Loaded up and truckin'

The Chinese New Year celebration fireworks just finished a couple of blocks away on Illinois (we could hear them clearly and see them reflected in the windows of a building from Joe's 35th floor southern panoramic windows). In his tiny apartment, we're having a celebration of our own, of sorts: Mom and I are headed home to Des Moines tomorrow. Joe is having a strong day, and I've ranked my pain at a "1" on a scale of 1 to 10 for the first time since the surgery. So it's a quiet dinner in, followed by some calm evening family time.

Key healing landmark: I put my belly button ring back in today.