It was a busy day. First, Bikram and then physical therapy. As I got in the car after yoga, Anthony, from Toyota, called. He said the mechanic couldn’t find any damage to my air conditioner. It seemed to be working okay, although it wasn’t freezing cold. I wouldn’t know. I never run it that low. He said the inverter pump still showed up as a problem. I gave him the go-ahead to replace it.
The physical therapist worked on my head and shoulders because they have been bothering me. She discovered a hot spot between my shoulder blades on the right side that I believe is the epicenter of many of my upper body problems. She gave me an exercise to loosen those muscles.
She also observed me doing other exercises. I have been working on one where I have to tighten my abdominal muscles and breathe while I am holding that tension. She had told me to think of drawing my belly button back to my spine. That image has never worked for me. The other day I heard another metaphor. Draw your stomach in as you would if you’re trying to get into a pair of tight pants. Got it! However, when I showed the PT how I did it, she saw something I was doing wrong. She saw I was tightening the muscle, which runs up the center of my abdomen, the one associated with the six-pack. She said I should be focusing on the muscles on the side of the abdomen that run along the hip bones. What a difference! I love this woman. She shares her knowledge of the body.
She is also coming up with entirely different explanations for why I have the problems I do. I made up my stories to explain my lopsided body; she’s working from her knowledge about the body in general. She says my joints were hyperflexible. I don’t ever remember feeling hyperflexible in my life. She says the rigidity I adopted was a compensation for my hyper flexibility. Possible, I suppose. The cause doesn’t concern me as much as the cure.
After PT, I went home to shower to get ready for Judy and Paulette to pick me up to go to church. Today was the celebration of the Immaculate Conception. The mass was followed by the rosary and then a tea in Mary’s honor. Traditional teacups are set at each table, and cakes and cookies are served. Each person who signed up ahead of time got a gingerbread cookie with their name on it. I am part of a woman’s luncheon group that celebrates birthdays. It was decided that my birthday would be observed on this occasion. The whole group sang happy birthday to me.
On the way to the church, I told Judy and Paulette that I was already planning my 80th birthday party. The location is a problem. I’ve decided that it would be a good idea to reserve a pavilion from the Kona Parks and Recreation department. Judy had just been to a massive event at one of them. It was some child’s first birthday. In Hawaii first birthdays a big deal, up there with weddings, large weddings. Of course, most events around here are large because of the family networks. My dentist and his Hawaiian wife chose to have their wedding in Las Vegas to avoid having to invite 1,000 people to the event. Yay, it can get pretty bad. Judy and Paulette said they would ask the woman who organized that first birthday event how to reserve a pavilion.
I also spoke about wanting to announce that a single mature woman who was a member of the church was looking for an ohana to rent. This is for this woman who in her late 80s who remarried 5 years ago whose husband just died. To complicate matters, she has to be out of her home by January 11. She has options on the mainland, but she loves the community here. She has built a life for herself, independent of her husband. It’s an upsetting situation.
When I came home, I needed a nap. I did some reading in the Karen Armstrong book on Mohammad. She was a nun but now is a lapsed Catholic. What she has to say about the role of Catholicism in creating a world full of conflict and hate is not pretty.
While I was napping, Shivani called. Sidney was in the bath and wanted to say hello. Shivani told me that she had sent me some notes on the book. She said chapter one was too long. Is such and such valuable information? My first reaction was,” Oh, shit!” I read and reread that chapter. I hoped I was done. But when I looked it over, I saw places that repeated information unnecessarily and appreciated what she had to say. I was even excited about cleaning up the chapter. While I love communicating my ideas, I also enjoy the craft of writing.
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