Page 141 - Winterling's Chasing the Wind

I had been drinking a chocolate drink called Ensure at the hospital. When I got home,
Virginia used it to make milkshakes with vanilla ice cream. During my recovery, the
Peterbrooke Chocolate company sent me a large basket containing samples of all their
chocolate candies. I then developed a routine to rebuild my strength. When I came
home from the hospital, I could walk no further than from the couch to the adjacent
room. I decided that I would do that each day for one minute, but doubling the distance
every other day. After 10 days, I could walk the entire length of the house twice from
the kitchen to the bedroom in around five minutes. By the end of the month, I increased
my walking time to fifteen minutes and I was allowed to walk out the front door for the
first time.

CHAPTER 43 - The 21st Century and Still Traveling
They called it Y2K, and there were many uncertainties about the effect of going from
the 1900’s to the 2000’s in the computer era, especially in the realm of finance and
banking. On January 15, my recovery from surgery was advancing where I was able to
walk around our neighborhood cul-de-sac, and by mid-February, I was able to return to
work at Channel 4. I could barely climb the stairway to the canteen, but after a few
more weeks, my stamina allowed me to climb effortlessly. As the year progressed, I
could participate in some of the community fundraisers, such as the Heart Walk and the
March of Dimes walk. Finally, I could resume planting and filming George’s Garden at
the TV station, but unfortunately, could not attend the AMS Conference in San
Francisco. Virginia and I were both sad, but I really felt bad because I had already been
to a Conference there and Virginia hadn’t. We had hoped Steve would accompany us
both there sometime in the future.

Virginia and I enjoyed our second trip to an AMS meeting in Minneapolis. We took our
granddaughter, Amanda, to let her enjoy her favorite pastime - shopping in a big city.
We ate dinner one day at Ruth’s Chris which was only a block from our hotel. On
another day we discovered a new restaurant to add to our favorites, McCormick &
Schmick’s Seafood. While walking back to our hotel, we saw Bob Breck and his wife,
Paula. We enjoyed catching up on our lives since the last Conference. We were
shocked to learn that Paula, a 54-year-old mother and school teacher had died six
months later.

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