Back on track and feeling better

Better is subjective, though, isn't it?

Am I feeling better than I was during my last post when I thought James might not be home until early June? YES. It looks like he will, in fact, return in May.

Am I feeling great? NO.

I see my friends' husbands returning and I'm bittersweet about it. I am so happy that Angela's husband returned last night. Ladies in my classes at the gym have been welcoming their husbands home over the last several days. My friend and battle buddy, Teresa, will pick her husband up at the airport tonight. I'm thrilled for them. They have waited for this day as long as I have. But at the same time I'm sad that I'll continue to wait.

But I know it's not indefinite, God-willing. There is an end in sight. And I know full well that I am not alone in this, however alone it may feel. James will not be alone on his flight coming home. He will be in the company of two or three hundred other heroes, which means all those other families are waiting as long as I am during these final days and weeks. It just feels like each day is an eternity, especially when you're so anxious that it be your soldier that arrives at the airfield that night instead of your neighbors' and friends'.

In other news, the girls are doing fine and finishing up the school year. They will be done on May 28th, though neither one is anxious for summer vacation. Bethany loves school and being around her friends so she's not looking forward to a break from them. Morgan also loves school but is very nervous about entering middle school in August. She'll be a 6th grader at our post's middle school. It is a uniform school which doesn't thrill her, either. I'm sure she'll manage just fine but in the meantime she's working herself into a frenzy over it.

The three of us gals went to Chattanooga, TN with Morgan's Girl Scout Troop this past weekend. We toured Rock City, a cave, and the TN aquarium. They panned for gemstones, too, which was a highlight for most of the girls. All those cookie sales helped fund their trip so it was for a good cause.

Bethany has been in a ballet/tap dance class this school year and will finish off the year this weekend with a performace on Saturday afternoon. How she loves to dance and how badly I wish James would be here to see this. I'll purchase the professional DVD that will be filmed for us so he'll be able to watch it once he comes home. Bethany will be in a gorgeous white, fluffy tutu dancing to "Going to the Chapel." She is thrilled about it. No doubt she'll want to re-join the dance class when it resumes in the fall.

I'm still teaching my class, 7/week at the gym, though I'm having to make some adjustments to my schedule. I've had such a hard time with plantar fascitis over the last few months (since September) and knee problems that have crept up since I began trying to run in January. The running had to be put on hold, which is killing me to have to do, for the last couple months as the knee was just too unstable and I was worried I would injure it so badly I'd have to quit teaching temporarily. The foot problem has had me seeing a podiatrist who has told me I need to teach with less intensity, or take a break from it altogether. After months of trying to do things my way, I finally see that the good doctor is right. I have to listen to him if I ever want to be 100% again. I won't ever get back to running until I get healed completely.

So, I've agreed to alter my class schedule a bit, to take out two of my step classes (high intensity/impact) and substitute those with two aqua aerobics classes (low-to-zero impact). I'm not giving up all my high impact classes--I'll still have 5 of those every week. I'm just switching two out right now to see if that break on Tues and Thurs will be what I need to get my feet feeling better again. I've never taught aqua before, though I have taken aqua classes many times. I've got a lot of homework to do to study up and formulate my class agendas before my first class on the 20th of this month. I'm excited and scared and anxious and nervous all at once.

That concludes this update. Hopefully I'll have more exciting news to report soon.

Love to you all!