A Blog of Personal Thoughts

Getting Surgery Again

August 2025

Again? Getting surgery again? I’d say it’s boring, but I never feel that way at the time. Instead, it’s the pain of recovery. I have a terrible response to narcotics so I can’t take them. Lots of naps helps, sometimes four a day.

Recovery also means reading. I’ve read some books on epilepsy, and one called The Lost Pianos of Siberia. I like the latter because of its journey through Siberia, a place seldom traveled by most Americans. I’ve been there once and will go again when things calm down in Russia. I’m also reading Mending Holes, by a commercial fisherman. It’s probably about mending the holes in life than in a net. Meanwhile, I sit in the apartment at my son’s family home in Juneau looking at gorgeous mountains and sky. This time, the valley of Juneau at ocean level is under fog.

View out the apartment window at the house in Douglas.

Why did I choose summer for a knee replacement when summers are so short in Alaska? We planted our garden first and now receive pictures of it from someone taking care of it. When planting, I love getting my fingers in the soil. I’ve tried wearing gloves, but the next thing I realize is I’ve discarded the gloves and have to hunt to find them. They now stay in the shop. Our beets, chard, and flowers are doing great! To me, planting is half the fun and harvesting the other half. We won’t get home in time to have the beet greens, but we will to dig the beets for eating and making borsch. We should get there in time for some of the chard too. Next year we’ll have to net over the cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower to prevent the insects from killing them.

Beets and chard.

I chose not to have the major surgery in winter because that meant dealing with snow and ice when outside. I’d rather be cross-country skiing. I also like looking at the mountains above Juneau and we see much more of them in the long light of summer. I enjoy the darkness of winter for writing, but three to five naps these days means not much writing. I’m not usually a nap person, but these short and long ones feel so comforting. I thought I’d have more thoughts about writing, more writing ideas, but I do not.

Flowers galore. The cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower didn’t make it due to root maggots. Next year, we’ll cover their new beginnings.

Calendula and something red and pink whose name I don’t remember.

I find surgery boring. It slows me down and I hate that. I have lots of patience when teaching children and adults, but very little patience with my healing. I have patience with plants growing. I have too little patience with my writing and have had teachers and peers tell me I write too fast. I didn’t know what they meant at first, but I know now. Slow down, Abigail. You will heal and you will write again and well.