An Open Letter to My Tibia:

Get it together, please.  I know I mistreated you.  I should have realized you were broken before running that half-marathon; I know that now.  And I am very, very sorry.  But really, you've had enough time in the spotlight.

A 10 week vacation is more than sufficient, don't you think?  I'm willing to throw in a few more weeks just to get you strong again.  But just because you are the great weight-bearer on the right side does not mean you should have as much time off as you please.  And, wow! do my arms have a bone to pick with you.  They were not designed to carry the whole load like you were, and they are ready to "hand" the job back over to you.  So quit your whining and aching, and get to work repairing yourself.  I know you have osteoblasts and plenty of calcium, vitamin D and the whole bit.

Listen, tibia, and take me seriously.  Dr. Sports Medicine and Dr. Orthopedic Surgeon have a back-up plan if you don't get it together pretty soon, and I am sure you will not like it.  Do the whole body a favor and fix yourself while you still can. 

Thanks in advance,
Me

The Longer Haul

Now that I have declared this blog to not be a play by play of my family's life, here's another update (Maybe now that my guilt is relieved from admitting it I will be more likely to actually update!).  I mentioned in the last post that my "shin splint" situation was improving and I was hoping to run again soon.  But, alas, that is not the case.  A few days after writing that our family went bowling with some friends from church and I realized, after attempting to jump up & down to celebrate a great bowling achievement, that all was not at all well with my leg.  So the next day I called Dr. Sports Medicine and made an appointment.  He took some x-rays and presented me with the bad news that I appear to have a stress fracture of my tibia (shin bone).  Ugh.  No wonder is wasn't improving as fast as I'd hope.

The problem with the tibia is that it is a weight-bearing bone, and it does not really heal well as long as I continue to put all (or nearly half, anyway) of my weight on it.  Dr. Sports Medicine's solution? Crutches for the next two weeks and then a recheck.  No weight on the weight-bearing bone at all.  Well, we managed to survive the two weeks, but I knew all along that my leg did not seem much-improved.  I was not surprised that Dr. Sports Medicine said I would need to stay on the crutches a while longer, maybe as long as two months, but I was disappointed! 

I had an MRI, my first one ever, and what the doctor said was confirmed: I essentially have a broken leg, though it is not a complete fracture.  And the "stress reaction" encompasses 50% of the bone.  And the fracture is in a location where surgery is often required if the fracture is complete.  Dr. Sports Medicine doesn't think I will need surgery, but he wants me to see Dr. Orthopaedic Surgeon to get her opinion in the matter.

But I am leaving for a nice beach vacation tomorrow, I say.  No worries, he replies, you can see the surgeon after you get back, you need to be on the crutches at least that long anyway...

It was at this point that I realized this is no short-term matter.  I have actually found the long haul.  I knew that training for the half-marathon was going to require patience, endurance, and perseverance.  I knew there would be pain involved, too.  But I could not have predicted that what happened at the end of the training would be an even better opportunity for me to work on those qualities that I knew I lacked.

I have whined and complained about my crutches.  It has been a big adjustment for our family - Mom can't walk around, carry things, or face the grocery store.  But clearly two weeks wasn't long enough, because it wasn't until after that that I realized that I must move on to accepting, and even being grateful for my affliction.  I knew from the beginning that this is really a mild affliction by comparison to all the horrific things so many people are going through.  God is being kind to me to teach me some patience through this small thing.  But it is still my small thing, and I must trust Him to get me through it.  And hopefully I will do a little better at that in the weeks ahead!

I do hope to run again.  It is sad to see my little exercise ticker lady stopped at 353 miles.  She will surely not make it to her goal of 700 miles for the year.  Oh well.  God is in charge of my life and my legs, and He surely has a plan for me that does not involve running, at least for a time.  So for now I will focus on what I can do, and keep learning how to ask for and receive help gratefully. Superwoman I am not!

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (James 1:2-3 ESV)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

Blah, blah, blah...

It's official.  This is not a family history blog.  Just the thought of having to write up a summary about what we have been up to makes me want to shut down the blog forever. :)  It's not that bad, really, but I have realized over the last few months that I can't make promises here.  I am a blogger, though it's so low on my priority list that I will choose not only to watch Olympic gymnastics before blogging, but I will also choose to watch Olympic handball, or maybe even water polo.  I hope you get my drift!

So here's the quick run-down, and then I am off the hook:

• The Lego tournament was super-fun!  The Cavemen were awesome, with a fourth place finish in robot performance.  We liked the Magic Kingdom, but I think we liked Sea World better.
• Anna's ballet performance was great.  She was beautiful and graceful, of course!
• All five kids were involved in a home school drama group this summer, Class Act Theatre.  They worked with a bunch of great kids and a professional director to put on The Secret Garden.  Their acting debuts were terrific.  We'll get a DVD of the play soon and we will subject many of you who may have missed it.
• The Roystons came to visit, and we had a wonderful time!
• I completed the half-marathon, much to my surprise, really.  I peaked a bit too soon, suffered from shin splints, took 10 whole days off from running BEFORE the big day (which made me really panic), but made it through just fine.  By that evening I could hardly walk, and am still recovering.  All in all, I think becoming a runner was a good thing for me, and I am actually looking forward to running again as soon as next week, I hope.  Rest is the best thing for my problem, but I have begun biking and walking and am feeling much, much better.
• Summer is coming to a screeching halt.  It's 67 degrees outside, and the pool is still open for another week.  There are at least two flaming orange maple trees on our street.  I plan for school to start August 27.  This year we have 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th, and 11th grades.  Wow!

So I will no longer attempt to give the family play by play here.  I do love to talk about it, so if you want to hear what's going on just ask me, e-mail me, call me, facebook me, whatever.  But here I will stick to weird kid stories, cooking highs and lows, complaining about the weather, and whatever else comes to mind.

And thank you, if you're actually still out there.  Life is still different here; it's just a lot busier!

Flashback: Ballet Performance

This week has been a serious keep-your-head-above-water week for us!  We arrived home from the wild Orlando Lego vacation on Monday, and started right up preparing for Anna's ballet performance, which is a big show and not like a regular recital, with a dress rehearsal which lasted way too late for our sleepy gang.  Two children had been carried to bed asleep, another went willingly, and the oldest was horizontal on the couch when we got home with her that night.  We've been trying to catch up on sleep ever since, though it's been hard for Anna, who has had lots of ballet rehearsals.

In addition to the ballet schedule, I made it home quite sick with a sinus infection, so I haven't been up to full speed at all.  I am feeling better now, though quite behind on lots of things.  AND the big kids' online classes are wrapping up this week, so they have had lots of work to do in addition to making up all that they missed while we were gone. Oh, the timing!

But it has been worth all the work and craziness.  We had so much fun with our kids in Florida, and really enjoyed our friends, old and new.  Edwin has said it was like we were able to go to summer camp with our kids.  The full report really is coming, after the ballet weekend...

Check out this link if you want to watch a trailer about the ballet performance, Flashback.  Have I mentioned how we love Reign Dance Theater?  Yes, I have.

Cavemen in Paradise

Full report coming soon!!