Christmas Eve

I've been over-doing it quite a bit these last few days.  Lots of carrying things, reaching to the top shelf, doing dishes, decorating tables, and trying on lots and lots of clothes.  The result is as you would expect.  I'm pretty sore.  For the morning, "sore" is quite an understatement.  This morning I felt like I was back at recovery week #1 instead of #4.  Ouch.  The truck was back on my chest again and I needed help getting out of bed. I'm sore now too, but I'm still able to go about my business with only a little whining.  I need meds now, though.  And sleep.  I hate going to sleep, but I know I need it.   

The doctors said I wasn't supposed to carry anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 4 weeks.  Well, it's over 4 weeks now since my surgery on November 23.  So I've jumped in with both . . . errrr . . . arms . . . and have been trying to be my usual "host the family" self.  I love having people over and planning the meals and snacks and fun drinks.  I also get a kick out of the festive dishes and platters. 

We've been working on finishing the basement for quite awhile and this year we've added a kitchenette to the 2 bedroom, 1 bath, living quarters down there.  It's a beautiful Ikea kitchen with a granite countertop, farm sink (my favorite part), full refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and oven.  We used the basement oven twice today.  It has been so nice having two ovens in the house.  Now we can cook two or more things at a time, despite the required cooking temperatures.  It's just perfect for these holiday occassions. 

I know I've been a bit stubborn about doing things for myself and the crew this week.  I've been doing it all as I would have if I hadn't just been through a pretty serious surgery.  Everyone keeps trying to get me to sit down and relax while they do the dishes or whatever.  And yet I don't.  At least I didn't try to carry the table we moved from the basement.  I also showed restraint when I went to reach for a large stack of plates and I took half at a time to ensure I didn't have a pec muscle freak out and make me drop them all.  By 2pm today, I retreated to my room and took a nap.  Getting up an hour later was tough, but required to get to church.

Tomorrow's the big day.  Santa's coming tonight.  The kids will go crazy with all these gifts and Ken will too because he's getting a new gaming system (Xbox 360).  After we open presents and have lunch, Ken's sister and parents will leave and then we will get down to some serious packing for Nebraska.  I won't be carrying any heavy items this time, so we may have to rely on Val to take my place as pack mule.  She's certainly strong enough. 

Merry Christmas everyone!