Hi everyone and happy July! I can’t seem to get my head around that we are already here in the summer. If you know me, you know I LOVE summers because my kids are home. I love the slowness, the rhythms, the spend-all-day-outdoors, the eat-on-the-patio, the my-kids-are-here part of summer. So, I always get sad when a new month comes. This time, though, I was thankful to have June behind us and July ahead.
When we first got back to Tanzania and I was in unrelenting pain, my doc said she noticed it taking 1 to 3 months for patients like me to get back to a baseline after post-COVID. After bursting into tears (because who has time for 1 to 3 months??), I said (while still crying), “Nuh uh”. I had worked so hard over 15 months to get to where I was, so getting back to baseline felt like a huge setback. And then something inside me went into full speed - this meant I was going to do everything possible to make it the 1 month end of recovery instead of 3 (or more) months. Thankfully, I know what works now from the 15 months of last time - well, kindof. I know what I hope works or what works most of the time. My diet, walking, meditating, baths, quiet, laughter, all-the-things became incredibly regimented. I was on a mission to fight back.
And slowly but surely over the weeks, I’m getting better. And, you know what happened? My garden kept growing, even when I couldn’t get out there. One of my favorite chapters in my upcoming book is about how special this particular garden has been to me. Last year when I was sick for months and months, this garden overproduced in abundance for me. When I was able to finally go see it, it met me with joy and tomatoes and dahlias. This year, it has done the same but with blackberries. Please see the picture below - this was from yesterday!
Last year, I picked only a handful of blackberries while the rest were eaten by the birds. This year, I haven’t seen any birds eating them! I know they are out in the yard too because they love my feeders. Maybe they aren’t eating the blackberries because of those gorgeous hawks that are still around? Remember those? If not, scroll back a few posts to read about them. What a massive gift! We have enjoyed way too much cobbler with these beauties. Blackberry cobbler, blackberry crisp. You name it, we are eating it with a huge dollop of vanilla ice cream. Because God loves us. =)
You know what else is happy? The flowers!! We have glads for days. And the dahlias are finally saying ‘hello’. Do you see the giant maroon ones in the picture below? Y’all. You would have thought we won the lottery when I brought those inside. Not only because they were finally blooming. But, mainly because I was the one who cut them. I’ve pruned and watered and tended to the garden, to the dahlias, the past two weeks. And, teared up too many times to count.
I’m at the 5-week mark post-COVID. And, if I had a nickel for every time I said how grateful I was to be here I’d be rich. I am rich though, aren’t I? I’m able to clean my house, do the laundry, laugh with my kids, walk with the hubs, and garden. I can finally work and write and cook.
When I was sick last year, the hubs covered every window to hide any sliver of light in our room and bathroom. Because any sliver of light was worsen my symptoms. This time when I was sick, he brought me home from one of the many treatments I had, got me settled in our room, and brought in the hodge-podge of blankets again. I burst into tears when I saw the blankets. He was covering the windows again. I was so afraid when that happened because I remembered that last time this was the start of the worst part of my recovery and the keep-you-in-bed-pain lasted for months. So, as he hung the blankets this time, he also tenderly reminded me of everything I needed to remember. Pain doesn’t last. Your body is made to recover and has before. And, I’m not alone. Ever. A few weeks later, I ripped those blankets off one by one - just kidding, I didn’t rip because some of them are treasured family quilts. =) But I did take them down, washed them, and folded them. And, remembered that we indeed are not alone. Our bodies can recover. And the light comes back in.
One of my favorite things that past month has been a day-date with my Daddeo (that’s what I call him and he calls me ‘Emi’). We went to the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke. If you live close enough to see it, I would highly recommend it. My Dad and I are the artsy ones in the family, so I knew I could linger and stare and comment in the museum as long as I wanted to with him. And, believe me I said ‘thank you’ umpteen times that day.
After a great lunch, we walked around downtown, went to bookstores and antique shops, and chatted. All in the blazing sunshine of summer. And, I was reminded again. We are not alone. And the light does indeed comes back in.
Now, I’m off for more blackberry crisp (warmed up just a bit) with homemade ice cream. =)
-Emily
May you continue to quickly heal, Dr. Emily!