Candied Hearts and Factory Roses in Everyday Ramblings

Having done my (blessedly annual now) full body skin check last year under Covid protocols it was easier this year. And the gown they gave me was warm. The only issue was a spot on my forehead that they zapped with liquid nitrogen before is still there. It has been annoying. A reddish dry blotch that I see every time I turn the darn Zoom camera on. Like twice a day.

It isn’t worrisome, like melanoma worrisome, but she very thoroughly zapped it again and if after the not so attractive scabs come off if it is still there, I am supposed to get it biopsied.

Good. I can fit that in around the murder trial. I go for jury orientation next Friday.

Scabs on my face and in a duck like looking N95 I took the train down to Kes and Most Honorable’s place on Friday after class. We had talked about chores she would like to have help with, and she lit up a bit when I mentioned cleaning out the refrigerator. Rubber gloves and miracle cloths in hand off I went.

We started taking everything out of the first two shelves and the door. And I cleaned and disposed of some things. Then we took a break, had lunch, where Most Honorable joined us and we worked on improving the settings on my Pivo for filming my recorded classes.

Then Kes took a nap, which she needed, and Most Honorable and I finished the refrigerator. He had never cleaned it before.

After that I did a tarot reading for Kes with my cards, as requested. They showed me how to play Wordle, which I had not attempted yet, and it was time to head home.

I am going to help her with some of the calls and stuff she needs to do in the next few months to help manage her symptoms and so we got started on notes for that too.

I was traveling business class. On the way back there were a half-brother and sister traveling together in “my car” and they ate aromatic food and she talked nonstop for an hour and a half. Speaking of stopping, we sat on a siding for a half hour waiting for a freight train.

My noise cancelling headphones came in handy. I got a Lyft home, and all was well. I am going back in a couple of weeks.

The weather was fabulous! It got up to 61 degrees without a cloud in the sky. You could see the stars over the city, a rare sight indeed. The trip reminded me of how much I love the land here. It is a strange sensation as I have always been city focused but I just plain love it here with all it’s substantial flaws.

Oh, like for instance after two years of Covid we don’t have a working downtown anymore, we have an open-air mental institution with very lax security.

Yesterday morning I had my bodyweight class. We did Lizard Pushups. Never heard of them before. And Jefferson Curls. I knew what those were. They are forbidden in Yoga for older adults, so I felt a bit wicked. I am not anywhere near as sore today as I was Thursday.

It is clouding up now and will rain tomorrow. Midday I am getting a shot and getting my shopping done. I hope to get some cleaning of my own done this week. Prepping for class today down on the floor in my bedroom, ugh, some areas need work.

Single, I used to dread the awkwardness of Valentine’s Day and I am grateful not to need to deal with that anymore. I was reading on the train “All About Love: New Visions” the essays written by bell hooks. Her description of love as a verb instead of a noun makes so much sense to this older me.

Her definition (borrowed from M. Scott Peck) is “the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth”.

“To begin by always thinking of love as an action rather than a feeling is one way anyone using the word in this manner automatically assumes accountability and responsibility.”

“When we are loving we openly and honestly express care, affection, responsibility, respect, commitment, and trust.”

I am lucky to be able to practice these characteristics with my students every time I teach. Much better than candied hearts and factory roses.

Last updated February 14, 2022