Thursday, March 30, 2023

 Thursday, March 30, 2023

   It was a busy day. I was up when my alarm went off at 5:30. It was driveway yoga day. I had to be back from my morning walk before seven to feed Elsa before the class. We got in fewer steps because of the time limit.  

  The class was great. I could get down on the floor again without experiencing pain in my ribs. I noticed my shoulder blades were much looser because of all the work the acupuncturists and the PT did and the shoulder blade exercise the PT gave me, which I did diligently.

  After the yoga class, I had half an hour before I had to leave for my nine-fifteen haircut appointment. I packed miso ramen soup and my computer because I had a make-up appointment with the chiropractor at ten thirty. The hair salon and the chiropractor are on the same street. Why make two trips?

  When I arrived at the hairdresser's, I saw the sign on the door saying they opened at ten. I was about to call Randee when she opened the door. All the operators are free agents and can make their own schedules. She had to put something on the door and chose that opening time. I loved her current haircut. It's a bob with her natural hair color: a very, very dark brown. Randee commented that I didn't really need a cut. I agreed. I could have gone another two weeks. I don't know why my hair is growing more slowly. She said we should leave at least ten weeks before my next appointment. It is always a pleasure to see Randee.

   I drove down to the chiropractor's right after my haircut. I always worry about finding a spot. Once parked, I left the car running, got into the passenger seat to escape the sun, and napped. Getting a haircut is exhausting. I got up at ten thirty when my alarm went off. The door to the office was locked. I texted her that I was there and would be in the open-air atrium. She texted me back that she got a call from her son, who was visiting Tahiti. Time had gotten away from her. She'd be there in eight minutes.

  I sat in the atrium reading Time of the Magicians on my Kindle. Around 11:15, I received a text that she was in. When I arrived, she said she had to make a phone call. She was trying to reach my insurer, who wanted to drop her. She said she tried to call repeatedly but got an announcement that said the office was closed. Great! One reason I go to her is that she accepts my insurance. I got out of there at twelve-thirty. That sounded about right. I always plan for two hours when I see her. I don't know if her work is spectacular, but it makes a difference.

  The chiropractor asked me if I had lost weight when I got on the table. Wow! My scale is going in the opposite direction; I've been gaining. My PT tries to assure me it's increased muscle mass. She could see muscles on my left upper thigh that weren't there before. She concentrated on my left shoulder and arm in her work with me, which got damaged in that 'fall' I took two weeks ago. She recommended I return next week instead of waiting a month for my next one.

  When I got into my car, I called Randee, my hairdresser. I told her the story of my visit to the chiropractor on Tuesday when Lisa got a phone call from a friend asking her to come immediately because someone was trying to kill her. Lisa's husband was free and joined. When they arrived, their friend was hiding in the bushes in fear, claiming that this other woman had taken a shot at her. She felt the bullet whiz past her head. The other woman said she was removing the guns from her father's house. She had never tried to shoot Lisa's friend. Lisa said her friend was an alcoholic. While she was a talented professional, she had problems with reality. Lisa and her husband concluded their friend was delusional.

  I had some shopping to do before I went home. First, I stopped at Ace Hardware to look for a claw hoe I could use while standing. They had two left. Then, I went to Island Naturals to buy tea tree oil to treat Elsa's lesions. Melissa told me the ointment I had been using on her had a powerful steroid. She licks it off, ingesting it. Have I done more harm than good getting her off the Apoquel medication that reduced her immune response and using only the ointment? I hope this works. I ordered nine tubes of the ointment. That's me; I always order more than I need in anticipation of the future. If the tea tree oil works, I'll donate the extras to Petco.

  I had a make-up appointment with Adolescent D.  No, he hadn't downloaded the questions we had written together for his interview assignment. No, he hadn't contacted his uncle to ask if he could interview him. I worked on writing a list of tasks. If he mentioned one task, I wrote subtasks, breaking down the big one into smaller ones.

  I told him to text his uncle now. He dictated a text. Then it wound up he hadn't sent it. I asked him to send it for real. He did.

   Did he share his questions with his teacher? No. Why not do that now. He had excuses. He would do it later. He had to do it over Zoom. He finally agreed to forward the list I wrote as we composed it. He said he sent it. I don't know when his teacher will get it. I do know the video assignment was due today. But that is D.

  He does whatever he can to not get his work in on time. I understand the impulse. He knows he will not get a good grade because of his inadequacies. If he doesn't hand it in, he gets a zero because of something he could do, withhold the work. I asked him if he often does the assignment after the due date. He said, "Not all the time." 

  I asked D what grade he got on his last video project. He said he didn't know, and he didn't know how to look it up. I texted his mom to ask her if she could find out. We'll see.