You may be wondering why my weekly post is happening two days late. It’s because I had a pretty catastrophic injury on Tuesday. More on that later…
I got to see Jenny on Friday. Curtis and I enjoyed a date night on Saturday. I got some macro therapy on Sunday. Anna competed in the STAR bowling tournament on Monday. I had a bad fall on Tuesday. Dominic had therapy and an appointment with his new psychiatrist on Wednesday (just transitioning care from Austin to San Antonio). Curtis and I met with transportation about Anna on Thursday.
Day 316 ~ Hospital Waiting
Friday, November 11th, 2016
After the election, I needed to withdraw. I went into my introspective cave and hid. Everyone I know and love has been super respectful and has allowed me to have my space. Thank you. Thursday night Jenny called me to let me know that her dad was in the hospital. They thought he had TB but tested negative and he was scheduled to have a lung biopsy on Friday. I had lunch with her on Friday then we went back to the hospital to visit. Robby is feeling fine, he isn’t sick or symptomatic, but there is a hole in one of the lobes of his lung. They still don’t know exactly what it is, but are treating it like a viral infection. On my way out to the car, this scene greeted me. I don’t know who the woman was, but we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Someone we love and care about it is in the hospital and we wait. Waiting is hard. Not knowing is hard. But the tangible love and goodness in life is found in those moments. That clarity strips you down to your bare soul.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 160
Day 317 ~ They Had One Job…
Saturday, November 12th, 2016
Curtis and I got a date night Saturday (thanks, mom!!!). We got a hotel room in San Antonio then met up with some new friends for drinking and dancing (thanks, Uber!!!). We had a blast and we are feeling the most connected we’ve ever been. We had to chuckle when we first checked into the hotel. There were two parking spots right up next to the building and beside one was a sign. Facing the wrong way. Curtis said it reminded him of those funny pictures titled, “They Had One Job…” yeah, this guy messed it up alright! The sign was for a fire lane, tow-away zone warning for those that were wondering. 😉
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.2 | 1/160 | ISO 2000
Day 318 ~ Yo! What’s Up?
Sunday, November 13th, 2016
Dominic found a young praying mantis on our patio wall and the dogs were a little too interested in him so I moved him to safety. The sun was setting and made a perfect backdrop for some images. He’s looking at me so intently that the image’s title wrote itself.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/5.6 | 1/320 | ISO 800
Day 318 ~ Is This My Good Side?
Sunday, November 13th, 2016
I love how the praying mantis’s gaze follows you, carefully watching everything you do. I was circling my new little friend playing with the beautiful golden light and different perspectives. He seemed to play along, posing and conversing with me as I snapped.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/5.6 | 1/320 | ISO 800
Day 318 ~ Fire and Rainbow Bokeh
Sunday, November 13th, 2016
The light enveloped the young mantis in an explosion of golden, fiery, and rainbow bokeh. Sigh. My soul is fed.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/9 | 1/320 | ISO 800
Day 318 ~ Goodnight Sun
Sunday, November 13th, 2016
The sun set rapidly and caught me off guard. I’m still not used to the time change and how quickly the light disappears. There wasn’t quite enough light to fully silhouette my new little friend but the colors and tones were so pretty that I still wanted to share. It made me think of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. The praying mantis was looking at the sunset and I imagined him saying goodnight to his surroundings.
Nikon D750 | 105mm | f/8 | 1/400 | ISO 640
Day 319 ~ Overcoming Fear
Monday, November 14th, 2016
Anna competed in the STAR bowling tournament on Monday. The kids had been practicing for about 5 weeks and all the parents, grandparents, and loved ones were invited to watch them bowl against other schools. Each lane had one bowler from each high school and 1-2 peer helpers. Fiesta Lanes also provided lunch. It was very well organized. I was a little worried when I saw the mascot for Canyon High School. Historically Anna has been terrified by mascots. She has been working on confronting this fear this year and had already talked with the mascot at one of the pep rallies. You can imagine my pride when I saw her hugging the mascot. Yay, way to go, Anna!!!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/250 | ISO 1250
Day 319 ~ Knocked-Some-Down Happy
Monday, November 14th, 2016
None of the bowlers had bumpers up which surprised me so many of the kids were getting gutter ball after gutter ball. When Anna finally knocked down more than a pin or two, she was soooo happy! This image is completely out of focus, but I don’t care. She was proud of herself and I’m glad I captured that.
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/250 | ISO 1250
Day 319 ~ Dominic Would Be So Proud
Monday, November 14th, 2016
Anna got a spare sometime on the second game and she game off the lane dabbing. OMG. I almost died laughing. Dominic does this all the time and I wish he had been there to witness it. What’s even funnier is that after Anna dabbed, some of the other kids starting doing it too. So cute!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/250 | ISO 1250
Day 319 ~ Third Place
Monday, November 14th, 2016
The kids had to bowl three games altogether and they took the average score from the three games. Well right after the first frame of game three, a girl four lanes down from us had a major screaming meltdown. Anna couldn’t handle it and had to leave the area. I thought we would actually have to leave the bowling alley but one of her teachers took her over to the awards area and got her distracted. She stayed there the rest of the time and cheered for all of her friends. But that meant that she got all zeroes for game three, no big deal. She was thrilled with her third place metal and I was so proud of her!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/250 | ISO 1250
Day 319 ~ Pretty Posing
Monday, November 14th, 2016
Look at my little photographer’s daughter. That girl knows how to smile and pose, doesn’t she? I love that Canyon High School is so inclusive and had the cheerleaders and mascot join the ROTC for the awards ceremony. Well done everyone!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/1.8 | 1/200 | ISO 1250
Day 321 ~ Pretty Perch
Wednesday, November 16th, 2016
I’ll go into more detail in the next image but my butt was parked in my recliner after Tuesday and my mom kept me company most of the week. Wednesday morning she came over to take care of me and Cooper flew over to say hi. After a few minutes of wandering around her shoulders, he got comfortable on her leg. What a silly bird!
Nikon D750 | 85mm | f/2.8 | 1/125 | ISO 320
Day 322 ~ Well, Crap
Thursday, November 17th, 2016
I’m still debating about how much detail to go into because there is fault involved (that’s not my own) that caused this traumatic knee injury. For now I’ll be vague about the specifics. But the end result is that I took a horrific fall down some steps (which Anna witnessed). My left foot slipped on the first step down, I tried to grab the rails and couldn’t regain my balance. My right leg went straight out (FYI, my knee replacement is in my right knee so my good knee is the one that got injured). My left leg bent at the knee, went to the left of my body and ended up behind my left shoulder as my body continued down the three steps and my foot stayed behind me. The ER on Tuesday said nothing was broken or dislocated but to get a follow-up MRI in a day or two because sometimes injuries don’t show up right away with the swelling. They put me in a full leg brace and said to not bear any weight on it. Mom came to the ER and brought my walker from my previous knee surgeries. I saw my family doctor Tuesday afternoon and she said it could be a sprain which would take about six weeks to heal or there could be a tear in the meniscus or ligaments. She ordered the MRI which happened Friday afternoon. I wasn’t even home yet when I got the call about the results. There is a partial tear in the tendon that holds the kneecap to the lower leg and there is damage to the kneecap. Crap. It’s bad. This is a season-ending injury in football. I see the surgeon on Monday to talk about treatment options. My family doc said it just might be time to do the knee replacement on the left. I’m just sick inside. We had to cancel our trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving and we had a lot of plans for parties and get-togethers coming up in December. I was getting between 10-13K steps a day, exercising every day, and being the most active and happy I’ve been in years. I’m so so so angry and sad. I’ll update next week after I see the surgeon.
Nikon D750 | 35mm | f/2.8 | 1/125 | ISO 1000
I’m not ready to rejoin the Facebook world yet and it’s been quite calming to not have that mental noise in my life. I recommend it to anyone who has a difficult time filtering out the drama, the 24/7 access to news, the politics, the rhetoric, and the ups and downs of everyday life. I appreciate the folks that have reached out to me via text or email. If you have anything major going on in your life, please let me know. You know that I would want to offer you love and support, so please ping me if you need me. Love each other, people. Thanks for reading.
