Treats and Tears

What a week. I came down with an infected canal in my left ear. But I'm better now. That will teach me to put things in my ear! "Mineral oil from now on," said the very nice ER doc. I mean that. True kindness. A man was there ahead of me. He had dropped something on his foot. I did that last week. What is going on? The doc said he hadn't broken it. It was just sprained and he could go back to work in a few days. Sarah has been wearing a boot for the past five weeks after tearing a tendon in her big toe. But I digress. The ER doc was so helpful. He gave us both phone numbers to area clinics and even offered to put the ear drops in for me but I was shy and said I'd do it at home.

But I want to publically say here that I recognized that nice person's bedside manner. He truly cared. Which is what I try to do and have tried in all my jobs. To be helpful and to treat people as I'd like to be treated. It helps me sleep at night.

I've been reading about coincidence and it's magnificent. If you start noticing and becoming aware of signs, you will start to realize that the source of life is trying to help you steer through this physical life. I had a ball this weekend, noting it. Keep a notebook.

Amazing.

I was doing really good with week three of Sarah returning to school and Leila being in her own place until I decided to reheat some lasagna I had made that was in the freezer. I realized I made it when Sarah was here, and when I took it out of the oven and was placing it on my plate, I thought that where once I was eating this with my girl now I'm eating it alone. And then the tears came. Just like that. So I just cried and Russell, our black and white cat, just looked at me as if to say, "Cry, already, but give me my cat treats."

I swear the dude's addicted.

"It's just you and me, Russell," I said to him. This summer we lost our beloved orange cat, Oscar.

In a week my sabbatical will be over. So much has happened this summer and yet everything is just beginning.

Once again I am thankful to my mother for providing the funds to take four months off and to just be. I have learned. Gone deep into the layers of Sheela. I am writing again. I have several projects and the novel is still in motion, short stories pulling at my sleeve to be written and a column idea that is sticking to the wall.

And inbetween Russell cries for treats and I cry for my daughters and Oscar. And somewhere in all that there are nice doctors and life swirling happy.