This is the last week of my long-running foot drama (I hope), and today was the first day I was permitted to walk around the yard with my surgical boot. The stitches are supposed to come off on Thursday, and the end of the longest-running health problem in my life will be coming to an end.

This is not the most severe injury I’ve suffered – it’s not a severe injury at all –  but it’s been eight months since the toe got cut.

The irony is that I believe I have never been healthier and am on a solid track to get healthier yet.

My diabetes numbers were 110 this morning; my foot is healing rapidly; I slept nearly six hours thanks to my new Darth Vader Apnea mask.

This new episode has triggered a lot of thought and many ideas about getting healthier, shedding the weight diabetes brought, getting back to the gym, and my walks. Healing is holistic and calls on body and soul. That’s the exciting part for me.

I have learned a lot about my health and am ready to work hard at getting healthier and staying that way. The Apnea masks were a big step in that direction; I haven’t slept this long or well ever.

Maria even let up enough to let me finish up the new Amish-built garden bed. I have yet another reason to await Spring eagerly.

Maria is really into designing these Recovery Journal logos, and I love and appreciate what she has done.  They’ve brought lightness and fun to a subject that isn’t always funny.

Tomorrow, she mostly returns to her regular work schedule; she has managed to sell a slew of potholders, quilts, and shawls from Sue Fatzinger on her blog. This week, or at least by the end of this week, I’ll be focusing on how we can help the new and old refugee students pouring into Bishop Maginn High School.

And I want to revisit my Mansion meditation classes; I’m going to shoot for this Tuesday. I can’t entirely be normal until the stitches are gone, and I can wear my regular shoes again. I have to be careful about the foot wound for a while.

This has been a good week for me. I’m excited about being healthy; I love the photos my Leica is taking, I give thanks to Maria about every hour, my masks are effective, and tomorrow I’ll resume more visits with the animals, focusing primarily on the donkeys, as promised.

I admit that today exhausted me, I’m going to try to finish a book I’ve been reading and put the mask on. Maria says I’m not scary at all.

Thanks so much for following this journey with me and for supporting it. The Recovery Journal will continue until Thursday.