BACK TO WORK

I am finally back to work. After being off on disability since April 2006, I went back to work last Monday. Even though I am only there for 4hours/day right now it is good to be back. I work for a building supply company and do floor sales right now. Normally I would be behind the contractors sales desk but my doctor wants me to be moving.

Having been off for so long, my back certainly knows that I am back to work. At the end of two hours of constantly walking on a concrete floor, I can feel the muscles, where the fusion was done, protesting. Fortunately, the company is very good. The boss has told me to take breaks when I need them. So , I go and sit for 15 minutes and then get back out to serve customers. By the time the four hours is finished, I know I have been there.

I found that a good hot shower when I get home, letting the water massage my back, helps. So do the pain killers. I try not to take them if I can help it.

When I got back, I was pleasantly surprised to have a number of my old customers come over and welcome me back. This is very good
for the ego. A lot, thought I had retired, some knew I was off for a spinal fusion. All said they were glad I had returned.

The company has told me to make sure I follow doctor's orders about lifting. Nothing over 20 pounds. In fact one assistant manager told me not to lift anything at all. This is very difficult when you want to give good customer service, especially if the customer is an elderly female. I have been good so far and been able to get others to do the lifting for me.
Now I have to try to remember all the stuff for the computer. It won't take long to re-learn the system I don't think.

Thursday, I was going through Owen withdrawal and after work Thursday went over to see him. Even though I was only there for 3 hours , it made my week

Saturday Mrs. Moose and I got to babysit Owen again for about 5 hours. Apparently he woke up and and was calling for his Grandpa. I was still upstairs in bed and he was calling for me when he arrived. I called him back and he came up as fast as he could.
Because it is -20C right now, his mom had to buy him boots for winter. He was so proud of them he didn't want to take them off. He also had a new hat that he kept on for the longest time. This is unusual for him as he doesn't usually like to have a hat on.

We had scrambled eggs for breakfast and then went out for our walk. This is one of the first times he has walked in snow. We started down the sidewalk and when we got to the alley he turned up it. We walked around to the garage and came in the back gate. I guess he thought the walk was too short because he did not want to come into the house.

He played around for a while and then had lunch. For dessert my wife gave him a cookie which was about 4 inches across, with Smarties on top. At first , he was overwhelmed by the size, but eventually started to eat it. Then he realized the Smarties would come off, so he picked at them and ate them separately. At 1;30 , it was nap time. We put him down in his playpen in our bedroom. He was not tired and screamed for half an hour until I got him. If you're not tired, you're not tired.

He also coloured on a piece of paper for us. His mom has been teaching him how to hold a pencil properly. He has only been doing this about a week so he hasn't quite got it right yet. He did make some scribble lines which is better than the dots he was making. He even tried with his eyes closed.

At 3:00 his dad came to pick him up and home he went. All in all. it has been a good week.

While we took these pictures of him eating at the table, he looked under the table to see what I would do. I snapped this picture of him. It looks like he has a foot growing out of his armpit.