The Countdown Officially Began Monday 8/13

As the rays of sun flickered in my window Monday morning I awoke to the sound of screeching jake brakes from I-90 and thought..."Oh how I won't miss that sound if I ever get back to Jamaica." I groggily rolled over and turned on my iPod, hoping Tom would be online so we could Skype, and dozed while it booted up. No luck. Tom was already out and about for the day which wasn't a huge surprise since it was about 10:30am in Jamaica. I then checked my email and waited anxiously as that little spinning circle went around and around while data streamed through the interwebs to my little electronic friend.

Ding!

Oooh, I had mail. As I clicked on that little word INBOX I prayed to whatever deity felt like listening that either Jenny Mayo (my country desk officer) or Wes Moses (Director of Programming and Training in Jamaica) had emailed me with information detailing the specifics of my return. Well I guess somebody was listening because there it was! Jenny had emailed me! Wahoo!

So, September 9th is the date! Exactly 26 days from today.

In some ways Tom and I both feel worse. Maybe its because we thought it would be earlier than that and 26 days feel like such a long time.

I'm so anxious. I just want to wake up and be there already. But in the mean time, I'm helping my mom move into a new apartment (hopefully this weekend). Then next weekend is the River City Roots Festival and my cousin may come to visit too. We are hoping to travel to Absarokee for a visit over Labor Day weekend and then my Dad is coming on Sept. 4th. So if I'm lucky the time will pass super fast!

In other news. I had a lovely visit with Sarah and Crystal (2 of my closest friends from college) on Friday. We had a lovely meal, talked about boys and well boys, and sang a little karaoke too. Then on Saturday Tom and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. Not much of a celebration, we chatted on Skype and around noon Grandma Nancy Chandler arrived with a gorgeous bouquet of roses. Tom had been sneaky and had her pick up and deliver them for him. It was so sweet! They are gorgeous too. A lovely pale pink with some of the outer petals a darker fuchsia. He's such a great guy! I just can't wait to get back to him and hug him soooo tight!

Flowers from Tom for our 5 year Anniversary!

Till then....~ Chelsea

Soon Come...

Well...its been awhile...and I am still in the ole USA. Since I last wrote I began physical therapy in DC, went back to Montana on May 20 to continue PT there, was released to return to work from the orthopedist here in Missoula on July 6, and achieved the ever illusive medical clearance from OMS on July 27. Now I am just waiting for PC Jamaica to give the country desk at PC HQ in DC an exact date for my return and then I can begin the reinstatement paperwork. When I last spoke to my country desk officer she said that it was looking like the end of August or the 1st week of September. So I appear to be on the down slope of my hiatus at home but that doesn't make it any easier, especially with my and Tom's 5 year anniversary coming up this Saturday, August 11th.

Physically I am doing very well. I can do just about everything I could before the injury just not for the length of time I could before the injury. However, its all still very encouraging that I've regained so many of my normal abilities.

The time I've had at home without Tom has had its ups and downs but there have been blessings in disguise, some with thicker disguises than others.

Ups:

 1. Getting to attend Neil Lehner and Sarah Huguet's wedding at the end of June.
 2. A 3 day trip to Absarokee where I got to spend time with my inlaws, float the Yellowstone, and visit with my darling Abby.
3. Rector Family Reunion at my grandmas house and going bike riding and kayaking with my dad.
4. Having Emma and Hannes come to Missoula and getting to take them to the water park.
5. Many evenings and weekends with my mama.

Downs

1. My grandfather past away at the end of May. His funeral was sad and difficult but I did get to help my dad and grandma take care of things and I felt blessed to be able to do so. I even wrote the obituary with their help of course but doing so gave me some closure.

2. Boredom...excessive boredom.

3. Anxiety over when I'll ever get to go back...(though that is now much less).

Currently my days are spent exercising, reading, watching the Olympics, and catching up on reruns of my favorite '90s TV shows on Netflix.

This week I am looking forward to the Western Montana Fair. Mama and I shall be attending the PBR show on either Tuesday or Wednesday and then on Thursday I am making her go with me to adult night at the local water park. It shall be fantastic!

I hope all of you out there on the interwebs are doing well and since I have a new computer (wahoo!) I hope to be updating this much more regularly!

Cheers,

Chelsea!