It's the End of the Road

 Tomorrow is the big day.  What feels like a finish line will really only be the start of the climb back to being me.  Bring.  It.  On.

If the four months between scheduling surgery and actually going under the knife were a marathon training cycle, then I definitely experienced some taper crazies this week.  I've been holding on for dear life, hoping nothing would come up that would cause my surgery to be postponed.  I walked a fine line between trying to work as much as possible before the big day and trying not to get sick doing it.  I was eating really well,  drinking tons of water, going to bed early, and my hands were raw thanks to the gallon of hand sanitizer I used each day.  Last Monday (9 days out), I worked in PE on a beautiful sunny day.  I was outside more than I was in, which helped ease my germophobic mind a little bit.  Working PE is by far the toughest on me physically (it's no joke mentally either, TBH!), and by the end of the day, I felt like I got hit by a truck.  My whole body hurt, and I could feel my face was warm with sunshine from all the time spent outside.  Par for the PE course.  Until later that night I started having chills.  I hobbled upstairs to where I keep my thermometer and popped it in my mouth.  

99.7. 

I didn't take any meds because this happened to me a few months ago and the little baby fever was gone by morning.  I was in bed by 7:30 and asleep before 8, and I'm thrilled to report it worked like a charm.  All I had to do was survive two more days with little booger eaters and my last two days of work would be with high schoolers, who are far more skilled at keeping their germs to themselves.

I made it through the week (thank you, immune system!), and we headed out of town Friday afternoon for a college visit at Virginia Tech.  It was a quick trip - up Friday, tour stuff all day Saturday, home Saturday night - but it was just what I needed to distract me.

Right outside our Airbnb window

Go Hokies!

Determined to squeeze every bit of movement into my last few days before my journey into the great unknown, Ryan and I threw the bikes in the car on Sunday and did a Sandbridge loop.  

While we were riding, some friends mentioned going to New Realm to enjoy Jesse Chong and some obligatory beer on St. Patrick's Day, and I certainly couldn't turn any of that down.  As is tradition, we ended up staying longer (and drinking more) than we originally planned, but it was too beautiful a day to call it quits early.

 

Monday was spent controlling the controllable.  Cooking, cleaning, laundry, errands. Procuring my durable medical equipment.  Clipping my toenails while I can still reach them.  A good long bike ride.  Collecting a few more holds from the library.  And when I realized March Madness starts on Thursday, I printed out a bracket to fill out.  Yay for having something fun to "do" while I'm stuck doing very little.

Today has been more of the same.  Grocery shopping, chopping veggies for quick healthy snacks, more laundry, more errands.  Waiting for the phone call telling me what time I need to be at the hospital tomorrow (8:30am check-in, surgery at 11:30).  Spending some time sitting in my feelings, appreciating all the incredible things this little hip joint has done for me over the past 45 years...all the cartwheels and handsprings, all the miles run and finish lines crossed, easy waves caught and tough spills learning to snowboard, carrying the weight of my two girls (both inside and out).  That little ball and socket have served me oh so well, but it's time to let them go and get back to go-getting.  See ya on the flip side.