Silver Linings

We are creatures of habit.  It’s different when you break a pattern, like 22 days of going to radiation, then its over.  It seems like such a long time ago, all four days of it, since it ended.  I sound as if it were me getting the treatment.   It is like there should be a switch and when “X” number of treatments is over, you should be healed or better or the journey should be over.  Nope.  I am sure you already knew that, but evidently I must have been hopeful.  It is like going on a multiday trip and you stop for the night, as the first leg of your trip is over, but there is still a long way to go. 

So in the mean time, don’t want to dwell on the reoccurring diarrhea, the frailness, or the flat out loss of energy Miki puts up with.  Instead, right now, I want to accentuate the positive.  For example, I walked the dogs a few days ago and a bird used me as a target for one of its little white poop missiles.  Now even though the mission was a fowl success (sorry), I had no idea I had been the recipient until I got home and saw the semi-dry coagulated clump of whatever that white stuff is that comes out of a birds butt with such effortless ease.  So it didn’t seem like such a big deal since I found it after the fact.  Had I taken notice of it in real time, I would have been beside myself with such fervor and probably turned around right then to go home and sanitize myself in some fashion.  But I didn’t have a clue and the dogs got their walk, I got some exercise, and the bird grew in confidence.  Everyone was a winner…sort of.

It reminded me of when Miki and I first got married.  We had befriended an orphaned baby bird and we had it outside sitting on a low hanging limb, trying to get it to do baby bird like things while we were working in the yard.  An old gentleman, who was out for a walk, stopped to visit with us for a few minutes.  Unbeknownst to him, he stopped directly underneath Baby Huey.  Yes, we named the bird and yes, you have probably already figured out where this is going.  Toward the end of our conversation, Huey let one go that found the left lens of the man’s glasses.  Without breaking the cadence of his speech, we finished visiting, he said goodbye, and we parted ways as if nothing had fallen from the heavens.  He walked off, apparently no worse for the wear.  He was either use to this happening to him or had no clue that it did.  Gotta see the positive in all things, right?

The same day I was targeted by an unidentified bird, I also had a flat tire on my bicycle.  I was about an even distance from either trailhead on the lake trail I’ve mentioned many times before when it happened.  I couldn’t just call Miki up and have her come and get me, as I have a few other times in the past.  Instead, I pulled out this handy little carbon dioxide cartridge that you attach to a little trigger mechanism and you can connect it to your inner tube stem and inflate your tire without a hand pump.  Pretty slick deal.  This opportunity gave me the chance to try out this little gizmo I recently added to my little bike pack of goodies.  It also gave me the chance to add a liner to the inside of my tire when I changed out the inner tube.  Crapped on and deflated, what a great day twofer!

Now if you are thinking, “WOW, this guy is more turn the other cheek than I ever gave him credit,” you don’t know me very well.  I could have very easily gone ballistic during either one or both of those two events and just lost my mind.  But since retiring and more recently…this unexpected bump in the road…worse things could happen and everything is relative…more so than in the past.

So lets get to some real positivity…

*The “treehouse” has not been denied by the city of Blue Springs, yet.  It is being taken to the higher ups to figure out how to deal with it, since it is a one of a kind structure they have not dealt with as of yet.  It has been referred to not as a treehouse, because that would not be okay, but as a “raised shed”!

*Miki had a good day today, in terms of minimal diarrhea.

*I didn’t get pooped on today!

*Miki’s energy level was on a higher plane throughout the day.

*I didn’t get a flat tire on my ride today!

*Miki ate more solid food today than in awhile.

*I haven’t cried in some time now, so there must be more happy events than sad ones occurring.

*Miki got a soft and warm beanie in the mail from my sister in California.

*Otto, Lucy, and Molly brought their family over to deliver some garden treats.

*Dee brought by some lovin’ from the oven, well from her kitchen…looked pretty tasty!

*Beth dropped off some culinary sweetness for those cravings that lack nutrition, but surge in calories.

*Miki has smiled more recently and that is how I gauge her progress.

These happy things might not get picked up on your posi-dar, but they sure make for a good day around here.

A new respect for bald folks out there and their thermostats controlled
by their heads.

How does this not make you feel better?

So what have we learned here today?  Positive…good.  Negative…good.  It all depends on how you look at it.  I guess it is all part of that whole “every dark cloud has a silver lining” thing…oops, just dropped another idiom bomb on ya!  BOOM!

The architect studied at the
Etch A Sketch School of Design.

My Zen from Home:  When Miki brought up the idea of a “treehouse,” it took me a few days to realize this wasn’t going away and how could I deny her this wish.  It’s not like she wanted something that the city of Blue Springs had never dealt with before in the Codes and Permits Office…oh, wait…  It’s not like she is asking for me to have sore muscles for days at a time while building it…oh, wait…  It’s not like the planets aren’t aligning to make it happen…oh, wait…  It’s not like it gives her something to look forward to and focus her efforts on…oh, wait…  At this point, it is the least I can do to offset what she has been served up.   Would I have not been all over this if she had not been diagnosed?  The point is...I shouldn’t have to ask the question.