Rules for Recovery

I've just flown into the 3 week mark at 25 days into recovery!  As time has passed, I've found it significantly easier to deal with the injury.  While Weeks 0-2 were heavily peppered with tears, exhaustion, and questioning "why", I've settled into the routine of acceptance and the motivation to move forward.  I was once told by a former coach that it takes your body 3 weeks (21 days) to establish and accept a routine.  I've always thought of this when embarking on a new exercise routine (like when I started working out in the mornings - and I am not a morning person) but it seems to translate to any aspect in life. It is true that somewhere between day 14 and 24 of recovery the boot, the crutches, and the detour to normal life shifted to the norm.

When things were really rough (read: lots of crying) I decided to set three goals / rules for myself to target and focus my mind during recovery:

1) It's okay to cry.  It's fine to let it out and feel helpless and overwhelmed.  It's NOT okay to dwell in the tears, the helplessness, or the overwhelming activities.  Once a good cry has done it's work, make sure to dry those tears and keep moving forward.

2) Set goals.  Sure, the doctor-prescribed protocol has goals to work toward (like no crutches), but I need to set personal goals with short term rewards. I decided my goals don't need to be all about my foot - they just need to be "bite sized" and achievable.
 
During the second week (day 17) my goal was to make it to the beach, and watch friends play volleyball.  I did! This past weekend, friends came over to make fish tacos.  My goal was to learn how to make the perfect fresh margarita. In case you're curious, this recipe is potent and delicious. My current goal is to learn how to do polka dot nails.

Foot at beach!

Perfect margarita

3) Take all the help you can get.  I've struggled to ever accept help from anyone on anything.  It's just my personality.  But when everything I do takes 3 times the effort it normally does, it's worth accepting a neighbor's offer to check my mail, or asking friends to visit - then take out my trash.  If others are openly willing to sharing a little of my burden, I'm learning to graciously accept.