Back in the Saddle Again...


 ...or maybe that should be back in the office again, cause here I am in Newark on this warm(!) January morning.  (It's supposed to get into the 60s today!  It was in the single digits on Christmas Eve and the real feel was in the negative digits.  Go on, convince me that climate change is NOT a thing.  Go for it!)

I haven't been in the office since mid-November.  Since the day before Thanksgiving was an early close, I didn't have to come in.  The next Wednesday we had a horrible wind/rain storm, so no one came in.  Then I screwed up my knee and getting here would have been a good idea.  However, with the new year and a better knee I knew I needed to come on in, so...

My knee IS much better.  There have been a couple of days when I have been able to walk pretty normally for a while.  I do notice that when I have been sitting for a while, that getting up and moving around takes a bit before everything seems to fall back into place.  (I also have some "achiness" at night when I try to sleep.  Just can't seem to get that left leg into a position that is comfortable, or at least a position where I am not thinking of it.  Thoughts?)  So I am definitely improving and still hoping to be "normal" again?  (Is that possible?)

I figured I COULD get into the office, but I wasn't going to be able to do the mile walk to and from the bus stop.  Wednesday is the one day that my son does NOT have to be in school until "regular" time (which is just after 8), so I figured I could get him to drive me.  (While it may be "his" car, I'm the one who's name is on the title and registration and pays the big bucks to insure it.)  He was amenable to it, especially when I said I would pay for breakfast.  (He has decided to take himself out to breakfast every Wednesday.  I'm cool with that as long as he will drop me off.)  So today was the day.

After 6 weeks of being away, once again my anxiety kicked in.  Why?  I don't know.  There is nothing to be anxious about, but...I checked on the bus several times to make sure that it would be arriving on "my" corner at the regular time.  My son actually wanted to drop me off early.  (I think HE was a little anxious since he didn't know exactly where to drop me and wanted enough time to get breakfast and to school).  I managed to get out of the car with my backpack without too much trouble.  (Getting in and out of vehicles has been a little challenging since the knee.  My SUV is harder to get into and "my son's" sedan is harder to get out of.)  As soon as I was out, my son cautiously took off.  (Points for being careful.)

The bus came about 15 minutes later.  It was pretty empty (not that it's ever very full), but I had my mask on anyway.  (So did everyone else on the bus...guess we are all aware of this winter's triple threat.)  The commute was quicker than usual...until we got into the city proper and then it slowed. (As it always does.)

I took my time getting off the bus.  I forgot how many steps there are as I made my way from Penn Station to the office.  There are a few steps up from the stop to the building and then there is the walk to the escalator. (I usually might speed things up by stepping up as the escalator carries me, but not today.)  Then the "long" walk down the hallway, past security (although how secure things are I'm not sure) and to the first building.  Then there is another set of stairs...more than I remembered.  There is an option to take an elevator up a flight, but I felt that I could handle it and actually I felt better/stronger taking the stairs than I did walking.  (Someone explain that to me?)  Then another long hallway, past the building entrance to the Dunkin' for a cappuccino.  (The office has a coffee machine.  The coffee is awful).  Then backtracked to the office, through security (my pass still worked!), up in the elevator to my floor and through the maze to my "workspace."  I made it!  (And the half a pop tart that I had in a Ziploc baggie was still in my drawer...though it wasn't stale it wasn't fresh either.  I gave it a hard pass.)

While it took me longer than usual (and not just because I stopped for coffee), I'm pleased that I was able to do it with not too much pain.  (Although I still am not walking "correctly.")  As the day progresses, I've been making the "long" walk to the ladies’ room (why is it all the way on the other side of the floor?) and to the kitchen without too much trouble.

The true test will be this evening when I have to walk from the office to Penn Station.  I usually do this pretty quickly, but today I'll be giving myself ALOT of time.  What I am not looking forward to is getting dropped off by the bus in the rain (because that's when it's supposed to start) and walking over to the library where my son will pick me up.  (That's actually the shortest walk for me.  In the past if my son was going to pick me up, I would have walked a good 1/4 mile or more.)  I need to get home relatively quickly so that I can turn around and go back out to a meeting (that I am running) at the high school.  (The one I had to turn into a virtual meet last month due to the knee.)

So today is the true walking test.  Who knows how I'll feel tomorrow.  (Fingers crossed.)  And hopefully I'll be able to do this again next week.  (And that the weather will be good...I'm tired of treks to the office in the rain, but I won't complain too much because I know what it COULD be in the winter.)  No matter what happens, my workstation will always be waiting for me.



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