What a great feeling it was to wake up with Gil beside me this morning. (I think he felt the same way.)He got up at his usual time, which is 4:30 am, as if he were planning to go swim his usual laps at the pool before going in to work for a full day.
Only today was different. Today was the first day of the rest of his life!
He made himself a he-man sized breakfast and drove the car down to the mailbox to get the newspapers. "I love being able to drive my Prius again. I needed my freedom," he said.
He came back to the house and wandered outside to survey the garden and listen to the birdsong and watch the sunrise. He read his Investors' Business Daily on the front porch.
Then he got back in the car and drove over to Kensington Park -- five minutes away -- and traveled the full route around the lake taking in all the runners, and bikers and skaters along the eight mile path where we used to ride our bikes -- and plan to do so again.
Then it was on to the recumbent stationary bike for a few "laps" and a gentle workout.
Next it was time to download Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life onto his Kindle for some inspired reading.
After lunch, we went to our neighbor's for a swim and to start on a summer tan which Gil has sorely missed. He's pale from his low hemoglobin.
More reading, more garden gazing, more dog petting and walking through the house noticing every little detail again.
And a decision to clean the grill which had been collecting dust and dirt and bugs since being neglected for these many weeks. The "grill master" needed his cooking equipment and tools in prime condition. It was another night of chops on the grill.
We head to the oncologist tomorrow for blood work and to learn the bone marrow results. Preliminary results are in but we need to wait for the final report to learn (fingers crossed) if Gil has achieved full remission.
Haiku:
Twenty four hours long
This day is not over yet
Did someone say sleep?
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