Normal

To anyone else in the restaurant who arrived after we did, the four of us looked like two couples enjoying a wonderful dinner on a Thursday evening. But to Jerry and me, and in reality to Kim and Dave as well, it was so much more.

It was the first time Jerry and I had gone out to dinner since returning to Baltimore. Black Olive, our favorite restaurant, has an easy entrance, so Jerry rolled me up to the table, and we did our transfer dance. I sat in a restaurant chair. I wore the dress I had planned to wear in London for our 20th anniversary dinner. I wore earrings. Jerry had washed my hair earlier in the day.

I felt special. And normal. My nonexistent foot did not fall asleep or itch. My arms were not painful. For the first time in months, I felt like everyone else.

Demitris, the manager, knew what a special occasion it was, and he gifted us with a delicious bottle of champagne. A lovely way to start the evening.

Kim was the instigator of the evening, and perhaps she and Dave are our biggest cheerleaders in getting our lives back. They have a house in the Finger Lakes in New York, and they are waiting for us to name a date to join them up there. And it will happen sooner than later.

The evening included way too much food and, in addition to the champagne, a bottle of Xinomavro, Greek red wine. And lots of laughter and no discussion of my too many injuries and ailments. We ate and talked and laughed for more than two hours, and then I realized we needed to go home so I could lie down. No, not because I was exhausted, but because I had overindulged and needed to lie around and moan for a little while. Normal.

I woke up this morning with a little too much to drink headache, and happier than I've been in some time. The evening lifted Jerry's spirits as well.

Jerry left a little while ago to teach his simulator classes at the community college. I am here with Fadilat, my aide, who is bustling around the house, tidying everything in sight.

Despite my minor headache, I cannot remember feeling this good in far too long.

Next week I see several doctors who will check on my healing and make predictions on my future. But whatever the outcome, I know my world is getting bigger, and my spirit amd attitude continue to soar.