Sidney, OH

After spending the weekend with my parents, I came home and jumped in the shower, then crashed for a little while (man did I miss my own bed). When I woke up, I had quite the hankering for some Jimmy Johns. They don't charge much for delivery, but I felt like getting out of the house...I just couldn't sit there all day, I had to do SOMETHING.

Once I got a couple sandwiches, I jumped back in the car and headed away from the house. I just started driving. No place in mind...just go. At one point I noticed that if I drove south, I could keep an eye on the sun but not have it directly in my face at all.

So south I drove...watching the sun gradually sink lower and lower, until it finally hit the horizon and the bright colors in the clouds filled my car and my eyes with a beautiful orange/purple glow.

When the sun completely set, I found myself in a town called Sidney, OH...about 95 miles north of Cincinnati. I figured that was a good time to turn around and come home. Thankfully, I-75 in Ohio is so straight and flat and is allowing me to blog all this on my phone as I drive back.

Another Small Step

Last night I picked Kira up for the first time in a while. I'd only tried it once since my accident and nearly dropped the poor dog once I got her most of the way up and a biting pain shot through my shoulder and all the way into my hand. I obviously wasn't ready for anything like that yet.

The attempt last night went a lot smoother. I walked around holding her tight to my chest for a couple minutes before she got a little antsy, and my arm started to fatigue....maybe she noticed my fatigue before I did. After I put her down on her couch, she jumped around a little bit with that "are we gonna wrestle? cause I am gonna kick your *ss for doing that to me" kind of nervous excitement.

Unfortunately for my little ball of golden hate, it was not the time nor the place to wrestle, and she had to settle for a big hug and a kiss on top of the head to calm her down. Even if it was, after lugging her around for a couple minutes, my arm was in no mood to play. It didn't hurt, per se, but it wasn't up for wrestling with the dogs....that's for sure.

Today I am crazy sore from that simple little thing. It's great that I was able to do it at all, but holding a 75 lb dog to my chest for only a couple minutes making my shoulder tight and sore might not be the best sign for my recovery. Better, yes. Completely healed, still waiting on that one.

I'll see if I can get to the gym today and/or tomorrow to test the shoulder out a little more. Until I can try some light lifting with it to see how it reacts, I'll have to settle for all the stretching I do with it throughout the day. I'll say one thing at least, when it IS finally healed....it's gonna be a lot more limber than it was before. Now I just need to think of ways to put that to good use.

The Morning After

THE AGE OF MAN IS OVER
It's official. As of 9:59 last night, I have completed 33 years of my life sentence on this planet. I don't feel any older or any wiser today....even though it seems like just yesterday that I was this cocky, loud-mouthed kid driving around in mommy's car with my girlfriend looking for a private place to park.
A DARKNESS COMES AND ALL
In a lot of ways, I still feel like the teenage version of myself. Always learning new things, making mistakes here and there as I go along....but never regretting them, just learning from them. Sometimes the learning curve is a little longer than others, but I know I am still learning no matter what.
THESE LESSONS THAT WE LEARNED HERE
The one way I do feel older is physically....although that has a lot more to do with my crash, and the resulting inactivity. Every morning is difficult for me lately. Just getting out of bed now takes about as much effort as my entire morning routine would have only a few months ago. My legs, my back, my shoulder....all of them ache if I spend any significant time in bed. And if I am lucky enough to get that much time to lay in bed, the aches set in and keep me from sleeping a full night. Toss. Turn. Nod off. Rinse. Repeat.
HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN
Last night was no different. After a long, wonderful day spending time with the people I love the most in this world, I was completely exhausted when I got home. Within ten minutes I was crawling in bed looking forward to a full night of rest. I really thought that I'd sleep a solid 6 hours until my alarm went off....but the 3am limit hit me again. This time a little earlier at 3:04 instead of 3:13. I don't get it. 5 nights of sleep this week ahead of a work day....only one was I able to sleep through the 3:00 hour without waking up.
WE WERE THE KINGS AND QUEENS OF PROMISE
Even with my abbreviated nights of rest, I haven't been too tired this week at work, and it has flown by. When I get home from work, well that's a different story. It seems this week I have needed a nap every single day to function in the afternoon. Yesterday was the exception. Although I definitely needed the nap, I needed to make a stop on the way to my parents house even more. There are always plenty of things to get done on your birthday when you procrastinate like I do, thankfully the Secretary of State wasn't busy at all when I got there. I'm very glad I went to Livonia right after work.
WE WERE THE VICTIMS OF OURSELVES
I had intended to do a music post for my birthday, but didn't happen to write down my songs for the day. The only one I am sure I listened to yesterday is Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars. I have listened to that song multiple times a day for a while now. Just LOVING it. Instead, I thought I would do my morning playlist today to make up for that....but as tired as I was last night, I never charged my iPod. And here I sit, musicless.
MAYBE THE CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD
It's been a while since I've tried to make it through my morning without an earbud hanging from my ear. It's probably been a few years actually. But I had a lot of time to sit and sift through my thoughts without distraction this morning....I really need to charge my iPod when I go to bed at night. LOL.
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

33

I still can't believe I ever made it to 30, much less 33....

It's not time for the grand, "why am I here, where am I going?" introspective post just yet. Instead, I am just going to enjoy my birthday, have fun with the people that I can spend time with on Saturday, regret not seeing the ones who can't be there, and take it all for what it's worth and be happy. Even with all the BS in the last couple months, I am MUCH happier today than I was at this time last year.
HAPPIER THAN EVER ACTUALLY.
I've got to believe that 33 is going to be a great year for me, and am looking forward to seeing what is in store for me.