Home – Health – Horse

Home

At last- home internet! I guess that’s progress right there… AND, I didn’t have to do it myself- my husband got it done!

Speaking of DIY, in the last few weeks while we’ve been settling into a new home in a new city, I’ve learned a lot about troubleshooting, problem solving, and using hand tools.

+ Re-installing a bathroom light fixture – ✔️

+ Building a ginormous IKEA 5×5 bookshelf – ✔️ (I didn’t think I could do this by myself! Lesson learned! Well, okay, I did have a “little” help…)

+ Replacing far too many lightbulbs in very high ceilings – ✔️
+ Setting up a washer – ✔️ (did you know you have to get a HOSE for these things, otherwise your laundry room floods??)
+ Setting up a dryer- ✔️ (did you know there are two different types of dryer plugs/outlets, and that it’s really pretty easy to change out the cords?)

Just to name a few. Were they a pain in the rear? Yes. Did I want to do them? No. Am I better person for putting on my big girl knickers and getting it done anyway? Hmm. That remains to be seen. At the very least I know a bit more about tools and appliances that I didn’t know before. Am I complaining? Yeah, a little. I’m pretty tired of being the only person in the house who can get anything done, from dishes to trash bin duty to picking up dog poo. And that doesn’t even begin to cover all the day-to-day stuff I do surrounding the kids. I do it all. I’m tired, and without the support structure (aka: Grams) that I used to rely on.
But, we keep going. We keep making progress. It hasn’t always been this way, it won’t always be this way, and we’re still better off than many- for which I truly am grateful.

…we keep going. We keep making progress. It hasn’t always been this way, it won’t always be this way, and we’re still better off than many- for which I truly am grateful.

Health

Speaking of progress, again: my husband is out of his wheelchair! He’s progressed through using the walker to using a cane! I can only imagine the work and the pain he’s gone through to get to this point, it’s a testament to his determination (and stubbornness!). If it gives you any idea of the magnitude of his accomplishment, his own surgeon- one of the best (I’m not making that up, he’s known statewide for his work)- did not realistically think my husband would ever walk again, and the surgeon wants to use my husband for a case study. Someday I’ll get a rundown of all the damage to his destroyed leg, but for now suffice to say that it is a mass of mutilated meat and we still have a long, long road to travel. I massage and work the leg most nights (when I’m not exhausted and beyond ready for bed) and I feel chunks of muscle missing, chunks of scar tissue, and the plates and pins holding it all in place. The worst is a big divot where there’s missing tissue below what used to be his calf muscles. There’s still a great deal of damage to his ankle and foot as well- both remain insanely swollen and for the most part immobile. He’s only beginning to regain sensation in his foot, and as it tries to repair itself he deals with terrible “burning” pain from I can only guess the nerve regrowth. It’s a good sign, but it’s so uncomfortable and strange for him.

On a more personal note, I don’t think I’ve spent much time on the fact that we are expecting a new family member at the end of the year. Everything else has just washed me and this new little life out to sea. I had such wonderful pregnancies with my girls; but now, however, I’ve just wanted ghost through this one and it fills me with sorrow. It fills me with sorrow that I haven’t been able to champion and celebrate this baby, and that he’s largely been ignored, some of it due to personal circumstances and more of it due to not having insurance for pre-natal care.
But…did you notice which pronoun I just used?

Horse

Chroi has been settling in well to her new home. Since she’s just five minutes down the street from me I will often stop by for a moment just to look at her. I’ve been working on working with her since I’m particularly anxious about maintaining the work that Cori did with her, but I have a lot to learn too! Not only do I need to get experience in harness work and in driving, but Chroi and I also need to learn how to work together. I’ve been so grateful for Cori’s support and advice, she’s been fantastic about it. I’ve had Chroi in her harness a couple of times and each time has gotten better. I’m struggling right now with feeling “stuck” because I don’t have a cart, I don’t have a saddle to pursue her under-saddle training, and I’m too pregnant to do much anyway. So, groundwork it is! And more groundwork! And then…Yup, you guessed it…more groundwork! In one of her emails to me, Cori wrote: “If base feels like it is mushy the finer work isn’t going to come together well.” I’ve held that thought in my head as inspiration to keep up with the “finer work.” It can serve us well in the future.

Keep on keepin’ on

So are we making progress? Yes, I think we are.
I have a lot to look forward to in the future, and I’m grateful.

Categories: Chroicoragh, Life of YES, Life with a Unicorn, Living YES, The Horsey Life, Unicorn