FREEDOM!!!

My sister Carol is a wonderful person. She came over this morning and between the two of us, released my car. I can leave the house now. And I did. Just to run a couple of errands. I had to pick up dry cleaning and some cat food. All important things in my world. Actually, Carol drove, but I LEFT THE HOUSE!!! I have been here in a very small space with Max since Wednesday at 3:30. I love and adore him, but I needed to breathe some fresh air.

The day is glorious! The sun is shining, roads (that have been plowed) are clear, people are smiling again. Ahhhh .... the joy of it all. For as thankful as I was that we had that blizzard and it stuck me at home to care for my husband, I am more thankful than ever that it is over and that I can move throughout the city again.

I need to do a little more shoveling this afternoon and then head out to the grocery store. Now that I know Max's limitations, I know what I need to get for him to exist in the house while I'm gone. Because from here on out - I'm not going to be home much. He's going to have to fend for himself.

He can put absolutely no weight on the ankle, which means he walks around using a walker. This is fine, but he can't carry much of anything. It was quite funny in the middle of the night to see him coming back from the bathroom after stopping at the refrigerator for a bottle of water. The bottle was in his mouth! That woke me up, but not enough to get up and help him. I was too far out of it.

See how far we've come? In just a couple of days, he is gaining back lots of independence and I feel comfortable about leaving him alone. He doesn't have to rely on me for everything anymore. Whew! This is awesome.