Getting Into A Groove!

With the new year ticking away, I am struggling with getting back into some sort of a routine around here.  What with recovery from my total hip replacement and having a flexible work schedule (meaning, I've mostly been working from home the last six weeks), I am finding it difficult to re-establish a daily routine.

Oh, I know what I need to do.....without a doubt, I do!  

However, I find myself slipping into a routine that will need to be modified as I continue to heal and life returns to "normal".  I have fallen into the habit of sleeping until I wake up naturally most mornings.  Even though my room is situated on the southeast corner of the house, the sunlight doesn't even have me stirring until around 8:30 or 9:00.  This is probably due mostly to the fact that I have turned into a night owl - crawling into bed with a book or my laptop and reading long after the house is quiet and Eddie Dale and the pups are asleep and snoring.....

When I get up, my only thought is getting into the kitchen and starting that pot of coffee.  If I don't have an appointment outside the house, I find myself dawdling around.....I can easily spend an hour or more just settling in with a cup of coffee and checking e-mail and Facebook!  So, it's already mid-morning before I even think about showering, which seems to make me feel guilty about the dawdling.  Feeling like I need to get moving, I will skip doing my physical therapy at this premium time of day and move on into the showering/makeup process.  I've deliberately scheduled most of my physical therapy appointments in the afternoon so I can have my "pokey" mornings.  In the evenings, I will hang out in the recliner after dinner and watch television until at least 10:00 pm, then retire to bed and do that "reading thang" for hours!

In the last week, there have been some changes.  I have been getting out of the house more and more - not only for the physical therapy appointments, but to go to the office for a bit, even a run to the grocery store with Mom or lunch out with Eddie Dale.  A couple of days, my appointments have been earlier in the morning, so I've set my alarm and gotten up by 7:00 am.  It actually felt really good that I was able to get up and around and be on time.

Which brings me to where I am now -

I need to establish a routine, where I will be getting up each morning and having a cup of coffee and then moving right on in to my physical therapy time.  Getting moving and exercising loosens up the stiffness I feel after lying in bed all night; and it energizes me to boot.  So, I need to do that pretty quickly.  At the opposite end of the day, I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour each night and get enough sleep so that it feels "natural" to wake up earlier and still feel rested.  (No more reading til 1:00 or 2:00 am, as that just encourages "sleeping in"!)

As I begin to head in to the office a little more frequently, and for longer periods of time, I think it will be beneficial to have P/T out of the way and be "limbered up" early in the day.  Perhaps another benefit of starting out the day earlier and working on building my stamina is that I will naturally feel more tired in the evenings and fall into bed and sleep better?  At least, that is what I am hoping.  

As for recovery - Nearly at the six week mark, and I am still chugging along.  At this point, the discomfort is mainly from the incision site and scar tissue.  It is just going to take time for those severed nerves to calm down and heal.  The hip joint, itself, doesn't pain me.  No clicking sounds, no "catches" or odd sensation upon moving it.  I do have some muscle soreness from the physical therapy exercises, but "muscle soreness" is much different from "joint pain".....and I can deal with it, knowing that it will ease and get better as time goes by. 

I know I am getting pretty much back to normal when I find myself cleaning house!  My mom is still helping with vacuuming - but, that is mostly because she really wants to help.  (And, I don't want her to feel like I don't need her!)  Yesterday, though, I even mopped the kitchen while she vacuumed the carpets.  (That was really rewarding because that floor really needed to be mopped.....it was disgusting.....) 

Next step - driving again.  My surgeon said to wait six weeks.  Honestly, I don't think my thigh muscles were strong enough - or quick enough - to attempt driving until about this past week.  But, now that I am feeling stronger, I'm itching to get behind the wheel! 

However, the thing I am most excited about is losing these dang compression hose!  Today is my last day to have to wear them.....and, I shall not miss them one iota!!! 

I promise my next post will not be about my post-surgery progress!  Although it has been my total focus for the last six weeks, there's a lot of other stuff to talk about.  So, time to start moving forward!!!

Enjoy your day, my friends!