On My Own.

We had a bit of a family emergency last week, and my wife’s mother’s husband, sadly, passed away.

As a result, she and my son are going to have to travel to Colorado this week, and, for a number of reasons, I can not go with them.

Which means that, for the first time since March, I am going to be alone in the house for an extended period of time. Five days to be exact.

There are a couple of thoughts that go with this.

One, of course, is trepidation. Especially from my wife, who, as you might imagine, is a little traumatized from the original incident in March, and a little nervous to leave me alone on my own, in case something were to happen to me.

I get that. I really do.

Aside from actual emergencies, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be ok. And, concerned as she is, she made sure I established a pipeline of SEVERAL people to call in case I need anything, and has bid them all to come and check on me while they’re gone.

And then there’s the part of me that’s looking forward to it a little bit. Not due to the circumstances, of course.

But I haven’t been on my own in a while. And I’m the type of person who has always done well on his own.

Well, strike that. I haven’t always been the healthiest while being alone. I used to mark the first night of any such situation with a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a couple of Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas, but, other than that, I’m not prone to get in any trouble.

In this case, I’m really not prone to any trouble, as I can’t go anywhere, but, the point is, I’m finally at the point of independence where I think I can handle all of the stuff I need to on my own.

And that, friends, is a real accomplishment.

I remember when I first got home thinking that I wasn’t going to ever be able to do any of this. I was not weak, but I was fragile, and inexperienced, and going through a whole lot of change.

And, as we discussed last week, there’s a whole lot of change still to come. However, my physical therapist put it perfectly last week when he said, “Remember how nervous you were about taking a shower when you first got home, and now it seems easy to you? That’s how it’s going to be when you get your foot. Things are going to seem really hard for a while, and then you won’t think about it anymore.”

So, that’s how it is. The stuff I need to do to get by is stuff I barely think about anymore.

I mean, I know I have to be on my game, and concentrate on what I’m doing, and plan ahead, and all of the things I do here on a daily basis, but it’s going to feel like a pretty good test to see if I can survive on my own for five days.

The only thing I can’t do is walk the dog.

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As always, if you have it in you, please give a thought to donating time or money to Hospice Austin. They do amazing work for people who are going through the hardest thing a person can face.

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