Getting better, bored and ready to blow?

I'm really feeling better these days. On Friday night, we drove a block up the hill and parked to watch the fireworks in Glendale. Glendale is a tiny 6 block city in the middle of Denver, best known for strip clubs and Super Target. I was feeling pretty good, although I was freezing and shivering in the unusually cold July evening. The kids seemed to really like the fireworks and Gabe fell asleep in grandma's arms before the big finale. We could see our driveway from our vantage point and it was funny that we drove the tiny distance rather than walking. But I wouldn't have made it up the hill! The next morning, we loaded up the van and went to a friend's house for a Fourth of July morning neighborhood kids-on-bikes parade and pancake breakfast. I walked a very large square block, following very far behind Gabe on his festively-decorated bike. I know several people in this neighborhood, so I got a lot of "OH MY GOSH...I DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE YOU! YOU LOOK GREAT!" I had a nice time, although the long walk really knocked me out for a while. Jelly legs.

We had friends over for dinner than night. My friend, Bonnie, played with Gabe and Lily all night and catered to them during dinner. She's such a great friend. I ate too many chips and salty foods, so that evening, my belly was hard and very bloated. My left ankle was swollen for what I believe was the first time ever. It got a little scary when I felt that I couldn't get in a full breath because my belly was so "full". I decided that I didn't want to lie in bed in the quiet house thinking about it, so I stayed up late watching TV. In the morning I found that I had gained 3 pounds since the previous morning. Technically, I was supposed to call the doctor to report the swelling/bloating, but I didn't. I knew it was from eating too much salt the night before. Lots of water during the day on the 5th and I felt better by the end of the day. My weight was down to almost normal this morning.

Sunday night, we had dinner with friends from church at their house. We left Lily home with grandma, so we all had a relaxing evening...well, not grandma. Gabe had a fun and carefree time running around with his little buddies and Marlo and I enjoyed dinner and conversation with our friends. It was a very nice time, but I felt like at times, I was talking nonsense. I would lose my train of thought or forget the point of things I was saying. I've read that some patients who have been on a heart bypass machine during surgery have trouble concentrating, remembering things and sometimes speaking clearly in the weeks following surgery. Since I hadn't had a drop to drink, I'm blaming the pump. I've called Marlo "Gabe" and Gabe "Marlo" many times in the past few days. I read that this goes away in a month or so.

My big complaint right now is my numb and kind of painful left thigh. I was attached to the heart/lung pump by an artery in my left groin area, through an incision. Apparently there are a ton of nerves in the area that may be inflamed and the numbness will subside in a month or two.

I'm feeling stir crazy being at home all the time, unable to drive or really walk anywhere far. My mother-in-law, Anne, spent the day cleaning our house, washing floors and doing laundry, while I sat and organized some stuff around my desk. Both kids are in summer school from 9-3 everyday, so the house is painfully quiet. I have a lunch date tomorrow and possibly on Wednesday. My mom and sister, Jen, arrive Thursday morning and Anne leaves for Winnipeg on Friday. I'm really looking forward to seeing my mom and sister. It's been a year.

Marlo is very business-like at times, getting schedules set and planning for the next day. The house is running like a machine now. Fun times. I miss a bit of the chaos of not having EVERYTHING planned. Kids with no school or playdates, me trying to keep them happy and engaged, trying to figure out what's for dinner, Marlo and I watching funny shows on TV while drinking wine after the kids go to bed.

But I am feeling better and healing and I know that "good times" are coming again. Not like these are super bad times. I just miss our normal.