Challenges

Homeschooling with a new puppy and a bum foot is quite the experience. I’ve wondered before how folks with a newborn or a toddler manage to homeschool the older siblings. I think I have just the tiniest taste of it now.

For one thing, my recovery from foot surgery got a setback when my appointment to have the stitches removed revealed that I’d had an allergic reaction to mastisol, the adhesive they paint over the incisions to fasten the surgical tape.  Let’s just say it’s involved blisters and lots of soreness, and it has meant a longer recovery time. This means I continue to move at a fraction of a mile an hour despite having many things to do.

One of these things is taking care of a puppy. Another is spending uninterrupted instructional time with my 4th and 7th graders. These two imperatives haven’t really worked together very well. Hundreds of breaks in concentration for puppy potty trips and cuteness interruptions. There is also laundry that I have trouble keeping up with, and vacuuming that seems always to be desperately needed — thanks to all the trips outside in a sloppy season. I still need to cook, and going to the grocery store is daunting — unless I defy my self-consciousness and use the little motorized carts to whiz around the store.

And yet… blessing. Wonderfully cooperative daughters. A husband who brings home the bacon and stays on duty once home. A sister who is a nurse and has generously helped me deal with the mess at the end of my leg. And of course, Lucy.

The end is in sight! She’s almost housebroken; my foot is almost ready to start soaks and lotion; so far, everyone has had clean clothes to put on every day; school is happening despite resistance. But I will never take for granted two strong feet again!