Yes a long time has gone by since I've been on strokenet. Guilt creeps in that I need to give back to the people and site that was so instrumental in the first months and more after Rob's stroke. I feel the need to give back with the same caring support I received - that was so helpful in our journey forward. Okay I'll try and log in more often .... that said I'll just blog a little about how things are going for us. My job is still going well, I HATE being away from home, but that is life in a small town where employment is not available. The upside is that in about 8 or so months, after our son graduates from high school Rob and I will be able to travel to warmer climates in the winter. Working up north on a 2 and 2 schedule provides me the opportunity to go anywhere the two weeks I am off work. We can go to Costa Rico, Mexico, Arizona --- course I'm naming all the warm places I want to be. The benefits at my job are amazing (100% paid health care) and a fantastic retirement plan. Both are top priorities for me now. Rob is getting around well - not to the level he was prior to his setback about 18 months ago - but well just the same. His arm seems to be doing better than his leg and he just doesn't have the muscle strength in his hamstring that he needs. He makes a good effort to exercise and or walk every day and because of this I believe he does continue to improve. He made the very difficult decision to sell his guide business and this Fall will be the first in over 20 years that he will not be heading to Kodiak. He keeps busy with his many projects and the only concern I have is his memory seems to continue to deteriorate. I sometimes wonder if people who have had strokes are more prone to this deterioration at a pace faster than just the normal memory loss with age. Well we are two peas in a pod, because I am losing my hearing as fast as he is losing his memory. I attribute mine to years of duck and bird hunting with a 12 guage exploding hundreds of shells just inches from my ears with no protection. So my normal response these days is huh? because I didn't hear something and Rob's normal response is huh? because he didn't remember something .... yeah, two peas in a pod we are.