It’s about 9:00 on a Friday night and I’m tapping out this post on my iPhone as I’m lying in my own bed for the first time in 13 nights. My wife picked me up at around 12:30 this afternoon to take me home after I spend three days in a postoperative acute care room and ten more days in a postoperative orthopedic rehabilitation room.

I can’t express how happy I am to be home. I can’t express how lucky I am to be sharing my life with a woman who is doing everything she can to make my homecoming and transition as smooth and as welcoming as possible, Including preparing for me the most incredible home-cooked dinner ever.

This day, of course, had its challenges. After all, it was my first day home and we had to make some serious accommodations in order to serve a handicapped person. Those changes are temporary, but necessary until I am able to literally stand on my own two feet.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I have my first in-home physical therapy session, which should be interesting because, unlike the rehab facility, I do not have a fully-equipped, state of the art gym in my home. I’ll let you know how that goes.

But still, at almost 9 pm, I’m drained. So I’m going to end this post and schedule it to be published at 3 am on Saturday morning. Why? Because then I can use the phrase “throw in the towel,” which is Linda G. Hill’s challenge for this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt.

You see, when I was confronted by the physical therapist on the Sunday after my surgery the day before, and she told me that she wanted me to stand up and take a few steps using a walker, my initial response was, “Fuck you, bitch. I just had major surgery for a fractured hip and a hip replacement barely twelve hours ago. That’s not going to happen.”

She looked at me and said, “I’ve never had a patient throw in the towel without even trying, and you’re not going to be first. So if you know what’s good for you, you’ll grab onto this walker, pull yourself up and out of bed, and start walking, buster.”

And I did.