When I woke up, I heard Shivani and Sidney playing around. I smiled - until I heard Shivani saying she was so tired. I jumped out of bed to see if I could be of assistance. I was somewhat of a distraction but not total relief. I figured out that she might not be feeling that well because of the antibiotic she got yesterday.
Sidney had requested oatmeal for breakfast. Two bites later, he was done. Shivani dressed him for school, and off we went. I got to see his school. After we dropped him off, Shivani, Hanna, and I headed for a different beach than yesterday. Here, the waves were rougher. I saw no one sitting on the beach; even the shore was rockier. There was a designated path for walking. It was pretty crowded with people biking, walking, and dogs, lots of dogs.
My back was acting up again big time. I chose not to continue with Shivani and Hana. I walked a short distance and turned back. Looking back toward the mountains, there was a golf club bracketed by a nature preserve on the ocean side and mountains on the far side. There was a mist hanging over it, creating a Japanese painting scene that competed with the ocean view for the title of spectacular.
I found a cement walkway closer to the ocean. I walked back and forth on a short strip so I would be visible to Shivani when she came back to the path leading to the parking area. I also did some half-moon stretches using the guard rail. That helped me a lot. Wow!
We had stopped off at a yoga studio on the way to the beach, which offers 60-minute Bikram classes. There was a ballet bar in the class; that part was okay. I decided against going, concerned it might make my back worst instead of better. At home, I can rely on the teachers and other students to help me; they haul me up off the floor and drive me home when necessary. I feel very cared for and safe.
When we got home, I went to sit outside on the deck. Shivani joined me for a while. She found it too hot, and she went inside. She went to a yoga class while I stayed home and worked on the book, the blog, and listened to some City Homicide on Amazon.
The cleaners arrived, literally, 3 of them. I stayed out on the deck, and they had free rein. When they were done, one stuck her head out and said goodbye.
Shivani came home. She continued working inside while I worked outside. I loved being out on the deck.
I got to use the same bathroom Sidney used, the one with the full tub. The first night I noticed a lot of standing water between the tub and the toilet. Shivani and I cleaned it up, and then there was more standing water. We were both concerned there was a leak. She called a plumber before she left for her yoga class. I went to the bathroom while she was out and noticed no water on the floor between the toilet and the tub. I texted her, so she could cancel the plumber if she wanted to. She decided against it. I asked her if there were any other plumbing problems they could work on if the ‘leak’ mysteriously disappeared.
I was outside when the plumber came. Shivani joined us and told me that the ‘leak’ had been caused by some child adapting contraption she had put on the bathroom sink faucet so it would be easier for Sidney to use. Her other problem was also a minor one. The guy didn’t charge her anything. I still don’t understand how that contraption caused the water on the floor. I never saw water accumulate on the sink behind the faucet and overflow on the floor.
At two pm, Shivani and I headed out to the Farmer’s Market about 15 minutes away. It was a great time to be there; it’s a small market, and it wasn’t too crowded. It is also a very yuppy market; all upscale produce beautifully displayed. I had no idea there were that many varieties of tomatoes and squashes. Of course, I know beans about food in general. Shivani, on the other hand, loves to cook. She considers Mike a significant influence on her.
We went back home. Shivani went off for another yoga class. I took a shower, went back out on the deck, and did MELT. Shivani had a roller. It wasn’t a MELT roller, soft, but a hard one. Good enough. I find that my back problems originate in the area just under my armpits. When I experiment, I find that’s where the trouble arises.
Brenna, Sidney’s nanny, had come home with him from physical therapy. He was a preemie and received some help with his development. He looks fine now. The kid doesn’t stop moving. He was crying his eyes out and couldn’t be consoled. Shivani is excellent with him; she stays calm and works to resolve the problem. She asked him if he was hungry, tired, angry, etc. I noticed that he stopped crying when she asked if he was hungry. She proposed feeding him some yogurt. That had an immediate calming effect. Shivani said he comes home extra tired on those days he has physical therapy. I know I can get pretty grouchy when I’m super tired. It must be hard for those little ones.
I got a text from Kathrin saying she would pick up my car from the garage that afternoon. Could I please send her my credit card information? I was pretty sure I had given it to the garage already. I called her to tell her so. We had a long talk, mostly about her thoughts and efforts on getting her visa extended. If she can’t, she has to be on a plane to Bogota, Columbia, on October 11. Given the current fixation with illegal immigrants, I encourage her to be on that plane unless she has all her paperwork in order and in her hot little hand. Of course, I don’t know how it works. ,2019
She told me about a friend of hers who was suffering from some sort a reprieve of an old eating disorder in response to stress. Someone recommended this psychiatrist. She contacted the woman and was told that her treatment cost $25,000 a month. Really? Sounds like a scam to me. I would expect a guarantee of a cure at a cost that or the promise of a full refund.
Shivani made the salmon we bought at the Farmer’s Market with a stewed cherry tomato and onion topping called salmon with a tomato vinaigrette. Yum! The salmon came from Denmark. I bought a piece of salmon in San Francisco that was caught in Denmark. Faust anyone? It may have been worth the deal with the devil; it was that delicious.
Shivani has a bedtime routine with Sidney. She reads three books to him on the sofa in the living room. Then he goes to bed, and she reads one more. This sets him up for bedtime, and there is almost no fuss about going to bed.
Shivani is remarkable in other ways. She is separated from Sidney’s father. There were problems in this process. Nonetheless, every night he is on FaceTime while she reads the books to him on the sofa. When Sidney is placed in his crib, she props up the phone until she is ready to leave the room. She respects how important the father’s role is in a child’s life.
Then to bed. When I was a child, my mother would usher us to bed, saying, “To bed, to bed, who has one, who has none must also go to bed.” Only she said in German. Sorry, I don’t write German. About ten years ago, while visiting a cousin in Germany, I quoted my mother when it was time for all of us to go to bed. My German cousin was horrified. She said my mother would never say such a thing. Huh? The literal translation doesn’t quite catch the meaning. It means who has someone to go to bed with has to go to bed, and who has no one must also go to bed. I told Dorothy. She laughed and said it sounded exactly like something our mother would say.
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