End of the tunnel

 

Zion National Park  (9/18/21)

When I broke my ankle on September 12, I thought that the worst case scenario was that I wouldn't be able to drive for six weeks, which would be three weeks after we returned home. The ER had told me I could bear weight when using the boot if it wasn't too painful to do so. I hadn't attempted it, but I was hoping that sometime over those six weeks I would be able to walk on two legs. The ER had told me to return to see an orthopedic doctor three days later. I didn't actually see one for a little over three weeks. The surgeon told me the soonest I would be allowed to drive or bear weight would be 6 weeks after the surgery. As of yesterday it has been nine weeks since I've driven or walked on two legs. That *might* be changing in less than 48 hours as I return to the surgeon at 8am on Wednesday. I can't wait until I can walk on two legs to the bathroom rather than hopping to the bathroom using a walker, and I also am eagerly anticipating the day I can clean and organize our house from top to bottom. It wasn't the best timing to read the book The Lazy Genius Way when I couldn't really do things like declutter, but hopefully I can later this week! I'm also really hoping and praying that the insurance company will actually pay for 80% of my ankle surgery. As it stands they are expecting us to pay over $20K because it was the result of an accident. I didn't know that accidents were handled differently by medical insurance.

I've been a hermit the past six weeks. Since Oliver hasn't had a ride to church the past two Wednesday nights, he hasn't gone anywhere except for church on Sunday morning. Thankfully, Tab and her two boys came over to our house for a few hours on Friday afternoon. From October 3 until the end of November our calendar has been/is pretty clear, but that is not the case for December. First, we're planning to see the Christmas with the Chosen in the theatre. We haven't been to a movie theatre in two years. I got an AMC gift card in January 2020, and that is what I used to buy four tickets to see Christmas with the Chosen. Other plans in December include seeing a Christmas show near Harrisburg, going Christmas caroling, a homeschool roller skating party, a Christmas around the World program, spending one night at Great Wolf Lodge, a Christmas Eve service, a dentist appointment, Ian's annual physical, and hopefully celebrating Christmas with extended family. Last year most of those things didn't take place in December due to COVID. This year the usual things like going to a corn maze, carving pumpkins, fall pictures, etc. didn't take place due to my ankle. Here's to hoping that neither COVID nor my leg will impact our lives too much next month.

Since I've spent far more hours than usual sitting, I've had to come up with things that I could accomplish with my leg elevated. Yesterday I addressed the envelopes for our Christmas cards. I'll wait a bit before I put them in the mail, but I'm ready to mail them earlier than usual. One project that I worked on the last several days was to develop some potential vacation itineraries. Because we have a goal of visiting all 50 states, I had mapped out potential vacations to the remaining 14 states between now and the summer of 2030 (when Oliver would graduate from high school and when Nadia might graduate from college if she pursues a four year degree right after she graduates from high school). Those nine vacations would include a trip to New England/Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, England, Ecuador, the Northwest, the Southeast, Texas/Louisiana, the Midwest. I had previously worked on the New England itinerary. Over the last several days I've worked on three other itineraries. None of them are completely fleshed out, and I fully expect they will change, but I've gotten a very good start toward planning them. I'm thinking flights will be involved for 6 of the 9 vacations and that we'd drive for the ones in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast. We haven't flown since we went to California in 2018. If we go to the Southeast in 2022 and the Northeast in 2023, we might not board airplanes again until 2024.

1. The 16 day Southeast trip includes stops in 5 states we've already been in (TN, VA, NC, FL, WV) and adds 1 new state (GA).  It includes 18 National Park sites. The battlefields (especially Chickamauga) and forts are what Paul will likely enjoy the most and what Nadia will enjoy the least. The trip includes 2 aquariums, 2 science museums, 2 beaches, 5 amusement parks, and 5 other sites that don't fit any of the above categories (Titanic Museum, St. Augustine Lighthouse, chocolate tour, Ruby Falls, and World of Coca Cola). We also have several opportunities to spend a little time with friends and family in Atlanta, Lynchburg, and in the Jacksonville area. Due to the fact that September is hurricane season, I'm proposing that we take this trip during the last half of May (2022), but that might not work out for Paul. The trip includes 3 nights in Atlanta and 5 nights in Orlando. 
2. The approximately 11 day Midwest trip includes stops in 3 states we've already been in (IN, IL, IA) and adds 3 new states (KS, NE, MO) and includes 7 National Park sites, 3 zoos/aquariums, 2 science museums, 1 children's museum, 1 amusement park, 1 cave, 1 art museum, 1 WW1 Museum, and 1 industrial tour. The length of this vacation will probably depend on how many days we spend in Chicago with my sister's family. 
3. The 17 day Northwest vacation includes stops in California plus three new states (NV, OR, WA). The trip includes 3 nights in Reno (with my Aunt and cousins), 4 nights in San Francisco, 18 National Park sites, 5 science museums, 3 zoos/aquariums, 2 industrial tours, and more. I am thinking we'd fly to Reno and then fly home from Seattle. 

Bryce Canyon (9/17/21)