So, December 31st.
We have had quite the year.
We moved from Greenville North Carolina to Greensboro North Carolina for my job. I now work at a smaller hospital in the Emergency Room. And I love it!
Jim changed driving companies shortly after moving to Greensboro. He loves his job. The hours/miles are more consistent. It is for a small company within a big company so we enjoy the health benefits, retirement benefits that would come with a big company.
Amilia and Nathan started at a new school. Nathan is being tested for Accelerated Learning. Amilia is being tested for learning disabilities. Her head injury two years ago may have a much longer lasting effect than we had anticipated.
Amilia and Nathan started riding lessons. Nathan no longer taking lessons but he loves going to the barn and pushing around the wheelbarrows...
Amilia had the opportunity to ride a larger pony at the stables near our house for a couple of weeks, but then the owner stopped allowing her to come over because she says "you're driving me crazy." About the same time I was getting stressed out because she was not giving me clear directions of what she wanted me to do! So, although Amilia is no longer riding Peaceful, the short amount of intensive riding improved her riding abilities enormously! She is now very confident and able to post without difficulty. She will continue riding Magic until she can canter on her and keep her seat. She is improving quickly. What she does from week to week is amazing growth and learning. She now gets an hour (because Nathan has stopped) and Annette, her instructor is amazed at how well she is riding now.
I hurt my back on September 17th and I am still struggling with the pain and with work. I did not work for 3 months, went back and had to immediately stop again. I had an injection of steroids about 3 weeks ago that lasted about 10 days. I worked two weekends, then stopped working again. So, I am scheduled for another injection on Friday. Hopefully, it will bring great results and I will be pain free for longer.
So we say goodbye to 2007 and pray for a happy, healthy 2008!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Writing
I love to write.
There is so much in my mind that I want to come out, that I want to put on paper.
But sitting down and taking the time to write has been hard.
If I put it down on paper, (computer) it is permanent.
I have not written in the past few months because what I have had in my mind has been dark, depressing, not how I want to be seen.
Today, for the first time in months, I woke up and felt like the sun was shining. My heart felt light, the heaviness I have had has been lifted.
Back pain is almost gone, I have gone back to work, I have found horses to be near.
Horses. There is only one smell like them. It is a smell that I would recognise even if I did not see the horses. Pungent, not sour, smells like the outside, smells to me like work, happiness, satifaction. I love the smell of horses
Horses. I love it when they stick their heads out over the stall and sniff you with their noses close to your head. Softly stroking the side of their silky smooth head, itching up behind the ears. They rub back, pushing with their noses for more. Nibbling with their mouths, tasting your skin or clothing. Inquisitive, checking you out.
Horses. The way they move. So graceful, so smooth. Such large animals, controlled simply with a small bit and a pair of reins.
There is so much in my mind that I want to come out, that I want to put on paper.
But sitting down and taking the time to write has been hard.
If I put it down on paper, (computer) it is permanent.
I have not written in the past few months because what I have had in my mind has been dark, depressing, not how I want to be seen.
Today, for the first time in months, I woke up and felt like the sun was shining. My heart felt light, the heaviness I have had has been lifted.
Back pain is almost gone, I have gone back to work, I have found horses to be near.
Horses. There is only one smell like them. It is a smell that I would recognise even if I did not see the horses. Pungent, not sour, smells like the outside, smells to me like work, happiness, satifaction. I love the smell of horses
Horses. I love it when they stick their heads out over the stall and sniff you with their noses close to your head. Softly stroking the side of their silky smooth head, itching up behind the ears. They rub back, pushing with their noses for more. Nibbling with their mouths, tasting your skin or clothing. Inquisitive, checking you out.
Horses. The way they move. So graceful, so smooth. Such large animals, controlled simply with a small bit and a pair of reins.
December
This morning, frost was on the ground, the air was cold and dry. But by afternoon, it should be quite warm again (compared to the northern relatives).
For the past couple of months I have been struggling with a back injury that occurred on September 17th. Along with the pain, I had isolation because I was not working and do not yet have a network of friends here in Greensboro. So, as a result, I got depressed, did not want to do anything at all, spent much of my time lying around in bed (back pain), watching TV, reading and feeling sorry for myself.
A week and a half ago, I got an injection in my back which has help the back pain tremendously! Before, I could not sit for longer than 10-15 minutes without having shooting pains down my legs. Now I can sit as much as I want and no significant increase in the leg pain. YEAH!
Life has gotten so much better...God is good!
Last weekend, a dog came into my yard. It was an unfamiliar dog and Daisy was out. I did not want Daisy playing with a dog she did not know (I also did not want an accidental breeding). So I caught the dog and heard yelling over at the stables next to our house. Amilia and I walked the dog over to the Stables and finally met our neighbor Joan. What a wonderful thing! She needed some help around the stables and in return, Amilia and I get to ride!
I have ridden twice (oh the aching muscles after!) and Amilia has ridden several times. She has gone from a tentative rider to bold and outgoing. She so wants to let the pony run but does not yet have the seat or the balance for this. She has put together the rhythm of trotting and posting and she looks amazing riding. And so tiny! She is riding this great big Welsh mix pony! At first I was fearful of her falling but now, she just moves with Peaceful as she trots around the ring. The ring has a layer of sand that would cushion her if she happened to fall...and I as a kid, used to fall all the time and did not get hurt...
Nathan has ridden a couple of times for a short period of time, but he is not enjoying it as Amilia does. He, instead, plays with the many dogs that Joan has (she has 18!), or he plays in the dirt pile by the riding ring, or he goes back home and plays on the computer.
Jim is in Toronto today. He will hopefully start home tonight and be home tomorrow.
I have been working again and now that I do not have leg pain, love my job! I work with a great group of Nurses and Nursing Techs. When we are busy, everyone pitches in, when we are quiet, we all sit around talking and joking (two very bad words in the emergency department--busy and quiet...I cannot believe I put time down on the computer!).
I am off to Physical Therapy for my back (it still hurts some, but not at all like before the injection), then will spend the late morning, early afternoon cleaning the many stalls that Joan has (instead of going to the gym, I shovel poo).
For the past couple of months I have been struggling with a back injury that occurred on September 17th. Along with the pain, I had isolation because I was not working and do not yet have a network of friends here in Greensboro. So, as a result, I got depressed, did not want to do anything at all, spent much of my time lying around in bed (back pain), watching TV, reading and feeling sorry for myself.
A week and a half ago, I got an injection in my back which has help the back pain tremendously! Before, I could not sit for longer than 10-15 minutes without having shooting pains down my legs. Now I can sit as much as I want and no significant increase in the leg pain. YEAH!
Life has gotten so much better...God is good!
Last weekend, a dog came into my yard. It was an unfamiliar dog and Daisy was out. I did not want Daisy playing with a dog she did not know (I also did not want an accidental breeding). So I caught the dog and heard yelling over at the stables next to our house. Amilia and I walked the dog over to the Stables and finally met our neighbor Joan. What a wonderful thing! She needed some help around the stables and in return, Amilia and I get to ride!
I have ridden twice (oh the aching muscles after!) and Amilia has ridden several times. She has gone from a tentative rider to bold and outgoing. She so wants to let the pony run but does not yet have the seat or the balance for this. She has put together the rhythm of trotting and posting and she looks amazing riding. And so tiny! She is riding this great big Welsh mix pony! At first I was fearful of her falling but now, she just moves with Peaceful as she trots around the ring. The ring has a layer of sand that would cushion her if she happened to fall...and I as a kid, used to fall all the time and did not get hurt...
Nathan has ridden a couple of times for a short period of time, but he is not enjoying it as Amilia does. He, instead, plays with the many dogs that Joan has (she has 18!), or he plays in the dirt pile by the riding ring, or he goes back home and plays on the computer.
Jim is in Toronto today. He will hopefully start home tonight and be home tomorrow.
I have been working again and now that I do not have leg pain, love my job! I work with a great group of Nurses and Nursing Techs. When we are busy, everyone pitches in, when we are quiet, we all sit around talking and joking (two very bad words in the emergency department--busy and quiet...I cannot believe I put time down on the computer!).
I am off to Physical Therapy for my back (it still hurts some, but not at all like before the injection), then will spend the late morning, early afternoon cleaning the many stalls that Joan has (instead of going to the gym, I shovel poo).
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