Today marks just over two weeks since I completed my most recent (and hopefully final) round of physical therapy, and while I’m not quite 100% recovered yet or ready to run a marathon, there’s a ton I’m grateful for just over half a year after surgery:

1. Putting underwear on is no longer a death-defying act.
2. I can walk up AND down the stairs without having to crouch fearfully.
3. The incision sites no longer ooze fluid that one of the dogs found appetizing.
4. Stepping over the side of a bathtub (or a dog) isn’t quite as fraught with peril.
5. Shaved legs——enough said.

I could go on, but the drill marks above my hip remind me to periodically savor the tiny victories in life, and I couldn’t be more grateful to feel stronger than I did just two months ago. Every now and then I’ll feel down for not being as intelligent, confident, charming, or quick-witted as I’d like to be. But then I remember that it’s actually okay to just be okay. Health is more than just physical health, after all.

So on this deliciously rainy Saturday, I’m enjoying everything about my day. My tiny delights are in clean laundry, cross-stitched chickens, the smell of yuzu body oil, silken egg drop soup, and icy cold drinking water.

I’ll go back to worrying about when the other hip will blow some other time.

Japanese Breakfast: Paprika