Monday, August 12, 2024

 Monday, August 12, 2024 

      When I called the vet to make an appointment for Elsa for her skin condition and possible ear infection, the earliest available appointment was September 9.  The receptionist told me to call at 7:30 on Monday morning to see if I could get a same-day appointment.  Concerned the vet might say come now, I texted Clyde, the fellow who leads the Chi Qigong practice at 8 am on the Old A  beach.  Since I was the only other person who came as a rule and was a regular, I thought he would be alarmed if I didn’t show up.  I suspected he wouldn’t have his phone on him during the practice, so I texted him around 7 am to warn him I might not be there.

    When I called the vet at 7:30, the receptionist asked me about Elsa’s condition and told me to email pictures of her skin lesions. This was new. Either way, I didn’t have an appointment this morning and was free to go to the Chi Qigong practice. I arrived a few minutes late. Clyde and a woman, who I assumed was Shelly, who had been there twice before, had already started the first exercise.  I got in place without saying a word to avoid interrupting them and started moving. Clyde said, “Now we’re in trouble.” I took it as a warm and friendly greeting. I greeted Clyde and the woman at the end of the session. The woman was not Shelly but someone I had never seen before, Lee. 

    Lee left, and Clyde and I sat for a while, enjoying the view. Clyde said he was having trouble getting me and Kayla together.  Yesterday, he said something about wanting to introduce me to Kayla, who led the sound bath and crystal healing yesterday.  Today, he said something about wanting to introduce me to her because I ‘counseled counselors;’ I have no idea why he thought that. It suggests Clyde is a bit confused.  I know he has a massive inferiority complex, but he doesn’t act it out in ways that either hurt me or trigger me.  He explained that  Kayla is the one who gives the sermon at the Unity church. Huh? She is one of the youngest people there. How did she get in this position? Clyde continued explaining that while she was very heart-centered, she was currently having problems delivering sermons because the sermons were following a structured course on commitment. I don’t think the topic was the problem; it was the academic structure of the course. She had to use her cold cognition instead of her hot- her inspiration.  It wasn’t in her wheelhouse.  Clyde is right; I might be able to help her.  It sounds like fun. Now, I know why he was having trouble getting us together. She was dodging his efforts to get her ‘help.’ Can’t exactly blame her.

    Before I left Old A, I practiced backing up my car in the empty parking lot.  I picked a shrub to aim for. I hit it perfectly each time using my rearview mirror.  I can’t make the backup camera work for me.

     Then, I went to the post office to mail Damon a jar of MakesNoClaims (Intrasound gel). There were four clerks on duty. I had never seen so many at once. The line went quickly.  Then I headed to Target. Progressive soup was on sale, 4 for $8; I bought four. I picked up five frozen foods on sale, too. I dropped a mere $75 at checkout. I had nine dinners, a dozen organic eggs, a loaf of Dave’s bread, two packs of cream cheese, a jar of Smucker’s sugar-free raspberry jam, a feminine wash,  and a small container of dessert baked goods.  The checkout lady put all the frozen food in one bag, along with the cream cheese. They would all keep each other cold. 

   My next stop was at the transfer station. A space quickly opened up at the end. There was no one parked there yet. As I backed up, I didn’t have to worry about hitting another car.  I felt pretty good about parking it until I got out of the car. While I had aimed for the space on the left, I wound up diagonally parked across both slots with my rear end near the fence to the right of the slots. Oh, boy.  A truck pulled up quickly, preparing to use the second slot. I jumped out and tried to empty the car of the Bismarck palm nut clusters as quickly as I could. A man appeared at my side. I assumed he was the driver of the truck who wanted to get into this slot. Yep. I apologized. He wasn’t there to call me a stupid old lady; he was there to help me.  He was a local Hawaiian man. Aloha is alive and well in Hawaii. You have the occasional haole (White person from the mainland like me) get worked up about something like that and give someone what for, but it’s not the rule.  The man even helped me get the bags of loose nuts out of the back seat, untie the knots, and dump the contents. The elderly (kupunas) are respected here. Can’t think of a better place to retire.

   I worked with the Twins at 3:30 on the nose. I had Twin E first. She was downing her snack while we worked, which made the work much harder. I could appreciate that she was hungry. I will ask her mom if she can ensure they’re snacked before starting with me.  

   I tested Twin E on her b/d discrimination by highlighting bs and ds in context in the text. She aced that. That’s progress. She told me she used crossbody blending when reading at school. She didn’t use it in the session as she should have.  She was tired from her day at school, distracted by her snack, and didn’t do very well. She made a number of wild guesses, ignoring the letters in the words. While we may have resolved the b/d confusion, she may also have n/h confusion.  It was a frustrating session.

   In contrast, Twin A aced it. She read a passage fluently, spontaneously correcting mistakes. She also aced the comprehension. When I asked her about the passage, she gave an articulate answer.  The gap between the two girls is growing. Twin E is the one who fell out a two-story window when she was under two. She was rushed to the emergency room. There were no apparent signs of harm, but who knows. It could be psychological trauma. For those of you who argue, she couldn’t possibly remember what happened. No, she couldn’t, consciously. But the body recorded it; it remembers.

   I didn’t hear from Adolescent D today, one way or the other. At 4:30, I had an appointment with fourth-grade L. When I went to text his mom, telling her I had sent the link, I saw a text from her saying they had no computer. Her daughter started at the Parker school. She was told to bring a laptop. She took the only one in the house. It would be a few days before the new one arrived. 

    I’m a little confused. L's mother asked for a reduction in his fees, but they can afford to send their daughter to the Parker School, one of the most expensive in the state.   It’s not my pocketbook that hurts; it’s my pride.