14 weeks.😢

April 13 would have been my father's 95th birthday. When things were "normal" (whatever that means), we'd have had a gathering to celebrate another milestone year. Instead, my mother was in the hospital from heart issues (she had a stent put in on Thursday). 

My father was a demonstrative person. Today I was remembering that for the past couple years, he would take my hand and put it to his cheek and then kiss it whenever I arrived or left. He did that to anyone who would permit it. It's a very dear memory.

The weather has remained cold and today feels especially "Marchy." That's what Elwyn would write in his diary about days like today. Such a wonderful image, I don't think I need to explain.

I have started to read the second book in Moody's Life After Life trilogy. I think I may have read it before. I am fairly sure I have never read the third book in the trilogy, which I will read next. 

The semester will soon be over and this semester it's my graduate class that is trying my patience. They are all adept at google and searching so I can't share more, but it is very irritating and stressful.

4.5 weeks ago I drastically changed my diet. No sugar (I am an addict), no simple carbs (not too bad except for sweets), and somewhat unintentionally, I cut down on dairy, but didn't eliminate it. I've been 98% compliant, even yesterday on Easter. It wasn't making a difference in how I felt until recently, and I think I do feel somewhat better. I didn't do it for this reason, but I have lost about 10 pounds.

As part of our focus on St. Francis of Assisi and animals, we are having a guest with a service dog visit class in two weeks. So last night we prepared, by reading the book "My Buddy, watching a couple short videos about service dogs, and making posters of "hero" dogs. This was our sample, crafted from photos of dogs we actually know:

Yesterday was my father's last day of radiation (for a slight re-growth of his brain tumor; this was not unexpected). Still, schlepping to Albany every weekday since September 23 takes a toll. We went to lunch at Sam's

when he had his first consultation at St. Peter's back in August. Sam's is closed Mondays, so yesterday we went to Lombardo's. You don't need three guesses to figure out what I had: Eggplant Parmesan. Both times. (Not that I have not had it many, many times in-between as well).

PS new shoes are AWESOME

Getting these new shoes today. So psyched!

Feeling happy! I'm a little ashamed to admit it probably has more to do with not having to go to campus for a week than anything else. But that means progress on the end of semester workload, and it allows me a little procrastination time too!

We watched two great old movies recently. One was Penny Serenade (great title) and the other, recommended by netflix because we watched that one, was No Man of Her Own (a horrible title that would have caused me to skip it if it didn't appear as "recommended." They were not the typical light fare from those days, more like indie (although they weren't), circa 1950. But that was the flavor. Both were pretty dark, and the first raised a lot of questions, good flick for discussion and thought. The second was almost a thriller, very suspenseful.

Recently I had my orthotics adjusted -- have not had that done since '06. They arrived in the mail on Friday. The change was significant. Painful. Even excruciating at times. Oww! But I can tell it is exactly what I need and once they are broken in, I will be in much better shape with my balance, stability and walking. Yay. Maybe even able to do something that has been only  fond memory since '09, hike again someday? (Talk about really jumping the gun.) 

Yesterday, our Castleton church had a ceremony honoring everyone who died from 11/2/11-11/2/12. Bob was called up to the altar to light a candle for Millie. (Miss her.) It was said hearing all the names (a lot) and remembering, but also very nice. I remembered Sophie too. RIP Weg!

And in West Shokan, my father attended church for the first time since his surgery. He has also gained 6 pounds back of the 18 he lost. Yay again!

Here is a link to Commissioner King's presentation to the NYSSBA last month. It's very well-done and informative. It raises some interesting points -- nothing Earth-shattering to the educational community necessarily, but the presentation is so concise yet comprehensive that I think many audiences would benefit from seeing it. Sort of related, I've been asked to work on this initiative from the university's (meaning system's) perspective. I'm very excited to be part of the conversation.

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend and we discussed the core standards and achievement gap highlighted in the NYSED presentation. It is persistent and very troubling. She'd like to work with me on a study. I would love to do it, if I can find the time. Presently my research involves the influence of arts integration on K-12 achievement, and it consumes most of my "free" time, but the issues in the Commissioner's presentation interest me more and are (arguably) more important.

Among the areas we considered in our broad ranging chat were what factors make most home schooling, many private schools and some charters get better results, and why some in the public sector are so resistant to taking lessons from those innovative approaches. I suspect it is because people react that way when they feel threatened. But I think they shoot themselves in the foot by being reluctant to try reform initiatives and that is a reason they get attacked, albeit often unfairly. It's a vicious cycle. I have always thought the way to romance critics is not through disdain and defensiveness, but by being able to demonstrate results.

Regarding home schooling, my hypothesis from the literature is that strong parental involvement, individual attention, the ultimate in self-direction, and much less television watching are the salient factors that erase the achievement gap, prove that SES does not necessarily have to dictate performance, and cause home schooled kids to be two years ahead of public school peers. I used to think it was a weird approach, but I don't any more. It's particularly interesting that the qualifications of the instructor* don't appear to make much difference. Not a message education faculty want to hear! The RAND corporation found that didn't impact performance much either, not looking at home school in particular but at traditional K-12.

We ate at the Patroon Room on campus. Before she arrived, I stopped in to say hello (and goodbye as well) to JES from this site. That is only the second time that I have met "IRL" someone I only know in the virtual world! The other time was years ago, when I first started blogging. Probably should make an effort to do it more often. You get to know people rather well, at least in terms of what they share publicly, when you follow their blog. Very few of my "IRL" friends read this more than occasionally although most want me to email them my stories. I don't post reminders to my facebook friends. I update it too often and I think it might constrain me, given what a mixed bag those folks represent. (I already censor too much.) Not that I write anything I would not say in person, and not that most of it would come as any surprise to my "IRL" friends. But my sense is that it makes them feel like voyeurs. I think if you don't write online yourself you may not "get" it and wonder why those of us who do are OK with putting stuff out there. 

Anyway, after she arrived, we were just sitting down to eat, had our forks poised but had not taken a bite -- the fire alarm went off. I thought it was only a drill, but after a half hour outside, it became clear that there really was a fire! This didn't put a damper on our conversation, but it certainly did on our meal. The worst part (aside from worrying about being late to class and my soup getting cold) was that we had to take the stairs. Now in my pre-2009 days, I only took stairs - a painless way to get a bit of exercise. In my current situation, I almost always take the elevator. Don't want to fall, and in a situation such as a fire, I hate being "tail-gated," get all nervous. But I managed quite well, due to my ankle brace.

Once we got back inside and resumed eating, about 50 high school students who were there for a campus tour swarmed into the room, encircled the salad bar and buffet, and completely blocked access to the food. They behaved as if they had not eaten in a month. (That's a bit of an exaggeration, the truth is their behavior was not that bad, but their large number was a challenge.) My friend remarked, "between the fire and the students, this maybe wasn't the best day to come here."

As I was paying the bill, I asked if they were indeed high school students, and then joked, "I wonder if they are told that this is the only time they will ever see the inside of the Patroon Room." It wasn't much of a joke -- students basically never go there. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to bring them, because a regular dining hall experience would have been more appropriate.

Linking above to that particular post of JES's reminds me, Andy Rooney died, then Joe Frazier. It always makes me think of the rule of three, and in this case, to run through the various celebrities who might be next. Then I ask myself, how can I, as a religious person who also believes in statistics and scientific approaches put any stock in a silly superstition? It is almost as bad as "step on a crack, break your mother's back." I am not a generally superstitious person and yet the rule of three often does seem to come true. However I do know that it has no basis in fact, it is just because our minds try to make sense of the unknown by finding evidence that it could be true, turning simple coincidence into something spooky. On the other hand, I do love imaginative things (such as seeing faces in the bark of trees on a dark, misty night) so why not?

Last night I got a surprise call. As it turned out, it was a day filled with friends - this call was my "best" from childhood, we met the first day of kindergarten. To use facebook lingo, she is going through the "it's complicated" status on the way to "single." Wants to visit this weekend, with a new -- ahem -- friend. Life is always interesting and full of drama. We thought it would settle down in that regard by age 50, but as it turns out - it doesn't. I told that to my niece once a couple of years ago when she was marveling at the machinations of my social life. 

Our plumber/heating guy is here working on the furnace (pilot light won't say lit) and sink (new faucet). There is only so long you can make do with only a fireplace for heat. Sophie is barking her head off, it is a challenge to focus and write!

*however, skill of the teacher does -- and students do not recover from a bad three years in a row.

What a gorgeous day! Also a good one in that I have a brief lull -- caught up with everything (lots of epapers come in next week, also presentations start) - the calm before the storm so to speak. I finished the midterm marathon. One of those semesters where they were OK overall. OK means that there were only a few stunning ones; the majority were B range. A few were terrible (not due to skills but due to effort, it was so clear) and unfortunately the last one I read was the worst - almost made me mad. But, glad it wasn't the first one I read or I would still be procrastinating on that task.

So today I was able to catch up on minor details I have been putting off while I was absorbed elsewhere -- good old poop patrol and what may be the final weed whacking of the season, requesting my winter session blackboard class, trying to figure out how I can get CBS on the roku (the surface answer is you can't, but if there's a way, I will find it), organizing the emails that relate to my research in a separate folder, scheduling the last real-time chat with one of the groups in the online class.

I wore the the ankle brace part of the day on Wednesday while I was home, and all day on Tuesday and Thursday while I was on campus and elsewhere away from home. I don't like putting it on in the morning, I don't like how it slows me down when I walk (yesterday on the way to my afternoon class all I could think was "I really must look like a weird lady," but I do like that it takes away all the concern I have over twisting my ankle again, and I also like how my ankle feels as the day wears on: very good.

We had about 25 trick-or-treaters. It was very busy until 7 and then tapered off. Early on I started to get worried we would run out of candy, but our neighbors turned off their lights and then the flow slowed to a trickle. Also, my ankle brace came. It is very sturdy. It isn't too heavy or bulky and it fits in my shoe, but it is hard to walk fast while wearing it. Still, I will put up with the inconvenience and wear it as much as I can.

The storm reports have become quite serious, so it looks like no Samsonville this weekend. Not really because of the roads, but because of the risk of losing power - which happens there routinely. The air feels like snow (as it did yesterday too). I told the students in one of my classes that and they looked at me like I was crazy. Do people not have a connection to the natural environment, an ability to detect the feel of an impending storm? Or did it just seem too early in the season?

I broke down and bought myself a brace for chronic sprained ankle that will fit in my SAS shoes, work with my orthotics and not be too bulky. There is no way it will stay good otherwise. With my other foot problems, turning my ankle and falling is inevitable. I should have done it one or two spills ago! Hopefully it will arrive in a few days. Until then, moving very carefully.

Last night we played Scruples in my evening class, as part of the moral education material. As usual, after initial reservations, once they got going, they loved it. Every semester a few tell me they want to buy the game and try it with their friends. My original from ~1990 is long gone, but I bought one on ebay because it didn't seem to be made any longer. Now I see it has been resurrected by a different manufacturer, tweaked (sort of like Quintessence LOL) and is called Scruples Millennium. (Sort of implies Y2K, but I am not sure if it is newer or came out then.) Retails for anywhere from $50-$70 if you can find a copy in stock. I doubt any student would be willing to fork over that much! The old versions seem to be widely available on ebay, though, for $15.

Fell again, and re-injured my ankle. Nothing like the original, of course, but still. It seems I stop being neurotic on stairs when it is improved ~ big mistake. Talk about being blue! :-(  Now where did I put that cane? The "weird lady" is back!

Looks like a big (for this early) snowstorm might be coming this weekend?

And, we had our killing frost last night. Bye spices, impatiens, coleus, and zinnias.

Amen.

On Tuesday, I was feeling "blue." That's my preferred word choice, because "depressed" is too clinical and it implies something serious. I lost my bifocals, lost my sunglasses, dropped an earring and had no time to look for it. I rushed out without a coat, had to take the bus, and was freezing.

I knew as I was turning over my dismal attitude in my mind that the real reason I felt down was because I am over committed. That led to the usual beating up of the "I'm such a jerk because..." variety.

On the walk to my office, I found the nearest place to walk inside (since it was drizzling and I was cold), and it struck me that just a year ago, I couldn't have done it. I would have had to use a cane, and even at that, the floor would have been too slippery, and I would have been in a panic that I might fall. I would have had to walk outside, very slowly and carefully. While freezing and feeling sorry for myself. My ankle is so much better!

I arrived at my office, and there they were in my chair -- both my bifocals and my sunglasses! It suddenly turned into a good day.

By the end of yesterday, I was starting to see daylight on the workload. Another good day.

I'm impressed by the Governor. I say that, even as a state employee whose livelihood is under fire. (Not exactly, since I am behind the university firewall, but as an adjunct I don't have ironclad job security. Not that I'm worried. My professional life is going well.) Anyway, you know what I mean. Public sector is taking hits in private sector fashion and it's hard not to be sensitive to it, especially in the Capital District. Still, I can see why he has such a high approval rating. We are so desperate for leadership, and he has really taken charge, in almost a charismatic way - but more a rational way, not in the nasty manner of Spitzer.

OK, fine. But this issue right here is a heart breaker that rises to the level of deal-breaker.  It's what struck me during the debate, besides the hilarious line up (or have you forgotten rent being too d-mn high et al?). He was going to push fracking! Exempting the NYC watershed of course (and now Syracuse too? What gives? The mayor is a friend or the area is dear to the Lt. Gov's heart? OMG - just now I went to see if I'd written about the debate, and I had - can it be he made a deal with the Green Party and that's the reason?).

I saw the new head of DEC on a show I won't name interviewed by a reporter I don't like (wouldn't want to add to the "fame of the name" by being specific) and he has industry guy written all over him. He said the reason for those two being exempt is that they are the only unfiltered systems in the state and it would be cost prohibitive to filter them. (That was the reason given for restrictions on development in the MOU on the watershed in the past as well.) I wonder if that could be true? The only two? Or how about private wells? The good of the few or the one doesn't matter, ala Star Trek?

I'm thrilled the watershed is exempt - NIMBY and all that - but it is annoying that you just know the exemption is not because of our pristine Catskill towns being precious, but because of NYC. As always. Brings up all those prickly feelings about the loss of our town that have been passed down though the generations.

This reminds me, right now, near the reservoir, the road is a debacle. No one even talks about it, though. So used to it. As a kid, my bus was diverted during a bridge repair and it took a lawsuit to get them moving. After 9/11 the road across the dam was closed - and it has never re-opened. The detour is even more twisty and turny than other roads in that area - it was built more to service the reservoir itself than intended as an option for lots of "thru" traffic. A few tourists have wrapped themselves around trees while riding their donorcycles over the years, and it is a hassle for people going to and from work, especially in the winter. So after nearly ten years the road is being straightened. It is a project that is taking forever, years! and resulted in all sorts of destruction. Currently it is almost impassable. One wonders if it will take another lawsuit for it to be finished.

This weekend is going to be another busy one - that's one of the attributes of summer I suppose. Tomorrow there is the Troy competition - going to support General Joe's BBQ! It's a team of my two nephews plus two friends. (General Joe is my one-year-old grandnephew.) A 12 person van and caravan of cars (if needed) are heading up the Thruway to cast their votes as well.

Vernooykill Falls Mother's Day hike. These folks and more will be in the (cara)van.

Then on Sunday heading to my beautiful central New York - Oneonta! I have been exercising my ankle, hoping to hike Table Rock. The last time I hiked there was during undergraduate days, when I did it many times. I haven't been able to hike since before I sprained my ankle - two years! Bob hasn't either, since his surgery nightmare. I'm "hoping" not because of my ankle, but because of my usual metatarsal arch / foot problem, which is acting up because I need to get a new pair of shoes and maybe an orthotics adjustment. (It is on the agenda for next week.) Bob's been having a RA flare in his knees but he is looking forward to (maybe) doing it too, so we'll see. If we can't hike, it will be a disappointment, but that's OK, a walk on Main Street and campus will suffice.

Watkins Glen State Park

It is looking like I will miss haying again this year, at least the first half of the field. Right now is the longest stretch of no rain in a while, and so hayin' is on the agenda (for those in the 12 person van and caravan of cars) for Sunday.

Anyway! This was a stream of consciousness! Join me in telling the governor no fracking! (That word! So tempting! I can hardly keep from writing various puns and vulgarities but it would be too easy.) I know the financial circumstances are difficult right now, but land and water are precious and cannot be replaced.

The view from Overlook

If the winter continues to be a snowy one, I think I will have to find someone to shovel. It isn't the workout that bothers me, but my poor left foot. After the Christmas storm I couldn't feel my toes, and I was wearing two pairs of socks (one wool, one cotton), a plastic bag over my foot, and great shoes. Once I got inside the pain in those toes was terrible for a few minutes. Really freaked me out.

My right foot wasn't a problem, but my left foot will never be the same after the ankle sprain, and it already wasn't very good from the metatarsal arch problem that I've had since I was a teenager. I have enough trouble not falling, don't need to exascerbate my problem with frostbite. Unfortunately, the teenagers that used to live nearby have all grown up, and when we tried to hire an adult to do snow removal (as we do with the major part of lawn work), it didn't work out to be reliable enough.

But none of that matters for this storm. Today I will be doing the shoveling!

Today is my first day of working back upstairs, in my office. Sophie still has stitches (she gets them out 12/1), we still have the stairs blocked with a baby gate, and yesterday when I had to be at my consulting site, she had to wear the elizabethan collar. But I am becoming so crippled up from using the laptop in the living room that I decided to come upstairs today. I have so much work to do at this point in the semester, can't cut productivity due to ergonomics! I don't have the collar on her, because she has been about 95% compliant when one of us are here. I heard some licking just now and ran downstairs (my ankle is doing so well at this point! Power walked a good distance yesterday) only to discover Sam was the one grooming (himself). So far, so good.

We let her go downstairs to the yard now when we are here and can watch her go up and down, she doesn't have to be leash walked, and she is doing great. Last day of antibiotics will be tomorrow. She hasn't taken a pain pill in several days, although I considered giving her one in the middle of last night. She was very restless. I think with more activity, comes a little more discomfort. Tomorrow night we head to Samsonville. That house is a ranch so it will be easier, but the ride and the yard there will be a challenge. I think I will have to put the e-collar on her so I can have Thanksgiving dinner, since she is always more anxious in Samsonville.

I had a Murphy's Law kind of day yesterday. There were more reasons than this, but I'll just detail a couple. I was exhausted Sunday night, went to bed a lot earlier than usual. Shortly before falling asleep I remembered I had a major deadline in my online class that I had completely forgotten. I'd been so distracted by consulting work that it completely slipped my mind, something I don't think has ever happened in the 10 years I've been teaching online. But I had to attend to a meeting in the morning and I was so tired. So I resolved to update the course site in the morning with a brief note saying there would be a delay of a couple of hours. I also had to print some documents for the meeting. I hadn't done it earlier in the weekend because I was waiting for feedback (which never came).

I planned to be at the site at 8:15 AM - really, really early for me. But I got up! Victory. Shortly before I had to leave I ran upstairs with my flash drive to print the documents and update the online class with that note. I hadn't used my printer in a while - since I started working downstairs. The light was blinking that said it needed paper and a print job of Bob's was partially done. (He said it was from three weeks ago.) I loaded paper and it started to print. After about a half page it stopped and started "thinking." Then all sorts of error messages started flashing - "carriage error" "paper jam" etc. getting worse each time I tried to correct it. Finally I gave up and turned off the machine. I took my flash drive and hoped that I could print on site, if the documents were needed. In the car as he was preparing to drive away, I asked Bob to email me the documents, so that I could review them on my smart phone before the meeting. Uh-oh. He deleted the email where I shared them (without reading them, I might add...). So I ran back inside with my flash drive, emailed them to myself. Going to be late! Never fails.

Once I was on site and observing, an assistant to one of the people I was meeting with found me and announced the meeting was canceled! So on the good side, I didn't need those documents, but on the bad side - I'd missed my online class deadline for no reason. Also, I thought it was pretty rude, some of the participants travel quite a distance and the meeting was on the books for a long time. Oh well. 

When I got home, the printer was still "shutting down." Uh-oh again. I killed the main power switch and forgot about it until today. When I turned it on this morning, it was fine. Or at least I think it is, I haven't tried to print anything yet. 

Lesson 1. Something I already knew. I can't really go into details on the situation, but afterwards I was thinking about today’s meeting being canceled, and how it was done – and it occurs to me that the conclusion I had in the program evaluation that was my dissertation (that the reason innovative programs do not succeed as well as they might has little to do with goal achievement and positive results, or even with enthusiasm of the participants - and more to do with lack of broad support from policy makers) is true for the object of the consulting project as well. Administrative leadership is not interested.

Lesson 2. Something I should have known already. Real job is higher priority than consulting.

Lesson 3. Something I didn't know, but should have suspected. Don't leave your printer flashing an error message for three weeks.

Happy birthday to me! The good news, a friend sent me scratch off lottery tickets, and I won $50! Wow. That's the first time I've ever got more than $5 from one of those things. The bad news, I twisted my bad ankle again yesterday. Nothing like last year, but it has set me back. Luckily Bob is almost completely recovered, so he can fetch things for me this time around.

I am going to do this walk. It will be my first effort since spraining my ankle last year (although as I've written many times recently, in that same year my arms have gotten stronger from lifting etc.). Hope the weather is as nice as it is today!

Taking advantage of the beautiful day - I am going to put up the fence around the garden. Yesterday we attempted to go strawberry picking, but got rained out. So we bought two quarts at a farm stand, and plan to try again on Friday.

I have a draft story / snippet about strawberry pickin' and Mimmie - it was something she loved. Someday I will work on it more, get it into shape, and try to get it published.

Ande has developed a strange odor. I am at a loss, since Edna never had a single issue when she was young. Or old, for that matter. He seems fine otherwise, he is eating and active, but he doesn't seem to be grooming much. I've never had a pet with white fur who wasn't OCD about keeping it immaculate. He is very docile and lets me wipe him with a wet washcloth, which helps a little, but I am not sure where the stink is coming from - but it could be his face. I treated his ears, looked in his mouth and don't see anything obvious.

I took advantage of the nice day and rototilled my garden! I only planted the tomato plants and some marigolds, though. We are supposed to have rain for several days in a row and seeds would rot. My ankle held up pretty well, but lugging the 'tiller around wasn't easy.

Bob had his second follow-up appointment today. It went OK. He looks and feels well, and I think we were more optimistic going in than we were afterwards. But he did get cleared to go back to work for half days, starting June 18. He has another appointment Friday, and two more in two weeks. I really hope he doesn't need another surgery eventually.

The walk in the hospital really killed my ankle. Did the same thing last week. It felt so much better this morning, but tonight it is really bothering me. I don't learn!

Bob had his follow up appointment today. The doctor believes he will probably need a third surgery, but we are focused on that maybe not being the case. He looks and feels well. He wasn't cleared to drive or go back to work (no surprise about the work), and he has two appointments next week.

The cab was late! Very anxiety producing. What made it worse, there has been a lot or work being done on our street for about the past 10 months or so. It's a one way street, but often you can't drive the correct way on it. So this may have contributed to the hold up. As a result the ride to the hospital increased my car phobia at least +10. (I was envisioning inventing a phobia game...)

Edna killed a chipmunk! I was not happy. She brought it on the patio so I could see it. And of course, I had to deal with it. (One of the many jobs that I never have to do, that I now have to do.) I felt sad for the cute little thing. But Edna is really amazing - she must be around 17 at this point and still vital.

My ankle is so tired! Walking around in Albany really pushed it more than even the stairs or weed wacking at home (this morning it actually felt like it was on the mend).

One student emailed - complaining about the grade (an A-!). I didn't budge, of course.

Bob is still doing well. We are very hopeful.

I am managing, in terms of my ankle. It is very bruised and still swollen. It hurts the most in the morning, after I get up. I use my cane in the living room. I also ice it on and off all day. Bob is able to carry small things downstairs so I can hold the bannister all the way. Since I don't drive and Bob's follow up isn't until Wednesday, I couldn't go to church today. That's a very rare event for me. I love the walk to and from church, but there was no way I could walk that far. However, I did clean up the yard and I started weed wacking (then the battery died).

Since I'm favoring the left and I have problems even on a good day - my right leg is protesting.

Sophie had some kind of episode last night. We are not sure if Sam hurt her leg while playing, she had a mild seizure, or she had a nervous breakdown because we have been focused elsewhere and she isn't getting the attention she usually commands. Any of those are possibilities. She is still acting kind of weird, but she seems OK, like nothing obvious is wrong physically.

Bob is getting better, but he's still in the hospital. Not sure when he will be coming home.

The wedding was wonderful. But, I sprained my ankle right at the end of the reception. A combination of inattention to where I was walking, 3 drinks, feet always a little bad when they're tired, and heel spur...and I fell completely down, but didn't hurt myself otherwise. (I did break my wine glass in the fall - I am glad, actually. It was full and would have been my 4th, and I definitely didn't need it). It didn't really hurt and I was able to walk around with no problem. On the ride home, I took my shoe off because I could tell it was swelling. After I got home from the wedding - I thought, wow, this is an ER level sprain. But I iced it all night, even when I was sleeping and it was somewhat better in the morning. I iced it on and off today too. Motrin helps. The ankle is swollen and bruised, but the rest of my foot is fine. Walking on it actually seem to help it. Sitting around makes it stiffen up. My shoes are great, of course. You could walk in them with a stump.

Just my luck right now!

Some good news: I made some progress on grades!