I didn't feel like getting up when the alarm went off. It was still dark enough at 6 am so it looked like night outside. When Elsa and I made it out for our walk, the stars had already been banished by the early morning light, but there were only a few streaks of red on the clouds. Sunrise in Hilo, on the eastern side of the mountain, must come earlier than sunrise on the west side of the mountain, and they're not that far apart. The mountain blocks the sun's rays.
When I arrived at Bikram, I told the teacher it was my birthday. The class sings Happy Birthday for everyone's birthday during one of the more challenging postures. I wanted that—no need to have said anything. Yvette had arrived before I did and announced it to one and all. As I walked in, several of the regulars stood up to hug and say Happy Birthday. Heather, the teacher, had the students sing it twice, once for each set of the triangle. After class, people came up to me individually to offer congratulations. Deborah gave me a small jar of Ned's honey. It was a great start to the day.
I went to Toyota after I left to speak to the technician coordinator, Anthony. Yes, we're on a first-name basis already. I had called and left a message. While he told me that the inverter pump needs to be replaced, I am still suspicious. I don't suspect that they're trying to rip me off, just that they are being less careful in this examination of my car than they could be. I wanted to tell Anthony that the screen that provides the energy information had gone blank a while ago. I hadn't mentioned it earlier because it wasn't affecting the car's functioning as a whole. I didn't need it, so I ignored it. Now, I wondered if it indicated a deeper problem with the electrical system. Anthony said he would tell the guy doing the diagnostic work and get back to me. This will be the second time they are checking the car. I wonder if they will charge me twice. I doubt it because he said nothing about more money.
The next stop was at the Carpet Care shop to speak to the lady who orders the vacuum repair parts. I have had the vacuum cleaner in the back of the car for at least a week, stopping at least once a day to see if I could catch her. So Hawaii. She wasn't in again. I drove off. Dorothy called to wish me a happy birthday. I was stopped at the light on Makala at the corner of Queen K, where I had my accident on Thanksgiving Day. My phone rang; I got a call from the Carpet Care shop to say the lady I was looking for just arrived. I had to cross two lanes to get into the right-hand turn lane. I was one of those touch-and-go moments. I was driving under 5 mph, the danger zone. I made it without incident. When I got to the store, the lady was indeed there. She checked the model number on my machine. I had looked but hadn't found one. So much for my eagle eye; it was where one would expect it to be. She said she would have to order a new floor attachment, and it would take three days.
I went home and showered. Just before I took off for school, Yvette came up and said that her friends Scott and Steve wanted to cook me dinner tonight: steaks and pasta. While I hadn't wanted anything at home because I was afraid I would be looking for Mike the whole time, this seemed okay. This is something that would never have happened if he was still alive.
I took off for school. I worked with B and N individually on their spelling. N has made more progress than B. He was so thrilled by his success on his first test after I worked with him that he now considers studying his spelling some sort of game. Great. I gave both of them pretests, as per their requests. N got most of the words right. We went over the few that he got wrong. B might be able to pull off a 70% this time if he studies at home. I think he is still finding it too frustrating to think of it as fun.
Then I worked with R. She was doing better on reading Sassy the Cat. She still has problems with his, reading it as him, or hit. But now she can correct it on her own, sometimes even catching the error by herself without having me point it out. She had more trouble with the second story than before. I didn't push her. She is prepared to work and work hard. If she says she's had enough, her little 8-year-old brain has had it for the day. She is making progress, nothing great, but in the right direction.
Then I worked with D in Mrs. B's class. He was able to stop himself from making some wild guesses, but he still has some problems in that regard. I did get him to start writing down the words he was confused about, underlining the vowels and dividing the words into syllables. As he did these divisions, it became clear he still didn't get the point that each syllable had to have a vowel. If there are two vowel sounds in a word, there would only be one line dividing the word into two syllables. It is striking to see what he still finds confusing. He is a bright child. I'm not sure why he has so much difficulty with certain things. Mrs. B says he is doing much better, not just in reading but in all his schoolwork, particularly his writing.
I headed down to Costco for gas before going off the Randee's at Salon Muse for my 3 pm appointment to get my hair cut. School closed at 2 pm, so I figured I had plenty of time. However, by the time I left the parking lot is was already 2:20. I managed to get gas and make it to my appointment by a few minutes before three. I didn't need all the books I brought with me to while away the time. I was starving. I stopped in at the deli next door to see if I could pick up something. They had a spicy potato salad that looked good. It took a while for the owner to come out and serve me. She was on the phone. She apologized, explaining that her mother had just died and was on the phone with her sister.
The Salon is right next door to the deli. Randee said I had plenty of time. I should sit down and finish my salad. I told her that she should cut my hair as she did it the last time by accident. She cut it even more radically this time. If this continues, I will have a shaved head with a mohawk on top. I announced it was my birthday, not expecting anything more than congratulations and a few hugs. The next thing I know, the son of one of the operators walked up with a fruit tart with a candle in it, and everyone sang happy birthday to me. I told them that I had already started thinking about a big celebration for Mike's and my joint 80th birthday. I guess that is out, but I would still like to do something big for myself. They all declared they would like to come. It's a year away, and I already have people on my guest list. We'll see if I follow through on my big plans. When I went to pay, Randee refused my money, saying the cut was a birthday present. I collected hugs from all the operators.
After my haircut, my next stop was at the counseling session for Yvette and me. So far, so good, this therapist is doing a satisfying job. Yvette and I spent a lot of the session talking about our relationships with our husbands. Not exactly on target for dealing with differences between us, but the therapist allowed us to continue in this vein. I don't know what she was thinking, but I am grateful. We learned a lot about each other's thinking. Or at least, I learned a lot about Yvette's thinking. Toward the end, I brought up a significant financial proposal. Yvette again was startled. As I see it, she experiences all suggestions as demands. I believe her family of origin was that way, but I'm not. I kept assuring her that nothing would happen until we had a satisfactory solution for all involved. She did not have to worry that she wasn't going to get what she needed.
When we got home, Scott and Steve were here cooking dinner. I was exhausted and needed to lie down for half an hour. When I got up, I was served steak, beautiful steaks, salad, and pasta. They had also bought a small cake from Safeway for dessert.
For some reason, we were talking about Steve's catering gigs. I told them that I was thinking about my 80th already. Now, I have the caterer, DJ, and B to do the party's lights. Yvette suggested that we have family come out too. That would mean Damon, Cylin, August, Shivani, and Sidney. When I spoke to Jean later in the day, she talked about John and her coming out too. I would really love it if Dorothy came out for the event. If people are prepared to camp, I can get everyone in the house at once. I should really get the third bathroom in place before next year, in that case, even if I don't have all the books out of the house yet. I can't imagine having all the books out of the house by next year at this time. If I'm down by 500, I'll be happy.
During the night, I started thinking of all the things that could go wrong during the party. I would love to have dancing, but the backyard is on a slant. I thought maybe I should rent a pavilion for the party. I think you have to rent them from the parks and recreation department a year in advance; then the ground would be even for dancing. I thought if I had it on the property and it rained, it would be a disaster. A solution would be to put up a marquee tent. Then I envisioned a strong wind making even that impossible. Okay, I would be fine without the big party; just planning it was at least half the fun. I would give all the food to the homeless the next day. Done!. These plans are not a result of worry. I don't worry. My mind goes through options with the ease of falling dominos, and I make plans. There's nothing to worry about. I don't need it to go one way or the other. A joyful party would be nice, but I would be happy with just the planning and inviting. Thinking of planning and inviting now brings me joy. The actual party might be nice, or it might not be great. Whatever. I am so glad to be old and in a whatever frame of mind. So relaxing.
I walked Elsa, went to bed, and read a bit of Karen Armstrong's book on Mohammad before turning out the lights.
No comments:
Post a Comment