Here are some key indicators that I’m recovering from last month’s surgery. This doesn’t mean that I’m recovering from the underlying cancer diagnosis. That will start with chemotherapy in a few weeks. But I’m starting to feel human again. Here are a few of the signs.

1) Food. I’m actually now looking forward to eating. During most of the past month, that simply wasn’t the case. At first, in the days immediately following my surgery, nutrition came via the IV drip along with antibiotics, pain meds, and basic fluids. Later, I quickly found the pureed diet I was anssigned unpalatable. And, once past that, I just didn’t feel hungry. All that has changed. For the past week, I’ve eaten a bit more every night, and that has paid off in increased energy.

2) Increased energy. Around 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, it suddenly dawned on me that I had been up—and upright—since around 6 a.m. without the need for a short rest or nap. And the day included lunch out with a friend, a short spin through a Menlo Park thrift shop, and a stop across the street in a Penzeys’ store.

3) Worries about unwritten blog posts. Suddenly I have a list of blog posts I feel guilty for not writing and sharing! Yes, I know this runs counter to my declaration of a medical leave, but feeling these posts organize and start to write themselves in my brain is another clear indication that my recovery from surgery is well on its way.

4) Lists. Yes, I’ve caught myself starting to make lists. Things to do before leaving California. Things to get done the first few days after we get back home. Lists of potential blog posts. They all indicate planning ahead, looking beyond this particular day.

All good signs. Now I have to turn a couple of those lists into check lists to encourage actually getting some of those jobs done.