It's the little things

We were very happy to host my parents and my sister's family for Thanksgiving this year.  We had some big things to be thankful for!  Not the least was that it was our first Thanksgiving since handing over the kennel to new owners, and we could actually spend time enjoying the holiday for the first time in a very long time!  It was bitterly bitterly cold here, so we didn't do much but stay in the house and cook, and eat, and talk, and play games.  What an ideal holiday!

But also Dave's Stem Cell recovery progress was continuing to look positive, even though the changes haven't always been very apparent - to him especially, but to both of us to some extent.

We were fortunate to have spent some time in Maine with my parents in September - we had rented a house and so did quite a bit of our own cooking.  We were also out sight seeing and hiking a bit.  Mom was quick to observe that she could see a difference in Dave's ability to maneuver in the kitchen from just 2 months prior.  Ginger, our business partner chimed in that Dave was now prone to forgetting his trekking poles - either in the car or in the office.  Annoying as that is, to keep having to retrace his steps to get them, it's hugely significant that he 'forgets', at times, that he needs them to walk.

My sister pointed out that while playing games, Dave was quicker to make decisions, and stayed more present in the conversation - an observation that was also made by our friend Sheron.  For years we've been discussing how much of a cognitive impact has the MS been having, but that is such a difficult thing to assess.

I have to say, I had my own occasions just prior to TG to wonder about the changes in Dave's thinking - when we broached the idea of putting sky lights in the workshop roof for yet a third time.  Dave has, for a long time, had a stubborn streak in him that drives me batty.  Usually its over things that I disagree about....  Such was the case of the sky lights.  Yes, sky lights would be super useful as there are no windows into that room.  But they also vastly increase the complexity of the roof -- that we really wanted to get finished because snow was in the forecast.  Of a workshop.  Of a property we intend to sell in the near future.  I just couldn't get him to agree that sky lights were way more complicated than they were worth...  Until 6 days before Thanksgiving and we were at the ranch to hopefully put in a power-day to get a lot of that roof done.  And....  Dave just up and changed his mind.   (Saw the light?).  Honestly, I was speechless - for by then I had zero hope he would come around.

It was so great to have these wonderful people around us, who could share with us the changes that they could see when we were having some difficulty in doing so, and confirm the other changes we think we see but aren't sure.  This recovery is a long road, we know, and it's only been a few weeks, but it's so hard to wait patiently.