june 27. 4 days post liberation

i’m here at my nightly spot by the pool enjoying the cool evening tropical breeze. life is a gift.
i don’t have much more to report than my status update (facebook) from this morning. i could not walk in a straight line yesterday, one foot in front of the other, without my therapist having to hold on to me to prevent me from falling. today i did it almost effortlessly, without any assistance, and quite a few times. the gang i was with were applauding as it was an obvious breakthrough to everyone. high fives all round. i felt emotional but kept it together. can’t cry in front total strangers…erinn was getting cate ready for the day but had they been there i’d certainly have lost it. what an emotional roller coaster. i think an addition to this whole process might be regular access to a shrink as well as the physio.

it was sunny and warm all day here and we spent the bulk of it in or by the pool. the world cup was on in the background (this place is soccer crazy which makes it very exciting. and the spanish commentators kick the british commentators butts) it was a very good day.

tomorrow after my 7:15am physio session, we board a van with our new canadian friends and head off to arenal volcano for 2 days (one night). we’re really looking forward to this. there are hot springs which are apparently shockingly beautiful. we’ll also spend time on the beach of the pacific ocean, eat traditional costa rican fare, wander through a small village, and our hotel room will apparently overlook an active volcano. we can’t wait.

so i have no idea if there is wifi there, so it’s possible this will be the last from me until tuesday evening. we’ll be sure to post some spectacular pics then, and bring a health progress update as well.

we’ve finished one week here and are missing the comforts of home already. we are looking forward to a long, uneventful, and boring summer once we return but before then, bring on costa rica. we have two other day trips planned before we leave. one will consist of a canopy ride over the rainforest along with a boat ride on a river through the forest where we will see monkeys, tropical birds, and tons of crocs. fun stuff. the other will be a tour of another volvano and 5 falls which are supposed to be mind blowing. then we will visit a butterfly garden with 20 dcfferent species of butterfly. this was for cate but i’m secretly excited about that too.

no social commentary from me tonight (though i’m biting my tongue)
my prayer remains;
‘your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven’.

i expect another glimpse of the wonder of that kingdom tomorrow

shalom