Autumn Light in Everyday Ramblings

When I was doing all the prep for the Caregivers Gentle Movement and Relaxation class on the pediatric oncology unit I teach on Tuesdays, I mentioned to the coordinator something about how I knew that sometimes it would be difficult because it could be very sad. She said well, we have very good outcomes so not to fret too much about that.

This last week we lost one of the kids. And it was a child whose mother I had gotten to know over the months, an extraordinary woman here from Malaysia with her two-year-old daughter for treatment. They had made it home. And I am so grateful for that, we all were.

I am just not as tough as I used to be emotionally. This was heartbreaking. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet them and maybe in my own very small way, share or ease the burden. But still… oh…comforting thoughts to the whole family. There is just something fundamentally wrong with a child dying of cancer.

H., the leader of my now former Women’s Circle is coming home from Rehab today. This is wonderful news! She has a long way to go and it is unlikely she will make a full recovery but she is home with her exhausted husband and very happy dog. She was so active it is hard to imagine her not being able to drive but that is the way of these things.

Continuing on with the good news, all the work Kes has put in over the last few years had a big payoff this week when she hit her Weight Watchers goal weight. It snuck up on her and she was surprised and delighted and unnerved all at the same time.

She is down about sixty pounds from when she started two years ago. When I hit my goal a year ago I suspect she thought she might not ever hit hers but she stuck it out and hung in there and that is a huge accomplishment.

She’s had this weight on for over 20 years. I am very proud of and for her.

Last night I had the most wonderful relaxed evening. I did my grocery shopping and went for a walk and came home and ate the last of the flavorful organic beets and carrots I roasted together on Sunday. I finally had time to put a new screen shield on my smart phone. (The last one had started to peel off and I had it attached with tape and it had bubbles and was embarrassing to look at…) Then I did a new to me master yoga class for cranky hips.

Cranky hips. I have those. All the walking I do with more in store as I age it was nice to focus on making space in there so my femur has room to move and the whole area is less prone to inflammation. A woman my age, as that young doctor said…

I loaned Kes my yoga bolster for a restorative pose for her upper back and shoulders that she loves and may actually keep doing so I decided to order a new one for myself. Now I need to decide if I want to buy a couple of long straps for this practice. We have them at the studio. But I only use the studio occasionally these days.

After work tonight I teach and then I have a quiet weekend planned to prepare for my four-day senior certification workshop next weekend. For that I get to take a day and a half off and I also get to take Monday morning off work too because I am subbing the studio class. Those days are fun, teach in the morning, work in the afternoon.

Now all I have to do is make this whole yoga business financially viable. Fingers crossed that outcome will evolve by the time I retire.

Last updated October 10, 2014