Happy St Patrick’s Day!  I sit here with my glass of Guinness, and try to figure out what to write.  We had a great dinner tonight, that I didn’t prepare.  Our neighbor, Donovan, made corned beef and cabbage, and I supplied dessert – Chocolate Stout cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  I thought they were good, and better than the last chocolate cupcakes I made.  David agreed!  We sat outside, and it was a lovely evening. The dinner was great and very nice to have our first meal outside on such a lovely evening.

Earlier in the day we had reading group, speech with Mary and tennis with Bill. After all that activity, we took a swim in the pool. It is really great to have it finished and just in time to enjoy it with the temperatures climbing towards the 90° mark.

For the past few days, I have been feeling a bit like I am waking from a long sleep.  I think that, while I am completely present, I have been in a kind of suspended state since the stroke over a year and a half ago.  It is a bit similar to a period of mourning, I think.  Giving us time to adjust to a life that is very different from the one that David and I were planning, but I am beginning to feel ready to look to the future and figure out where we go from here.  Not to worry, when I say “go from here” I don’t mean move, or anything crazy like that, just begin to figure out what the future looks like.

When I look back at the time since the stroke, I am amazed at how much we have done, and the progress David has made.  Impressive how much can be accomplished by sheer will and hard work (mostly David’s).  I am so grateful for all the help and encouragement we have gotten along the way.  It all reminds me that David’s recovery is a marathon not a sprint, and it takes all those folks along the side of the road to keep you going.