I woke up this morning and decided not to go to Bikram. I wasn't quite sure why but it felt right. As the day progressed, I understood my reasoning: I needed my body to be in shape to handle the activities for the day. While I can walk after Bikram, my body is tired from the strain and doesn't want to do much else. I only hoped that the class sang happy birthday to Heather today. When it was Mark's birthday, I made sure it happened- with Deb's help. I sent a happy birthday message to Heather via Crista, not having her cell phone number.
My first activity was walking Elsa. I didn't see her pee; she hadn't peed last night because she refused to walk. I walked through the house looking for that telltale wet spot. I didn't find one until I looked in the shower. There was a dark spot in the middle of the river stone shower pan. There were other dark spots where I had sprayed the mold with Clorox, but those were all around the edges. This dark spot, still slightly wet, was in the middle of the pan. I thanked Elsa and gave her breakfast.
The first thing I worked on was getting the December 16 blog entry checked by Grammarly and posting it. Then I got to work listing items I had accumulated for donations: Habitat for Humanity, the Friendly Place, the Food Basket, and Memory Lane. Once I'd written them on the list, I loaded them into the car for delivery. It looks like I'm moving. There's lots more to get rid of.
Among other items, there are ten ties of Mike's. No one wears ties here that I have seen, but okay, I'll try them at Memory Lane, which sells items for the Hospice program in town. One slipped off the hanger as I took them out to the car. I picked it up and draped it over my neck. I thought, Mike once wore this tie. I wrapped it tightly around my neck, feeling hugged by this wonderful man who was such an incredible plus to my life. I've heard it said that the most important decision we make in our lives is who we marry. I did good, very good.
I also alphabetized one more shelf in the library, and I found two more books on the request list from the seminary in New Orleans. Just doing that one shelf caused some physical pain. My body is so vulnerable these days. I hope I gain the necessary strength to hold myself together.
I received some holiday cards that deserve a reply. I also had to get out the cards and checks for family members. I had to ask the kids who are staying here to move some of their stuff from the front of the cabinet, where I had a stash of cards to get to them. There's a better selection in the closet in their room but forget that. Their bed is blocking access to that. All the cards I came across were Christmas cards; no happy holiday ones. I found a get well and thank you card in their midst and sent them out to people I knew would not appreciate getting the image of Christ on a card. Whatever, they did the job.
When I went out to drop the letters off in the mail, I ran into Marcia from across the street. I had two questions for her that have been burning a hole in my mind. 1) Is there a dog on the property south of her who howls in agony every once in a while. Answer: no. I suspected that what Judy was hearing wasn't from that property, but from the house on the corner, and that howl isn't a cry of agony. Those folks have five dogs. Every once in a while, less frequently than they used to, they all start barking at once. Mike and I laughed about it; we called them the Bremen musicians because you could hear each voice separately. One of those voices is this howling dog. 2) The second question was if I could give their number to the medical alert company in case of an emergency. She said, of course, and emailed the number to be sure I had the correct one.
I wanted to make some drop-offs of the donations I had loaded in my car on my way to the physical therapist's, but I got started too late. I just made it on time for my appointment. Each PT session is different. I learn something new with each encounter. She did a lot of work on my sacrum. She says it is inflexible, compensation for an overly flexible spine around the level of my waist. I never saw myself as flexible anywhere in my body, nowhere. I think my inflexibility in that area of my spine developed because of the tightness in the sacrum. Maybe it's a chicken and egg dilemma. Either way, I have a tight sacrum, which has to be relaxed to become fully functional.
After PT, I made a stop at Memory Lane and dropped off Mike's jackets, pants, and ties. Then I headed to Target to pick up some prewash spray and hopefully a Hersey Milk Chocolate bar with almonds. I have tons of those chocolate bars at home, but I needed one then and there. I was out of luck. There wasn't one in the store.
The Friendly Place was next. I wanted to drop off what I had for them. It was around 3:30, and they were closed. I have no idea what their hours are. The next stop was the Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up some more muscle relaxant pills. Then I headed up the hill to The Food Basket to drop off some items. They also were closed. Habitat was right there, but that would take too much time. I had to be back in town for Yvette's and my appointment with the therapist. We both arrived just in time.
We talked more about our differences. We are no longer having trouble getting along; we just want to improve our fifty-year relationship. We are just getting to really know each other. We can no longer ignore those things which make us uncomfortable. We have to find ways to understand, accept, and adapt to each other. We want joy and laughter in our lives.
I headed home, and Yvette went somewhere else. At least, her car wasn't in the driveway when I arrived. I fed Elsa, stuck the pork chop I had defrosted in the toaster oven, and Elsa and I went for our walk. When I came home, the young people who are staying with me arrived. They brought in two packages that were waiting for me at the front door. They were both from Shutterfly; Damon is the only one who sends me packages from there.
In one package, there was a double picture of Jean, Dorothy, and me taken on Oahu when we were all there for Mike's hospitalization. The top picture is of the three of us smiling for the camera. The bottom one is the three of us striking the three monkeys' poses: see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil. We had struck that pose once before a few years ago when we were all together for Thanksgiving. I love this duet of photos. I asked him to send the image of the three girls to the other two in the picture.
The other was a picture of Cylin, a gigantic August, and a tiny Sariah standing on a sandy part of Kua Bay beach rendered as a jigsaw puzzle. Unfortunately, Shutterfly doesn't do a very good job dye cutting its pieces. They're all the same. Each piece can fit with every other piece, which means you're completely dependent on the visual image to figure it out. Sand, really? Damon's identity as a sadist is firmly established now.
While my pork chop was not pink in the center, it was dry and hard. Well, better luck next time. At least, I didn't do anything to kill myself. While I was eating, the young woman asked if I bake Christmas cookies. Of course, she had to be kidding. I have never baked Christmas cookies. Mike never even baked Christmas cookies. For all Mike's cooking, he never baked.
Friday was the day the carpet installer was supposed to come, but I had no word on a possible time. I wanted to go to Bikram. I contacted Yvette to see if she would be here in the morning to greet the guy.
I called Judy in the evening. She texted back that she was taking care of Luke for the night. As far as I could figure out, he had been crying for over a day. These FoxG1 kids will do that, cry endlessly and inconsolably. His parents were exhausted and needed a break. She would call when she could.
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