A Date!

Today was a milestone day!  Tim and I had a date.  We actually went to see a movie.  Now I know you are thinking, big deal.  But for us it is a big deal.  We don't go on dates.  We go to doctor appointments, therapy, personal trainer and the grocery store.  But today we had a date!

I have been off for winter break these last couple of weeks.  And what a simply glorious break it has been. We have had time to spend with our family and friends, relax and be a little lazy. But today was a little different.  I know that people go the the movies all the time, but we don't. Tim having suffered a traumatic brain injury, movies aren't always the easiest thing to do.  We have unsuccessfully tried it in the past.  Depending on the type of movie, the actions, sounds and activity on the screen can be a problem.  People with brain injuries have a difficult time concentrating with all the massive amounts of stimulation going on. We have always treaded very lightly where movies are concerned.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I suggested we go to see this movie and my husband agreed.

However, I almost thought we weren't going to make it through the coming attractions.  They were loud and disjointed and Tim leaned over and said he thought we should leave.  I calmed him down and said that the movie we were seeing was not an action movie and we should just give it a couple minutes.  We did and I am happy to say that Tim is very glad that we stayed and watched the movie.  He really, really enjoyed it.  You see, he had read the book and had mentioned that he would like to see the movie when it came out.  So today when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn't have been happier that it ended up being such a success!  We even stopped and had a bite to eat afterwords!  

What a pleasant end to a great couple of weeks off and a wonderful accomplishment...sitting through an entire movie (that was not being shown on our TV) and actually enjoying it...just the two of us on a date!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Since my husband has survived his crash and come home, he has worked ever so hard to bring back a sense of being normal that most people naturally have.  It is obvious that he will never really be like everyone else again.  While one arm is still good and functioning, the other is in a transitional mode (for life).  Tim is a trooper though.  He really tries to use it as much as he possibly can.  However, he still gets stuck with trying to get dressed.  

With only the use of one arm and the injury to his hip, he cannot bend forward enough to get his shoes on and put his pants on.  Yes he did go through therapy and learn how to use all those gadgets that they have to assist in this area.  And yes, he did successfully get himself dressed a couple of times using those gadgets.  But, if he did this everyday, it would be lunch time before he got one leg into his pants leg, let alone two. So I do have to help him get dressed and undressed every day.  

So I know you are asking, what does this have to do with the Twelve Days of Christmas?  Now you know how mundane getting dressed can be and me being me, I always breeze into his room in the morning usually singing.  Yes, the dreadful singing of whatever has popped into my head at the moment.  This morning, the song was ... ready for it... the Twelve Days of Christmas!  Poor Tim, he just laid in his bed snarling.  Now, I bet you did not know that the Twelve Days of Christmas could be an interactive song.  Sure it is!  As I was helping him put on his socks... On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, a partridge in a pear tree, then two turtle doves, three french hens, four calling birds, then to my surprise, Tim chimed in ... five golden rings!!!!  I continued on with all the verses, getting his pants on, shoes on, shirt on, out of bed and into his wheelchair.  And each and every time I got to, five golden rings, Tim sang the part!  Soon we got to the twelfth day of Christmas and he was dressed and the song was done.  I told Tim that now we know how long it takes for him to get dressed ... as long as it takes to sing the Twelve Days of Christmas!  We both had a good chuckle out of this one!  It was a good morning and so far, a pretty good day.  And now that we are in the holiday mood, we are off to do a little Christmas shopping!