I thought about how I would be able to get up and answer the door for visitors, being I could barely move. The result was that the door was left open for the next few months. Anyone who wanted to could come in at any time. I at first thought of my safety and then thought if anyone really wanted me or my stuff at this point they could just have it. The door opened and in walked my two best friends and the book club ladies. They sat down with coffee and snacks and proceeded to tell me that they made up a schedule. One was on kid duty if they needed rides, one was on dog walking, one would come for coffee, lunch and rotate dinner for the next two to three weeks. I couldn’t believe the generosity of these women and in any other normal state I would not have accepted it, but I had no choice, A) cause they were bossy and 2) cause I knew I needed the help. It is amazing the way women rally around one another. The support, the aid, the laughter, the gossip, it all rolls itself up into an amazing gift. I was thankful, very and as the days went on, the dinner deliveries began to be somewhat of a contest. Each woman who dropped off dinner wanted to know what I had had already, what was the best so far and if I liked what they brought. I got pasta, take out, Chinese, Whole Foods, I got fresh-baked cakes and chicken and then I got this one dish. The one dish I can still taste today cause it was delicious. I had no idea one of the woman could cook as well as they did. It was a very simple steak sandwich with horseradish sauce and I have to say that I gobbled it up like it may be my last meal. It had raised the bar on the dinner deliveries and everyone knew it. I boasted about that meal and could not say enough about it. There is something to be said about getting something you didn’t know you wanted right when you didn’t know you wanted it. These women were my support system. During the day the book club would do their rotation and at night my two best friends would stop in after work to make sure I was ok, get me anything I needed and put me into bed. The first night home alone while they were there making me laugh and trying to get me to stop feeling sorry for myself they helped me upstairs. By the time I got to my room I couldn’t find them. I went to lay down and found the two of them already in my bed making jokes and giggling like little kids. They kept my spirits up, they made me feel human and not like an invalid and they just made me feel better. There is nothing better than woman friends. There is no woman lonelier than that who doesn’t have them. These women took time out of every single day to make sure I was ok and the feeling it gave me was overwhelming. I was truly blessed and had to start to refocus myself on that and stop feeling like a schmuck. I didn’t do this to myself, I didn’t want this, I wasn’t looking for all this, but it happened and now I would have to figure out how to make it work. Just like always. There was no more time to sulk. There was no more time to sit around (no pun intended) and act like my world was over. Did I have a man by my side? No. Did I have a man helping me, taking care of me, making me feel safe and secure? No. But what I learned is that I didn’t need one for all that. I could do this on my own, know why? Cause I had friends and family and with that I was truly taken care of. The two weeks the girls were away went fast and they were home before I knew it. I was starting to feel better and maneuver around a bit and even get myself out in the sun a few times a day to lay on my lawn chair. The time for my fist shower came and I thought I may throw up. There is nothing more exhausting than taking your first shower after a surgery, it’s like all your energy has gone to this one thing and you are spent afterwards. Gingham was there to help me. He helped me take off my clothes, he helped me get into the shower and he helped wash around my scar and take off the bandage. He then helped me get dressed and back into bed. So for all intents and purposes I did have a man helping me it just wasn’t the one I wanted….