're counting down the weeks. It has been a long road, and this fall felt particularly difficult - trying to juggle school, work and caring for me. Lately, Melissa has been working both days on the weekend. And then I end up working both days, too. However, it feels really good to have work that I care about.

I'm trying to dodge all of the colds and flu that are going around Boston. Our housemate came back coughing up her lungs after a few weeks away. My co-workers have been sick, and Melissa has just come down with a cold. I definitely don't need to get sick while I'm trying to heal my bones.

I am walking around without a cane, though I walk slowly and weave occasionally. This weekend, I walked for an hour in the Arboretum without a cane. The last 15 minutes were pretty painful, but I didn't feel wrecked the next day. I'm sure a lot of people didn't notice my injury. I'm realizing that most of the time, other people's hurts and pains (even physical ones) aren't very visible. Lots of people have to overcome some kind of adversity every day.

I'm gravitating towards very energetic music - it seems to help drive me forward and keep up my motivation to heal. Green Day, Flogging Molly, Ozomatli - lively stuff. Lately, I've been wearing my iPod in the subway - it makes me feel like I'm in this self-contained bubble of happy motivation, and I can keep going through the pain and fatigue.