If it weren’t for my heavy winter coat and the “scratching board” I was carrying under my arm, I’d have pranced my way home from work last Sunday. The sun was shining, and I’d finished work about two hours early. The results of the Crystal Pool referendum were that the community voted to borrow money to build a new Crystal Pool. I’ve been extra anxious for the past few weeks, but in that moment, I had a reason to smile. An older man walking in the opposite direction appeared to say something. I let him know I was deaf, and rather than brush me aside, he signed, “Oh, I’m sorry! You look happy!”

“I am!”

The corners of my mouth spread further apart, elated with my palpable elation. I waved to the man cheerfully before carrying on.

At home, I set my bike up on the trainer and propped the front wheel on my new “scratching board”. A colleague stapled a thin piece of doormat to a board for me to use as a riser block so that my bike is level when I’m using the trainer. I got to release even more dopamine with a short tour of virtual France via Zwift without putting strain on my neck or wrists.

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