EDLM 9/17/18
I wake and turn my phone alarm off at 5:00. I notice a text from my daughter and a tweet about the Supreme Court nominee and the new plan to derail. I’ll get caught up later. I decide to sleep a little longer and wake at 5:20, turn off my 5:30 alarm and invite R our Aussie dog to join me on the bed. She loves to snuggle and I give her 5 minutes with me on the bed before I get up to shower. B, my daughter’s dog, is also with us however he stays on the floor during this time. I could invite him but he would lick and play and wake up T who doesn’t want or need to get up, yet. I shower, put three eggs in the egg poacher, and pour water into the tea kettle. I go back to the bathroom to dry my hair and floss when the egg poacher and tea kettle begin to whistle. I pour the water in the tumbler and add cut up frozen lime. I am out of lemons and note the need to go to the store for that and a few other items. I put the eggs, fresh chopped cilantro, green onions, and salt and pepper in a bowl with lid to take to work. I make a breakfast smoothie to take as well but use a frozen beer stein because my other tumbler is in my car. I finish getting ready and head to work about 6:30. I consider riding my bike to work, it’s become a simple pleasure, and decide not to because I am certain the work day will result in me being pressed to get to my doctor appointment on time. I arrive to work a little later than I had hoped but am able to get an early start on the work day.
I leave the office to begin my drive to the Marion VA hospital for a 1:00 appointment. It’s an hour or so and I turn on a new audible book in the car. I arrive and notice the beautiful day when I get out of the car and walk to the hospital. The sky is a gorgeous blue with the sun and the temperature providing a very comfortable climate. I check in and am sent to get blood work. I forgot about this part and realize I was supposed to arrive earlier to do this blood-work prior to the exam. It’s a quick draw and I head back to radiology and wait. I speak to three older men who come and go while I wait. The one guy has us laughing a bit as he jokes about his fall down the stairs. He fell backward and rolled down the stairs. It’s not funny but his joking has us all in smiles, and recognizing he could have been injured far worse. One of the other guys was also there because of a fall and injury. The others finish up and I eventually stand and walk the hall area while listening to the book, and waiting. I am eventually called in for the test and am surprised by the need to put an IV in. I am initially nervous because I have passed out a couple times when having my blood drawn. I ask for a bottle of cold water which I place on the back of my neck while they put the IV in and do the test. The technician describes the test to me and then begins the test. I begin to smile and kind of laugh at myself for my nervousness as the test progresses because it’s so silly. The test is a breeze. The first part is completed and then she tells me things I will feel when they start the IV and I tell her I’m going to ignore those feelings. Then she starts the IV. I Immediately have the metal taste in my mouth and then begin to feel wet kind of like I am urinating. I think to myself what a weird sensation. Absolutely weird. The cold bottle on my neck keeps me cool and I don’t feel the hot sensation. The test goes pretty quick and I feel fine and head to the bathroom prior to leaving. I spend a few seconds shaking, tell myself that’s enough, and calm myself and it stops. I walk out to my car and again notice the beautiful sky.
I continue listening to the book as I drive back to town. I stop at the grocery store to pick up a few things since it’s on my path and then go home to unload the groceries. I then head back to work to finish my work day.
T and I decide to stay in for dinner because neither of us wants to go out. We make an easy dinner of sandwiches and top it off with popcorn later. I tell T about my test experience. He forgot about it and felt bad because he wasn’t with me. I tell him it was not necessary for him to go I was just caught off guard by the IV. I eventually tell him about the moments shaking and as he jumped in to ask a question I cut him off and said no, I told myself to stop shaking and it worked. He said I’m lucky because I am able to do that. I think to myself that he and others may not be able to do that and I spend a moment thinking of what that might be like.
We quickly move on to continue our conversation over the last couple of days of listing things that make us feel lucky. T immediately notes our kids, and our family. I add in things like being born in the USA, two parents who worked to give me a good life, having good people in my life who helped me develop skills and confidence, physically tall, athletic talent, growth mindset, …
T eventually makes a joke of me not having a passport which is funny considering all the traveling I want to do and constantly discuss. He’s right. I don’t have to plan a trip to have one I can get one and then plan a trip. A friend recently recommended Toronto which is just a long weekend trip. I think to myself I will get the paperwork done soon. This leads to the conversation of learning German. Our daughter and son-in-law are learning via 15 minutes a day in an app. I want to begin it now but I want to be successful and know now is not the time. I hope I don’t put it off too long. R and B are sleeping peacefully and we are exhausted and go to sleep, as well.