update....

With each new day, I feel stronger and more confident I made the right decision to get my new hip. I still rely on crutches and would not be able to walk without them, but I can lift my leg now into bed by myself. I can put both feet up on the coffee table without lifting my operated leg. This is HUGE because when I got home from the hospital, I needed an aid just to move that leg because it was so weak. I can walk up and down my driveway and go upstairs by myself (although I always try to have someone behind me just in case).

Yesterday was my first "outing". My father drove me and Kenzie to her dr. appt. and I was able to get in and out of the car and took the elevator up the office. The nurse made a joke to me......she said..."sorry, we don't have any rooms for geriatric patients". Hahahahahaha. Ok, I admit that was pretty funny and I took it in stride as I know that I will have to endure a life full of jokes like that from now on. I thought it was pretty ballsy of her to make that joke not knowing how I'd react to it though. Good for her for not being politicially correct.........I appreciate a good joke now and again.

Tonight......I am going to a night of "peace" put on by my daughter's former 4th grade teacher. His name is Fred Goldberg and he is the complete opposite of me............liberal, anti-war, sustained living type and long hair (mind you....he's my parents age!). He is straight out of a 1964 peace rally. And yes, he voted for Obama (gasp!)......but I love this man though.........he taught my daughter how to be herself and speak her mind. He taught her to never be afraid to say how you feel and what you think. She entered his classroom a shy, not very confident 4th grader. She left his class with straight A's and her head held high. From that point on, she has been one of the most creative, confident and bright kids I have ever met (and while she's my daughter and I'm a little biased), I will say that most who meet her will tell you the same. She's the star lacrosse player on her team, solo singer for her chorus, in all the school plays all while maintaining her 3.8 grade point average. She's opinionated too.........but what made me so proud of her was that in the face of the majority of teachers and students voting for Obama in her school election, she proudly campaigned and made speeches in support of Senator John McCain. She's my little Republican and she knows her issues....it's not all me telling her what to think.

This is Fred's last year teaching and he is having a celebration of his 30 years of teaching peace through building healthy relationships. He has connected students in several African countries with his own students and he will be traveling to Kenya this summer to help develop literacy and to teach sustainable resuable energy. Does this sound like something I would normally attend??? No way. I just love this man for what he taught my daughter.......a year's worth of life lessons that shaped who she is today. My daughter in fact will be giving her own speech tonight thanking him for everything he did for her. So for today, I will put politics aside to celebrate his good will and all he has done for his students over the years.