Surgery is officially scheduled for July 11th - so I am now less than two months away from it.
Hitting this mark has been emotional to say the least and it coincided with Mother's Day and the basement renovation being completed.
The basement is beautiful and now the nicest part of our home. The three of us often find ourselves down there wondering how we went from an ok space, to a destroyed space, to a beautiful restful space? The process seemed to take forever and then went by in a blink - like everything else in life. Our contractor and his team worked swiftly and happily - we enjoyed hearing them laugh, sing and whistle...while they worked. My father in law (F) managed the project from afar with B onsite. F knows everything about home repairs and renovations, and I can't remember a time he was here where he didn't fix something. He is a gift. We would not have been able to do any of this without the support of our families and for that we are truly grateful.
However it is not an easy process. The renovation took several weeks and they worked every weekday and some Saturdays. Towards the end the noise and the dust became overwhelming, and the dust reached every level of the house, nothing escaped it. It took a toll on the kitties too, Fritz was terrified the entire time and Yoko supervised/stalked the contractors. We're still working with insurance on reimbursements and I can't remember a time I spent so much money so quickly.
But many good results require putting in the hard work, so it has been helpful and motivating as I prepare for my own renovation. I have joined B in walking in the morning and I complete my exercises from PT at night. I walk 2 laps around our cul-de-sac and he powers on after I'm done. I still have carbs and wine more than I would like, but I'm trying to be mindful of how much I consume. We question and consider every cent we spend. We also question and consider how we spend our time and what projects need to be completed. The next two months are busy with holidays, birthdays, work and social events so we have to be extra mindful of how we use our time, but also not burn ourselves out. For our mental health we try to choose fun and joy in the content we consume instead of thought provoking or cutting edge. Like Chad & JT, Jury Duty, Nate Bargatze, Kurt the cat, Taylor Swift and Taylor Swift concert outfits. Belly laughs are healing.
It has been a very trying, tender and sweet time. We have practiced more patience and grace with each other than ever. I imagine the days after July 11th will be even harder, but I think we're doing everything we can to prepare for it.
