@Lyla I appreciate that. When I mentioned it to my wife, she pointed out that I have pictures from the first hip and a current scar I can compare to... Turns out, everything looks basically the same and my old scar looks fine (probably not going to audition for any rear-end photo modeling roles, but that wasn't really in the plan anyway).
The first day back from the lake was rough - from my back to my calves, I was pretty stiff and had that shaky muscle exhaustion. Which was frustrating because last year I was able to basically serve as a pack animal without any issue and this year I hardly did anything physical. I don't know if you've heard, but it turns out having a hip replaced kind of limits your physical ability for a while - I know it's shocking.
However, today is my best day post-surgery. It's bedtime where I am, and I'm icing out of tradition / an abundance of caution, but the only time I thought about my hip at all was when I absent-mindedly plopped my youngest kiddo right onto my shorter incision. I even put on actual pants and shoes to go to the office, haha (my physical therapist neighbor lectured me for that when I saw her and mentioned it, so oh darn, guess I should go back to shorts and sandals). Still, big mental win.
I don't know if this is over-optimism, or just knowing first hand what to expect, or the robot assistance this time, or (most likely) the fact that I caught the AVN early, but this recovery is so much better than last time (yes, I just knocked on wood). I noticed that, from a standing position, it's already easier to lift the knee on my one-month old hip than it is on my four-year old hip side. Not that I'm trying to do box jumps anytime soon, and my old hip is just fine, it's just weird how different it is.
I hope that's not discouraging to anyone struggling - I intend that comment to give hope to those reading this who are worried about their recoveries. Last time I ended up with a femoral fracture, bursitis and psoas issues, a second surgery to remove the cerclage wire, and it took at least a year to feel "normal" despite / because of my pushing so hard to get back to life. This time it's been relatively easy. In neither case do I have any regrets.