This will be the last time

Decorated by Ezra-Mae

This is the last week my right leg will be in a full cast. Next week I move to a boot and hopefully then I'll be able to start swimming once more. The last seven weeks have been quite a journey mentally and on many occasions I have had to remind myself that I have made progress even though I am limited because my ankle is in a fixed position. I can waddle around the house without a crutch. I can shower standing up and I can take a cup of coffee downstairs very slowly. Small steps indeed.

Purely from frustration, I considered trying my bike out but couldn't work out how to take the crutches with me. I have driven though. I take the boot off and use my toes on the pedal. While I still can't do much in the garden, I have managed to stay clear of plant pots so I can report less carnage in my wake. 

Surviving plants

I even took myself off shopping for groceries. All went well until I needed to push the trolley to the car. It was easy enough to get around the supermarket wheeling over smooth floor but the carpark was a very different kettle of fish. The trolley would not steer straight. I was exhausted trying to move forward with one hand steering and the other gripping a crutch. Once again the sun shone down on me and a lady offered to push my trolley to the car. Everyone is so nice when you need a bit of help. The whole world deserves a very big thank you!

I have had company again this week. It is always lovely to have people around. Diane and Jeremy popped over impromptu. I am in competition with Diane on the bad leg front. I think she is still ahead of me and could outpace me in a race! I introduced her to Danielle's domino game that we are teaching Ezra-Mae. Diane beat me at that too. No justice! We had a lovely takeaway curry - Thank you! - and watched Conclave - Brilliant. 

On a more serious note, I am still writing Naser's story. It dominates my thinking. I am learning a lot about me.  I think I have discovered my writing process. I liken it to planting a garden. You start with an empty plot and plant a few seeds here and there. As they grow, you move them around and then notice gaps where much larger plants fit. Then comes the pruning! At this late stage I am still adding a few seeds. One day it will bloom. 

Danielle asked me to go along with her to a psychic fair on Sunday. In my mind, I thought there would be people peddling crystals and beautifully crafted tarot cards. How wrong could I have been. The room had about eight tables with people offering readings. I am quite cynical about things like this but signed up to have a reading with Ricky. We got off to a slow start as he had mislaid his phone so inwardly I wondered how psychic he really was if he didn't know where he last had it. Joking aside, I asked the cards whether I would be a successful author. I was very guarded in my responses to any questions he asked as I did not want to lead him to know what I was writing about. Weirdly he told me both the story and the background to it. Definitely a doo-be-doo-be-doo moment.  

In many ways I keep myself busy. Around the same time that I have got moving, Mattaya has also got mobile. She has started crawling and pulling herself up on the furniture. Once more my house has become a minefield of dangers for inquisitive little ones. I need to get moving to keep her safe. This has come at a time when Ezra-Mae is getting very sensible despite having a Nana like me as a role model.