No more therapy.

Freedom! I passed all the therapy things today, so I no longer have to go to physical therapy. It’s been six weeks. My balance is still off, but that takes time to regain. I’m driving again, and basically off narcotics.

This week we celebrated Founder’s Day in Isabella County, the 150th birthday of it’s origin. Sesquicentennial! (Can you spell it?) Anyways, it went off without a hitch and was attended by around a thousand people, in spite of pouring rain. I served on the committee for months. And, it turned out better than I thought it would. The halls were crowded, the food was all eaten, the awards were received, and the displays were more than interesting. I was on my feet for more than 10 hours and went up and down three flights of stairs Wednesday, during the event. Plus, I helped set it all up the night before. Needless to say, my knee swelled up double and I was in tons of pain to say the least. But, now it’s over.

What’s next? Well, I need to plan a community dinner party for people who work with others with disabilities. I’m going to try for March or April on that. It won’t be nearly as big as Founder’s Day. I’m planning on around 100 people, tops.

I’ll also be babysitting for my little Susie Bell for a week or so. I’m looking forward to that. I haven’t spent nearly the time with her as I have Leah, and I don’t think she’s learned all of my little songs. So, we’ll rock and sing before bed and I’ll enjoy every minute of it. But, I do miss my little Leah immensely. She hasn’t been here in two weeks. She’s making friends with her new doggie named Brady. It’s a beautiful collie, which looks just like Lassie. There’s no way Grammy could compete with Lassie. But, I’m happy for her, since she loves dogs so much.

I’m totally upset about the stimulus package that is passing tonight. 1,000 pages? The one that the congressmen and senators haven’t read. They don’t even know what they voted for. The one that O’Bama promised would be up on the web for at least five days so we could all read it. LIAR!!! He shoved it down our throats. A billion dollars for bush mice in California? A billion for STD’s? A billion for bee insurance? A train rail from Disney Land to Las Vegas? I’m stunned. I’m ready to lead a Boston tea party. I probably will need a new kind of therapist by the time we end up paying for all this crap.

I pray our God will have mercy on us.

2009

I'm now three weeks since the knee replacement. I'm recovering, but it's still very painful. Therapy is killer. Yet, it was the first thing on my list for the new year to get done. My health will become my priority this year. I will lose weight and exercise. I'll grow stronger day by day. This is an area that I have total controll over. There's so many things going on that I have no control over. But my thought life and the way I spend time is up to me.

Right now I'm grounded. I cannot drive and am limited in what I can do, since I must use a walker when I walk. So, it's a good time to take stock of myself, come up with a plan, study and decide what I'm going to do this year to change my life and make a difference. I don't have one egg is the Obama basket. He cannot create change for me. Stress perhaps, but not change.
I've allowed myself to become fearful, depressed at times and at times full of anxiety. I need to corral my thoughts and emotions. I need to focus a bit more on the positive things in life.

I want to continue in my spiritual journey with God. I need to grow in faith. I've allowed fear to crowd it out little by little. So, I commit to taking time in the Word, to renew my mind and to trust the Lord. I hope to attend church more this year. I love to worship and praise God in the congregation. So many people are asking for prayer. I will try to remember all the requests that come my way and focus on them each individually each day when I'm resting in the Lord and the Word. I will call out their names before the God of the Universe.

I'm working on a few new friendships. I'm not engaging in some of my old ones, since they are draining now days. I have my own problems. I tend to think of myself as the Savior at times and really, I know I'm not. I'll let God be God, and I'll just be me, who is limited in the kind of help I have to offer.

I plan to clean up and sort out the basement. I really need to get rid of things and downsize a bit. There's so much down there. I really'd like to finish off at least 2 bedrooms and a bathroom down there. God will make a way.

I have lots of other little projects to do, like organizing my music, cleaning up my computer, etc...but I intend to take time out and work on my doll house. That'll be a fun thing for me.

I want to spend time with Leah and Susie, loving on them and teaching them all things that Grandma's should teach.

So, that's my desires for the new year. I hope that I'll be true to myself and get some things done. Happy New Year to all.