june 25. 2 days post liberation

well i’m back in my usual evening spot by the pool. the weather here is so beautiful. it’s the rainy season so every day it gets real hot and sunny in the morning, then like clockwork at about 1pm it pours down rain for the afternoon, then we get this moment in the evenings of cool breezes and calmness.this is my fave part of the day. i absolutely love it. and while i am extremely interested in the events of the G20 this week in toronto and am following it closely online, and while in my heart i wish i were there joining in protest against the vulger, despicable misuse of $1B in public money for securuty that could be used for those without a home and so many other worthy and important causes in canada, i am eternally grateful for the tranquiltiy and peace i am experiencing here. and it beats being in jail…

but i digress. we had a really nice, relaxing day. swimming all morning (well i had my feet in the pool as i’m not allowed in yet due to the incision and the giant bandage on my groin area) with a 40 minute physio appointment in the middle. there are 2 therapists that work on me each day and i really love them both. they’re very personable and extremely good at what they do. i have a feeling this part of the process might just be one of the most helpful parts of this whole thing. they’re obviously well trained and are also willingto think outside the box. they do not screw around either. they are really giving me the gears and teaching me to balance myself by making me do tons of excercises with my eyes closed. i’m doing stuff i absolutely could not do before this whole thing started.

i definitely feel more stable and confident on my feet. my walking speed has quickened and i don’t stumble around as much. erinn and cate are both convinced that i look stronger, and erinn is telling me my even colour looks better. i even decided to try an experiment of very slow jogging for about 100 feet tonight. which i did!!! i most definitely could not do that last week. maybe tomorrow i’ll post a youtube video of me jogging. next year you marathon friends of mine beware. i might be right there with you kicking butt and taking names.
my hands and feet are still numb, but they seem to want to be waking up. maybe that’s just wishful thinking. and i still have to pee about 20 times per day… i suppose i can live with that but it’d be nice to leave that behind too.

but for now, i’m still taking it slow. i take my surgery bandage off tonight and tomorrow i’ll swim. my physio is at 10am tomorrow and after that we’re gonna get out of the hotel grounds and do something touristy. we’re getting a litle stir crazy and also getting sick of eating the same hotel restaurant food for three meals a day. we also just booked a 2 day, one night tour of a volcano which is supposed to be absolutely spectacular. here’s the link to that if it interests you.
http://costa-rica-guide.com/Natural/Arenal.html
that’ll be next monday and tuesday.

the book i’ve been reading while here is called ‘cry the beloved country’; a book written in the 40’s about racial issues in south africa (thanks jake for loaning it to me) i’ve been reading as much as i can about south africa in preparation for my trip there in october. this book is so beautifully, heartwrenchingly written that it has captured my heart. and today i read a section where an anglican priest was preaching to a group of blind folks. he quoted from isaiah and i read it as though it were a reminder to me today;

‘do you not know, have you not heard
the Lord is the everlasting God
the creator of the ends of the earth
He will not grow tired or weary
and His understanding, no one can fathom
He gives strength to the weary, and increases to power of the weak’

to that reminder i say a joyful hallelujah

that’s all for now. back tomorrow this time.
peace