Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day!  We had a really nice day. 
The massage therapist from hospice came over today and worked out some kinks in Dave's neck, back and arms.  The whole place smelled like lavender and Dave took a nice nap afterwards.  I went in the bedroom to check on him when she left and he mumbled something about how he didn't want to move because he was so relaxed.  HA!  I should have stayed in the room to see what she did exactly, it would be nice to have that magic touch.  Maybe next time, but it was nice for him to get some relaxation. 

Tonight Owen went to Tim and Rose's house and then skating (to warm up for his birthday party)  I hear he may have a bruised behind but it's good for him, it builds character.  hehe  He finally decided on skating and a movie for his birthday.  It's interesting to watch him set up the invite list and navigate the social workings of middle school (well if I invite A I have to invite B etc etc) I think it's harder to watch your kids go through it than it was to go through it ourselves.  Again with the character building. 

Since Owen was out of the house we got a quiet evening at home... to nap!  hahahaha we're an exciting old couple! ;) Actually it was nice to get a little nap in and woke up for dinner.  It's been more helpful than I ever could have imagined to have dinners being brought to us.  It's just one thing I don't have to worry about or plan for right now in amongst the million things I DO need to think about and plan for.  I know it won't last forever but we're not taking it for granted while it lasts and I want everyone to know how much we appreciate it.  Thank you!
After dinner we watched some Big Bang Theory (we never got into it until now so we have a lot of catching up to do!) then busted out the video camera and talked about a couple of photo albums.  It took about 45 minutes of video but it was fun to go over things that we've talked about a million times but to catch it on film to have forever. We have more pictures to go through, lots more, but it's nice to have started somewhere so that the ball is rolling.  We're slowly checking things off our to do list.

We've been spending so much time together, mostly out of necessity but also because we enjoy it.  When we first got married we worked at the same place so we were together basically 24/7.  About 16 months later I was pregnant and had to quit because I had pre-eclampsia and was sentenced (lol) to bedrest. It was a huge adjustment because we spent our whole relationship up to that point spending the majority of our time together to suddenly only seeing each other in the evenings.  He took amazing care of me when I really couldn't do anything but lay on the couch even though he couldn't be here with me all day.  Karma points maybe?  ;)  Eventually we got used to being apart all day (like a normal couple) and now here we are, 13 years later, together 24/7 again.  It's a really good thing we like each other!

While David was in the hospital we kind of felt we couldn't see past the next 24 hours and now that we're home we're starting to make plans for things.  Not long term plans but little things like Owen's birthday party and now, while I was looking up what kind of cake to order him, I started asking Dave what flavor cake he wanted this year for his birthday (March 3rd).  We always get a cake from a little bakery called Sweet Life because that's where we got our wedding cake almost 15 years ago when it was just a couple of sisters working out of their garage.  Now it's a well known bakery and getting special occasion treats from there is something of a tradition for us.  Dave actively participated in the conversation about what he wanted on his birthday cake... 2 weeks away.  That's the longest he's planned ahead for anything since the first of the year.  That thrills me. 

OOH! The other thing that thrills me!  He has a new trick! Monday night he said "look what I can do" and showed me that he could tap the bed with each finger on his right hand.  Before now he's just called it his claw as he had no dexterity at all.  He tried touching each finger to his thumb and could do all of them except his pinky which was a couple inches away from the thumb.  How exciting, this is really great news.  Today when I asked how his hand was doing he tried it again and the pinky and thumb got much closer, it's just going to take some more practice.  He has to retrain those muscles and what's left of the nerves to work in a different way than they did before.  Any improvement is fantastic. I can't wait to show the nurse tomorrow when she pops in for a visit.  She was out sick for a week and a half (we had a different nurse during that time) and when she got back she noted that his coloring looked better and he was more alert.  Before her unscheduled break David could barely stay awake long enough for her 30-45 minute visit. Now he's stays awake most of the day with a couple of short naps.  Now if I could also take a couple of short naps we'd be golden.  I'm pretty sure I made one of Dave's co-workers ring the doorbell 3 times the other day when he delivered dinner because I accidentally passed out on the couch.   oops. /blush  You'd think with the bell being right near me I'd wake up but I guess I thought it was my cell phone and I was fumbling around trying to find it until I realized it was the door.  hahahahaha,    I don't think I'm that sleep deprived but I'm very busy during the day and just kind of at capacity so I cat naps any time I can. 

All in all it was a very nice Valentine's Day and I'm looking forward to helping Owen with his birthday party this weekend and thanks to the friends who have volunteered to make sure his party goes off without a hitch and that Dave is covered so I can be where I need to be for both of my boys, erm, I mean men... I can't believe we're about to have a teenager!