On a scale of 1-10, I would give Day #10 of Grand Silence a 10.

I think today I’ve turned the corner and have regained my energy. While for the moment, I’m not super busy working in my talking profession, I was productive in many other ways today. It’s now 8:30pm, and I’m still awake!

Here are the activities that made this silent day a 10:

1. Sleeping – It felt awesome to have a good night’s rest. I’m naturally a good sleeper, but since the surgery, I’ve not gotten great sleep.  As I set my alarm last night,  I noticed it was still set for the time I had woken up on surgery day.  Is it possible that I haven’t set my alarm for 10 days?
2. Awakening – Today, waking up with my alarm at 5:10am was not a challenge whatsoever.  I guess I was really looking forward to hitting the gym.
3. Exercising – Spin Class felt great. Though I didn’t try to push myself, I still rode a over 10 miles), and it was nice to see the ”morning regulars.”
4. Feeding my Spirit – Today, like many mornings, I  listened to an app called “Pray as You Go,”  that provides a meditation on one of the readings of the day from the Bible (it’s a Catholic app, so it follows the liturgical year). After having coffee, I decided a good way to celebrate the 1st Wednesday of the Easter Season was to go to Mass.  Bonus for me, the church I attended had great music!
5. Moving – A friend came over and removed some excess furniture from my office. It was a beautiful morning, so it was a pleasure to help him load the items onto his trailer. And now I have space to move around in my office too!
6. Organizing – Once the extra furniture was removed from my office, it gave me the space to start rearranging and reorganizing:  two favorite activities for an ESTJ (we love to put things in order!)
7. Running Errands – I went to the bank and was a little nervous about walking in and presenting the teller with a note written a white board.  I wondered if she’d think I was going to hold her up. She didn’t. But her reaction to my sign and notes was to talk to me in a very halting whisper.  I didn’t tell her that neither my hearing nor my cognitive skills were interrupted by vocal cord surgery. It would have been too much to write.
8. Celebrating – This afternoon, I got together with a group of friends that I haven’t seen since becoming mute. We celebrated the birthday of one of our group.  It was lots of fun being among people…and writing snarky comments on my white board.
9. Crafting – Because I have a little extra time on my hands, I was able to finish a craft project that I had started about a year ago.  Better late than never, but it’s done, and I have a sense of accomplishment.
10. Relaxing – Now I’m sitting down to watch a documentary on Detroit Public TV, and the narrator said something that I was so focused on remembering so I could share it with a friend that I unconsciously spoke the words out loud!  YIKES! Ten days with no words spoken, and I break my silence by trying to remember a line from a TV show. Of course my first thought was, “Oh no! I hope I haven’t re-injured my cords!” I’m pretty sure I haven’t. I had feared that this very thing might happen. I am afterall an Extrovert, and the most natural thing for me to do is talk. I’m just grateful that this unconscious vocalizing has only happened once.

Grand Silence Day #10 was a 10. I’m feeling alive again.  Tomorrow, I meet with my speech/voice therapist and will see what she has planned for the next stage of my recovery.