Today

Yesterday I went to physical therapy in the pool, and, as usual, I went early so I could have some swimming-around time. There was no one there when I arrived but about ten minutes later, in came this young man in an electric wheelchair. I had met him before since he has pool therapy once a month. He seems to be paralysed on his right side and needs help getting into the pool. We had another interesting chat and this time I realized that he has a very slight accent so I asked him where he was from. He told me he has been in Vermont for 8 years and was originally from Bosnia. I told him he spoke English very well, and he laughed as he told me that friends who came with him from Bosnia had attended English classes but he never had. He had, he said, learned his English from watching television! And he also said he spoke much better English than his friends who had attended classes! I asked him how long it had taken him before he understood what people were saying to him and could answer. He said he understood quite quickly but it took him about three months before he could answer. He said the problem was vocabulary and I quite understood that since that is MY problem too.

I was actually swimming doing the breast stroke when Leesha, the student, came in and seemed quite taken aback that I was swimming. I told her Leslie had told me to do the frog kick as part of my therapy and so I felt comfortable swimming. In the actual therapy part, I  did lots and lots of swinging the left leg out to the sides and lots of putting my full weight on the left leg and swinging out the right leg. It is amazingly easy to do 25 of these when the water supports my weight. Some day I will be able to do this many on land, too. As usual, I was in moderate discomfort when I got dressed and went home and I had to take some OTC pain pills before I could sleep. But I did sleep all through the night despite my excitement over getting the email from the school last night. {If you missed that news, go back <———– to the previous entry.

Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom including the floors. Today I want to change the bed and wash the sheets to be followed by a car ride to the library. I am feeling strong enough to have two things to do most days. Of course, there will be world-wide fireworks and dancing in the streets when I am able to walk down to the library and walk back. Actually, I could probably walk down now since it is all downhill, but the walking back would not be so easy!

We have had lovely fall-like cool weather for the last few days but the forecast today is that it will get into the 90’s. So I just got up and turned on the big air conditioner in the dining room.

On with the day!

QUOTATIONS:

"Step by step. I can’t think of any other way of accomplishing anything."

Michael Jordan

If you have the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.

— David Viscott