good morning!

I really like getting up in the morning. Frequently I just can't wait.

I've always been an early riser, in part because it's always been like this for me: I just can't wait to see what's going on. I remember when I was a very little girl feeling the same way. I'd get up earlier than pretty much anyone in the family except for my dad, who was out the door for his morning run before anyone else ever woke up. But this, too, was part of the mystery of mornings: what was he doing? What was I missing? I hated missing anything when I was a little kid.

I still do. It may be even worse now that I know exactly what I'm missing: the coffee! The gradual lightening of the sky! The sound of the sprinklers as they turn on one after another! The morning news!

I just can't wait to start.

Nowadays the first order of business, as I trot down the stairs, is to see if I notice any difference in the way I feel or in what I can do. I still keep a hand on the bannister as I transverse the stairs, but now I can go down the normal way, one foot at a time. The right foot still feels a bit numb, and I assess that every day too. Is it more numb or less? Can I wiggle all my toes? I'm not sure how precisely I can assess the changes in sensation, but over time it seems to be getting incrementally better. Sometimes it's like my right legt went to sleep on me during the night and now I'm going to have to suffer through that prickly feeling as circulation comes back. I always hated that!

But it's not a circulation issue, and the prickliness never comes. There's this faint vibration, almost, as if the pins and needles are just about to start. Balance remains a problem--I can't stand on my toes yet, or on my right leg by itself. I expect riding a bike is going to be a problem for a while.

Good thing I don't ride.