Extended Family: Great to Have Around

My father-in-law is still recovering from his double-header knee replacement surgery. My wife called his home earlier this morning for a progress report.

There's a contingent from another part of the extended family staying there, and one of them reported how he slept, and how his recovery is going. He's still outdoing me, in terms of speedy recovery.

I understand that a therapist is with him now. My wife and at least some of the kids will go over, later this morning most likely. Between the two family units that are close enough, and have kids the right age, my father-in-law and his shop are taken care of 24/7.

It gets a little quiet around here when most of the folks are elsewhere, but that makes it easier to concentrate on my work.

Recovery From Knee Surgery: Determination and Family Help

My father-in-law is back home, having gotten both knees replaced on Tuesday. I understand that he was scheduled to come back Saturday, but was doing well enough to return Friday.

He's not about to dance around, but he's doing quite well, given the circumstances.

I think two factors are at work here: the sort of determination that I'm more inclined to expect in those born a few decades before me than those born more recently; and a large, loving, and cooperative family.

My wife and kids helped out by minding the shop in his absence, and now much of his home care is being done by a the kids of one of my sisters-in-law. Others in the family are either living farther away now, don't have children of an age to be able to help, or a combination of the two.

Large, cohesive families weren't part of the culture I grew up in, but I'm very glad to be in a family where my kids are part of an annual "cousins" photo in which the kids fill most of the branches of a large oak tree.

Last year, in brief

My third summer layoff in a row started in the spring. The timing was pretty good, as things turned out.

With no job to complicate schedules, the family doctor and my wife convinced me to get some long-overdue repairs done:

• Carpal tunnel, left and right wrists
• "Trigger finger" tendon trouble, left and right hands
• Hip replacement, left and right side

It's a good thing I didn't have to go to work. I don't seem to bounce back as fast as I did when I was seventeen.

So far, last summer's layoff has lasted through fall, winter, and spring. My family hasn't had such exciting financial times for decades.

In a way, this is a wonderful opportunity. I'm getting a few minutes a week now, on average, at my day job, which gives me a great deal of time to develop my own business.