Friday was a strange day. I had spent the last two weeks in a single isolated room. Despite the disruptions, the rhythmic noises of the hospital slowly became what was “normal.” Then just as abruptly as the hospital stay began, it ended.

When I got home nothing seemed normal anymore. Everything was off, down to the smell. I asked Cheryl if she’d sprayed something or changed any of the cleaning products; but no, everything was the same… save for me. I can imagine it might have been the same after taking a long vacation… but I haven’t done that in years.

My energy level was another surprise. Who would have known that being at home would be so tiring? It doesn’t take much energy to be cooped up in a single room, but a house has so many choices.

The good news is everything feels like home again. Everything looks and smells right. I just need to work on that energy level. I’ve been taking short walks down the street. Once I even spontaneously jumped into a gleeful trot, and it would have been wonderfully liberating if my knees hadn’t turned into Jell-O at that exact moment.