Sunday Selections

Joining with many others in this feast of forgotten, overlooked and meaningful photos. Here are some participants: River is one, Andrew is one.  Messymimi is one. Kylie  is another. Drop in to their blogs and have a look.

I've hit a bit of a slump as I await the complete evaluation of those concerning bits on my lungs. I stopped smoking about 38 years ago. And never picked up again. Of the four of my brothers who were/are affected with lung cancer (two different types) two went back to smoking after multiple years abstaining and both quit again. One has now died. One just survived a very serious operation to remove a tumour in the lung which was attached to the spine.

So naturally, the mind goes there. I wish I could know more. My doctor has pleaded with the technicians to evaluate my X-rays. Crickets. Though brilliantly, she calls me every day to ask how I'm doing. My appointment with the internist was deferred to the 22nd.

Anyway, these are a few delights from my indoor garden.

Their colours lift my spirits so much. I find myself talking to them. Encouraging them, praising them. 

 

Lunacy can be a good thing in this troubled world. As a wise old shaman once said to me over a wonderful outdoor fire on a starlit night in the middle of nowhere:

"Always stay where your hands are."

I'm trying.

Gratitude

I titled this post appropriately. Because honestly? Even through the worst of times we can seek out the little things that make life a journey of gratitude if we seek out the slivers like slashes of sunshine seeping into a cloudy day. Always look for them. They are there. 

I remember hosting a dear friend who was older than me, who stayed with me at my lovely home around the bay. She brought her daughter with her. Her only child who was approximately fifty to her seventy-five. What blew me away was the tenderness exhibited by her daughter towards her mother. Daughter treated her like a precious jewel without being nauseatingly solicitous or patronizing in any way. I thought to myself - oh to have such a relationship with my own daughter.

Moving on approximately fifteen years. And here I am facing many health challenges and my daughter has quietly stepped up to the plate and she is exactly the same as Shirley, the daughter of my dear friend, Laura, who passed away a few years ago in her eighties. Daughter is with me through all the tests, the lab work, the X-rays, the consults. Asking questions, reporting symptoms I have forgotten or thought inconsequential. Officially, there is no real prognosis apart from an enlarged heart and some shadowy bits on lungs, which could be congestion, but no one, has as yet,identified, as my internist is unexpectedly away and moved my appointment to May 22nd.

Meanwhile, true friends have stepped up to the plate and check-in and remind me to reach out for help any time of day or night. Support by digital means from afar is never, ever taken for granted, either. 

All in all, it remains up to me to reach out to others (always a challenge for me - eldest of 6 and the one in charge, so asking for help is an alien concept.

After a day fraught with challenges, Daughter drove us up in the wind and sun to Signal Hill and this sky just captivated me. 

Gorgeous, isn't it?

You can also see the whitecaps which were far and wide on the windy sea and I couldn't capture a wandering iceberg on the far left of this photo.

What are your slivers?