I’ve been home for a few weeks now, and my house is already decorated for Christmas. The first week in November, I was pulling out the decorations and hitting up craft stores for supplies for additional Christmas crafts. Why so early? For the last few years, I put up the bare minimum in terms of Christmas decorations. I didn’t have the desire or endurance to pull down all the boxes and put up all the decorations inside and outside of the house. In fact, last year, I spent most of the time instructing my parents and brother on where to find everything, and where I wanted it to go. While it sounds lovely to be posted up on the couch shouting decorating orders, sadly this was because I couldn’t stand up for long periods of time without a tremendous amount of back pain and swollen legs the next day. In previous years, I would spend multiple weekends putting up partial decorations because I didn’t have the stamina to do it all in a weekend.
Yet, here I am 5 weeks post-op, and I have more energy and endurance than I’ve had in years. Not only have I decorated, but I dug out some craft projects that were started and have been sitting untouched for who knows how long. I made new wreaths. I made custom garlands. I created a few pieces to put on my office bookshelves so my Zoom calls would look festive. I may not be 100% ready to go back to work, but my background is bedazzled and ready for Christmas!
I’ve also been committed to getting my 10k steps a day. This goal feels a bit aggressive at times, but it’s really helped keep my swelling in check. Mentally, it’s a nice reminder of what my body is capable of, even in a state of recovery. A few months ago, I was averaging less than 5,000 steps a day. Anything more than that was a struggle. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next month as in store!
The LipeDiva 