Doin' a-what comes na-turally!

Things are actually going along pretty well, baruch Hashem! I honestly feel that this is really going to be me, finished with bad Health Issues. I say going to be me. I'm not really there yet, but I *feel* good and optimistic. Isn't that cool??!!

The pain from the surgery still comes and goes. I am absolutely able to do more things. I am up most every day, and contributing lots to the household and the children. I actually cooked for Shabbat-- it is the first time in a few months since I did that. I made three side dishes, and a plum pie!

I am still fairly reliant on the Voltarin, though. I take it at least once a day, to get through the painful parts. I gotta say here that as optimistic as I do feel, I have a small worry that the mesh isn't holding up well. The pain has gotten a bit more intense, and the area is a little more protruding than it was. Robert agrees, so I know it's not all my personal type of paranoia. Now, I know that scar tissue starts to build up around this time post-op, and that can be very painful. But even so, I have decided to call Dr. Szold's office and see what he thinks; if I should come in or not. I also feel a little bulge at the edge of Gapey when I cough, and that had been totally flat after the surgery. It hurts there, and also close to the center, like near the pubic bone, where the mesh was attached. And again, it is bothering me to eat normally. That had gone away for a while, too. Well, I'll call the doctor's office tomorrow and see what he says. I think I'd like to have a CT of the area just to make sure the status of things, but I'll wait and see what he says.

The children start school tomorrow. Whew-- we made it through a complicated summer. This evening, when Ya'akov noticed that there were only 4 minutes left of Shabbat, then into the day of school, I said "quick! Let's reconstruct our memories of the summer before it's gone! We have four minutes!" Then we all had a good time talking about stuff that we did, and Ya'akov was especially animated about retelling his trip to England. It was a nice ending to a chapter.

I had also surprised them on Friday night... when I baked the challot, I made special ones for each child. I made bread in the shapes of the grades they are going into... I made a two, a five, a six, and a gimmel and a chet, the Hebrew letters that start the words "Gan Chova" (kindergarten; that'd be Azriel). I hid it under napkins at their place settings, and when the time came to uncover them, everyone loved them! It was a nice celebration of starting to learn again.

I am so happy with the decision not to get tied up with working this year. I have so much time to make up and be present for my kids. And for myself, my recovery. It'll take this year to really feel strong, and I so badly want to be that mom who the children can rely on to be there as close to all the time as possible. I have two successful careers calling often (I heard form my partner at the orchestra last week inviting me to come play), and I am making a proactive decision to be a stay-at-home mom. Isn't that so great!!? It is a relief to redefine my priorities.

The house painting is still in progress. There are scaffolds all over our house, and the workers are working very hard in the crazy heat of Be'er Sheva. It is very exciting!!

OK, that's it for now.
Optimistically yours.
me.