Time has an odd way of seeming to fleet by rapidly, and also stand still. Thus has been my recovery from injuries sustained in the crash I had while riding my Harley to work one month ago. How am I doing now?

For the most part, I have resumed most normal activities. I use my truck to pick up and escort my lovely LOLITS to the grocery store. I take my spouse on numerous and unending errands. He still does not like to drive, and only drove his own car when I could not drive during immediate post-crash recovery.

I have resumed sharing lawn mowing duties with the spouse. I know, it’s mundane, but when you can’t even do simple stuff, being able to do it again is a minor cause of celebration.

The spouse has resumed his usual grouchy antisocial behavior, so that is another way to observe that he thinks that I am recovered enough to be the “front man” in our relationship with the world. He really dislikes interacting with people, but was pleasant about it during the worst of my down-time, accommodating numerous visitors and family who came to see me and offer assistance. He even joined me at a community gathering where I was given some recognition — again, he really does support me, though he would very much rather not have to be around people.

The spouse still continues to do some heavy work and retrieval of things that his other half, “Mr. klutzy-butterfingers” drops on the floor. I still cannot lift anything over my head due to a restricted range of motion on my left side. I also have trouble bending down without causing rib pain to pick up things that I drop. Quick as a flash (relatively speaking), Spouse jumps in and says, “I’ll get that!” He really does love me, despite my ongoing dropsy-doodles.

I have regained enough strength to sit on my Harley and lift it to its upright position and roll it into a garage bay. I inspected its damage, which quite surprisingly is very minor. Scratches on the roll bars may — or may not — be indicative of frame damage (doesn’t look like it), but in a couple weeks, I will have the Harley picked up and brought to my dealership for a thorough inspection and necessary repairs. The windscreen was scratched badly and requires replacement — and that’s not cheap.

It was kinda sad and frustrating to roll the Harley back to its usual parking spot in the back of the garage, but a promise is a promise to give myself a full six weeks to recover from these rib fractures.

Thinking positively, I ordered a new custom 3/4 motorcycle police helmet to replace my ol’ reliable and favorite motorcycle helmet that did its job protecting me during the crash. It will be delivered in a few weeks — just in time for my anticipated return to riding again.

And despite the spouse’s desires that I not expand my boot collection, I ordered a replacement pair of my trusty Chippewa Harness boots that were damaged in my 300-foot slide during my crash. I have “retired” those old boots in a small memorial next to my old “retired” helmet — all reminders of what happened.

Unfortunately, Chippewa is again very delayed in production of most of their motorcycle boots. I anticipate the backorder will clear and I’ll have those boots by the time I am riding again. If I don’t, well then, I have a few other pairs of motorcycle boots that I can choose from. (giggle)

I continue to think positively, though am reminded a bit too often that my old lady friends are … old ladies. They all-too-frequently tell me that they want me to give up riding my Harley, forever. I appreciate that they love me, but I’m not quite ready yet to give up my passion and about the only fun thing I do. But whenever I return to riding, I will be more restrictive in when and where I go. I promised the non-riding spouse that I will not ride in the dark or commute to work any more. That’s gonna be a difficult adjustment!

The minor swelling of my left foot is resolving, as expected. I can wear most of my boots now, except those tight-instep Luccheses.

The only persistent issue about my rib fractures is that I cannot sleep on a bed. Since I must sleep on my back and that is where my ribs were fractured, the discomfort that I feel when I lay on my back (regardless of the number of pillows that I use) wakes me as soon as an hour after I go to sleep. I take a couple acetaminophen at bedtime, but the pain-reducing effect they have do not last more than about an hour. I cannot take them again but every four hours, so I have a quandary. I end up moving to a recliner in the family room to sleep for the night. The recliner seems to be the only thing I can sleep on. Damn, it’s frustrating not to be able to sleep on a bed.

The other frustrating thing about the slow recovery is that I cannot snuggle with my spouse on lazy weekend mornings due to rib pain when I try to lay on my side. ‘Nuf said, but this bothers me tremendously.

Speaking of weekends — I have resumed walking with my senior walking partner again. We do not walk far — just 1.5 miles on Sunday, but at least I am moving again and improving the circulation, which reduces inflammation and swelling in the foot.

BTW, before you suggest other painkillers — trust me, none of them work. Ibuprofen (Motrin), Naproxen (Aleve), even in prescription strength doses, do not work for me at all. I refuse to take narcotics or narcotic-like drugs, so I’m stuck with using Aspirin and Acetaminophen.

I continue to muddle through the recovery, one bootstep at a time.

Life is short: recovery takes time.