Today’s not a typical Tuesday nor Teacher’s Day.  I’m having the third of four hand surgeries in fifteen months.  Typing and crocheting likely got me here, and I hope I’m able to get back to both quickly. 

Last year, it was bilateral carpal tunnel.  This month, it’s bilateral trigger thumb.  My doctor will fix the right thumb today and the left one next Tuesday when he removes my stitches from the first procedure, same as before. What’s different is that I don’t have my friend Rob shuffling me to and from the hospital, helping me get my meds, and making sure I was fed. 

Maybe it’s these procedures that have me homesick for Hampton Roads or the warm temperatures where Tito and I walk the Doodle Trail that runs from Pickens to Easley but inside I’m aching to put our paws back in the sand. 

Since I may not be able to blog as normal for the next few weeks, I wanted to let my readers know why and how they can pray.  I also want to say how grateful I am for family and friends grafted in as family. 

If home is where the heart is, then I’m in Hampton Roads with Rob, P.J.’s family, and the Crawford girls. If it’s where I’m prayed for, then I’m in Syracuse with my parents, in Pittsburg with Timmy’s family, and in Hunstville with Marci.  My sister-in-law Cari and her mother Mama Sue are praying here.  I might be physically alone for this procedure, but I am never truly alone. 

Single women, make a family in the people God’s given you. It doesn’t have to be a typical one.  I’ll write to you on the other side.  

Update Post-Procedure

Things went well. Typing with one hand, I just want to say thanks for the prayers and to my coworker Jim and his wife for bringing me dinner from Burning Brick Cavern, playing with my pup Tito, keeping me company, and even giving a second home to some books I’m letting go. This is painful now that the meds have worn off, but it will be worth it to to have healthy hands in the long run.