Climbing Ladders...

My parents came over yesterday to help me with some things around the house... have I mentioned how great my parents are lately???

A few years ago, Joel noticed my brick mailbox was leaning. He said, "Anytime you want, I can come over and help you prop that back up." At the time, it wasn't really bothering me. However, as the years added up, the tilt got a bit worse. So, I hoisted the white flag and asked for his help.

My mom, who has wanted to update my window treatments, has been working hard to find just the right "look" these past few weeks. Well, she found it... and yesterday was D-Day.

They arrived around 11:00 AM, and Joel went straight to the mailbox. I assumed the two of us would dig it out... but to him, it was a one-man job. He didn't want me to put any pressure on my knee. So, I went inside and helped my mom.

The treatments looked fantastic even before we put them up. For the next few hours, I climbed up and down my ladder and removed/replaced various hardware pieces/brackets.

Honestly, it was tough. I'm not the greatest at climbing stairs... and this was quite a bit of a steeper step. Up and down... up and down...

After about 4 hours of work, we were all "done." While the jobs weren't totally complete, I think we were just worn out... our tanks were empty. My mom and I still have my office window to complete, as well as my patio door... but mostly, the job is done.

Joel dug and dug... bless his heart... but it was a bit bigger of a project than he expected (or me!). He is going to come back some day because he feels he knows what he needs to do, he just didn't have the right tools. He's 72... how many 72 year olds do you know that can work like that for 4 hours in the heat???

As for me, I'm tired today... and my knee hurts quite a bit. However, I'm pretty impressed with myself for this simple thing: I can climb a ladder! It's been a long and difficult journey, but I'm pretty proud of myself that I can go up and down a ladder.

Not that I want to do that everyday... but it's just another achievement along the road to recovery.