My sister, NJ, is getting ready to start a new adventure in another state. She is heading north and will be going back to school. Her furniture, however, is only going halfway and will be stored in a brand new – freshly painted shed in my parents’ backyard.
Today
Today I will:
Laugh because I need to.
Find beauty because I want to.
Say I love you because I can.
The Doctor
Happy Monday! Today I had the opportunity to go to the doctor. The doctor. I have heard many names for him: the Fun Doctor, the Woman Doctor, the Very Personal Doctor, That Doctor, the Doctor Who Oughta Buy Me Dinner. I think you get the idea. He is the only doctor I see on an annual basis because he controls the magic pills that make my life a lot easier.
I have to be a whole lot of sick before I go see my regular doctor because he knows I’m due for another colonoscopy. Darn computers! They make everyone so very, very efficient. Don’t get me wrong, I realize he is only trying to help. Thanks to my sister’s pre-cancer scare a few years ago, my siblings and I got to experience the joy of down under scope way before the age of 50. Technically, it only starts down under then heads due north but that really isn’t the point. The point is the doctor and his nurses now have me on their radar. Last year, I went in for a sprained wrist and received a lecture about scheduling my next colonoscopy.
It is on my list of to-do’s, it really is, I just have to forget a little bit more about the first go around before I can schedule the second. I still remember the video I had to watch describing the procedure and I about fainted when it described everything that was going on the little day trip. A camera. A probe. And my least favorite, the clippers. I thought of the movie “Inner Space” and shuddered. I didn’t want a little adventurer going exploring in my down under.
But today I went to see the Fun doctor. He doesn’t have me on his colonoscopy radar so I don’t have to make any excuses. I wanted to schedule the appointment for 4:30 but was informed the doctor didn’t see patients that late. So, I took an hour off of work for an appointment at 3:30 of which I had to be there by 3:15. I was called back at 4:00.
The nurse asked questions to fill in my chart since my last visit a year ago. I told her I got sick a few months ago hoping to get an official diagnosis. She asked how sick I had become and I refrained from telling her how I thought I was going to die because she might think me a bit melodramatic. Instead, I said, “It hurt real bad.” Maybe I should have gone with the drama because the doctor told me later that since it doesn’t hurt anymore, I’m probably okay. It’s not that I’m a hypochondriac I just want an official diagnosis to explain why I’m so tired. And lazy. And body parts are starting to hurt that didn’t used to hurt. But the doctor keeps giving me a clean bill of health. Which is good but that means everything is falling apart because I’m getting old. There’s no pill for that. And very little sympathy.
The doctor is very considerate and always asks if I’m okay. This is when I take a good look at myself and the predicament I’m in and answer, “Oh yeah.” At least this year he was by himself. For a couple of visits he was training new doctors. I’m all for letting the new guys gain some experience because that’s how they get to be good doctors. However, I think I’ve done my part. Someone else can be their guinea pig.
The whole visit lasted 70 minutes. During which time I saw the doctor for about seven minutes. But I’m done for another year and that is priceless.
It’s Pretty Much All In My Head
I left the Huntsman Cancer Institute after 10:00 last night. First, I had problems with the elevator. I kept pushing the button for the parking garage but it wasn’t staying lit. It took me to the lobby but I needed to descend one more floor. Several times I pushed the button. I even tried holding it to see if that would convince it to take me one more floor.
“You need to use a different elevator to get to the parking garage,” an omnipresent voice declared.
An Open Letter
To Leukemia,
I hate you.
You may suppose I’m not an articulate person because the word “hate” has lost its power in recent years and has become an overused verb. Let me assure you, in my vocabulary,”hate” still carries the full emotion and power of its original definition. I use it sparingly and reserve it only for you.
Fun with English
Oh, the English language. With all its intricacies, I would not want to be a late-comer to learning English. With all of the rules and exceptions to rules, there are persistent rumors that it’s the hardest language to learn. According to www.mylanguages.org, that is an exaggeration. It didn’t even crack the top 10 hardest. Still, I have to admit, it is quirky. With the blend of so many nationalities, it’s become a smorgasbord of language. In honor of my native tongue, I am going to have some fun with English. Please keep in mind, I’m not an English major so the joke might be on me.
Ta-Do Lists
I made a to-do list for this weekend because I mean business. Every Friday during the last half-hour of work (because let’s face it, I always start the weekend at least a half-hour before clocking out – no matter what time I leave) I take a few minutes and write my to-do list for the weekend. It’s usually a bit lofty and a very idealistic. I don’t make a list to help jog my memory of what I need to do; it would take more than a list that typically gets left on the coffee table all weekend to accomplish that feat. The sole purpose of the to-do list is for the satisfaction of crossing an item off. Oh, it feels so good. Conversely, when I have a lazy weekend, á la last weekend, the list just mysteriously disappears sometime before Sunday night.
But this weekend is going to be different and I’ve already been able to cross off the first five items on my list. When I get this blog done, I’ll have six things done and finished. But this might take a while. I’m starting to zone out a bit.
My sister, NJ, is moving to Idaho and my parents bought a shed to store her furniture in until she gets settled. The shed is made of wood and needs painting. That was task number three on my list. If I would have known how hard it is to paint a wooden shed, it would have been the only thing on my list. But, as the evening came on and the shadows grew longer, it became easier and went much faster. Of course, when I look at it tomorrow in the morning light, it’s probably not going to look so pretty.
I have to apologize to any teachers out there who might read the title of this blog and cringe. I mention teachers specifically because they are usually the most protective of the English language. Before you verbally stone me, let me explain. I used to watch a lot of musicals. Even though I don’t any more I am still waiting for the day when I will find myself in one. The passersby will break into a synchronized dance and I will get to sing. Not only that, but I will be able to sing. Ah, dreams. Stay with me, I’m almost to the actual explanation. Until that moment, I keep a sound track in my head chronicling certain aspects of my life. Think of the pink panther: ta-do, ta-do, ta-do ta-do ta-do, ta-do, ta-doooo, ta-ta-ta-do.
Hmm, did I mention I spent hours painting a shed this evening and I’m a bit tired?
My Ought List
Back When Disney Got It Right…
I went to see the rerelease of Lion King this weekend. It has been released for a limited two week run in 3D to theaters. Unfortunately, being a single woman with no children of my own I had to do what I did the first time I saw it 17 years ago. I borrowed a kid. When I saw it during its initial release, I took my nieces who were ages four and three and possibly a one year old. I can’t remember if Bubba got to come with us because I didn’t take the kids for them to see the movie. I took them so I could watch the movie. But 17 years ago I had a lot more energy and was a little crazier so I think she probably came.
Bubba was my borrowed kid for this viewing. When I asked if Bubba wanted to accompany me she told me she only wanted to see it in 3D. “I’ve seen it before so I don’t need to see it in 2D.” I didn’t tell her I would have gone to see it in 2D again. We showed up to the theater with a theater full of parents and little kids. And me, with my one big kid who will be nineteen in four months. To be honest, it was probably Bubba who was there with a big kid. We were just as excited as the little kids that surrounded us.
The movie started with the impressive “Circle of Life” number – which is still stuck in my head today – and I could tell this movie was just waiting for technology to catch up. It was always meant to be in 3D. I also enjoyed the fact that it looked like a cartoon. It didn’t look like a cartoon trying to look like it was live-action. The title came on and the little boy behind us said, “Oh wow mommy, that was cool!” The movie didn’t lose his interest one little bit because when the end title came on in similar fashion, he whispered the same thing.
And he’s right. The 3D effects gave Disney an excuse to rerelease the movie but it didn’t enhance it. Sure, I enjoyed it, but even without the special effects it’s still a good movie. It proves even more that Shakespeare was one good storyteller. Take the story of Hamlet and kidify it a bit by having talking lions and loveable baboons and funny meerkats and wart-hogs, make sure and take out the incestuous themes and BAM! A classic is born. Stories don’t need to be dumbed down for children. That being said, when I took the same trio to see “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” it scared the patootsies out of not only them, but me as well. The difference? No wisecracking/dancing meerkat. For example, the meerkat allowed the hyena-supremacist scene when the animals are marching Nazi-like past Scar. Never underestimate the power of the meerkat.
There is one plot point that bugs me every time I watch. How does a Lion become a fierce, strong animal by growing up eating bugs? Then I realize, the lions talk, the meerkat sings, and the baboon knows martial art. And the bugs are the deal-breaker for me?
One audience member enjoyed the songs thoroughly. While the lions were getting amorous with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” we heard an echo in the theater. The voice was too deep to be a little kid. I couldn’t see who was singing along because of the 3D glasses and it was very dark, but it had to be a dad. Or one really big kid.
It was fun to see the Lion King in 3D but it was also fun to just have an excuse to watch it again. The story holds up. My recommendation is to watch it. If you don’t want to watch it in theaters, put the disc in and curl up on your sofa. It’s still a good time.
The Ride
Luckily, I lived
When I rode with a Frenchman
Courage was tested.
Ride with a Frenchman
If you don’t value your life
I did it and lived.
This and other fine poems available on Amazon
