Saving Daylight

Surgery was four weeks ago.  I've taken stock at the beginning of every week.  Everything since four Mondays ago is mostly good news.  There have been blips - but only blips - and I’ve managed to treat them as only blips.   Luck on my Side, Physically: - I managed to avoid major pain and discomfort for a full five days after surgery due to a pain block they injected during the procedure.  I am very lucky this worked and very lucky that it was made available to me without any sort of “well, sometimes insurance won’t cover it” negotiations.  I am aware that apparently not everyone in my situation gets this and not everyone’s body reacts to it with equal spirit.  - Days 6 - 19 involved a daily hives breakout/rash on about 80% of my body which...didn’t feel at all lucky at first but I’m calling it lucky because it went away quickly with the help of Claritin or Allegra or Benadryl (Benadryl aiding in a two-hour zonk out as a bonus).  Turns out I a...

I first noticed the ring in an Etsy ad on social media.  I wasn’t in the market for jewelry.  The holidays had just passed so it wasn’t a time to jump into a large purchase.  But I kept clicking into the Etsy store and zooming in on pictures.  This just fed the algorithm such that it began showing up weekly, then daily on multiple sites.  Normally this frequency of looking at something would prove immediate purchase as I’m typically an overbuyer, but something about the prospect of this ring felt elevated and thus warranted patience and deliberate thought.   It’s a vintage style Alexandrite ring, described as “art deco” and categorized as both a daily ring and a ladies’ engagement ring.  Again, elevated, not to be bought on a whim.  Reviewers shared pictures that show the stone in a hue of teal, but other reviews show it in different lighting with a hue of lavender or even maroon. I skimmed enough reviews - all raves - to learn that alexandri...

  Day 8 (August 9) Another day, another round at Boots and Birdies.   They've added batting cages that they just opened during the days we were in town.  Unfortunately, they're still learning how to use it so the machine only pitched at one speed - fast.  But Arthur was a good sport and tried it anyway.  Dusk in the back yard with food I can't remember but am sure was excellent.  This was our last full day of staying around Lake Placid, so we took it very easy.  Day 9 (August 10) We decided to spend this day venturing out to the nearby town of Saranac Lake.  A little tradition we've forged is getting lunch from Blue Moon Cafe, a local brunch place, and taking it over to the lakeside park for a picnic.  In the park there's a small amphitheater where 3yo Arthur and 4yo Arthur enthusiastically "played show" with me - one of the many adorable memories attached to this vacation.  This little stage was where I once taught him, at length, ...

Day 5 (August 6th) My birthday morning started out with a walk and a sit by the edge of the lake near the beach.  This is a popular lake for triathlon training and generally active people, so we enjoyed watching people get at it on a gorgeous morning.  While sitting.   Morning snuggles with this little fella. A Not-Pictured but Significant Ambition of the Day Being that it was my birthday and I was more in the mood to try something deemed “significant” by comparison to other, more predictable days, I enthusiastically decided to try the adventure course at a nearby zip line park.  Matt of course tried it with me and it felt exciting to get to do something off the beaten path together.  (We don’t get out much these days, particularly not out together.)   I should open with the fact that I’ve never zip lined before, but have wanted to try it.  It has never presented itself as an easily available option with available people and available time.  Since...