Spring fever, stuck in winter

I’m missing spring.

Or, to be more accurate, I feel like I’m missing spring.

I was looking through some photos on my computer and found a whole folder of pictures that I took last spring. Some I shared with you on this blog. I seemed to be out and about a lot, catching shots of blooms and a little wildlife. There are even photos of me on a bike. Me, being active!

It seems like a long time since I’ve been very active. I’ve been in The Monster Boot and on crutches for a little over five weeks. Even before then, for weeks, my foot hurt so much that I wasn’t walking much.

(Note: There’s a lesson here. If your foot hurts and doesn’t stop, go to the doctor. Do not wait, thinking, “It will get better soon.” It might not get better on its own.)

I’m sorry to whine. I really am. But I’m feeling like—well, like I’m missing something. A whole season.

Part of it is the OCD. I could go out into the yard on my crutches. I’m sure if I asked, Larry would drive me down to the park and I could walk around.

But there’s all that dirt, some of it damp, some of it plain mud. And there are other things on the ground that I don’t know about. What if I get my crutches and boot dirty? I know how hard it would be to clean them “good enough.”

Or so my OCD thinking goes.

Maybe there’s an exposure there waiting to happen. Maybe I should just go out into the yard and take pictures and feel the warmth of spring. And if I get dirt on my crutches or boot, then I’ll clean them. And deal with it.

Actually, that’s what I am going to have to do. Face the anxiety, be uncomfortable, but get outside!

But probably not today. I have another appointment with my orthopedic doctor this afternoon. More X-rays. I hope that the bone is healing. I hope I can give up the crutches.

If I have to keep the crutches, I’ll deal with it. They’re my extra paws, you know.

For the time being, here are some of those photos from last spring. They were taken in my neighborhood, in the park by the river and at a nearby pond.

Please share in the comments what you’re doing to enjoy spring.

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A housekeeping note: I’ve had problems with spam, so I experimented with different settings for making comments.

I did word verification for a while, but I was afraid that might be dissuading some of you from commenting.

So I tried the setting where you have to be registered to comment. That took care of the spam, but some of you were not able to comment, or it was a problem to comment.

I’ve gone back to the open setting. Your comments are precious to me!