I was thinking about my dad’s phrase – “Don’t worry, it always gets better” while listening to my doctor last week. I’ve held that phrase, and dad’s tone of voice, in my mind for most of my life. In fact, I can’t remember any difficult times when his voice and that phrase were absent. But as I was saying, I was listening to my doctor explain why she needed to refer me to a specialist for more testing. For the past six months, I’ve been dealing with unusual fatigue, slight headaches and intermittent upset stomach throughout each day, and a few unusual bruises here and there in places I don’t remember bumping (although gardening creates lots of forgettable accidents). Swollen glands in my neck have been present, as well. So, my dad’s voice came to mind immediately when she mentioned a few cancers that these symptoms may indicate. “Nope, not that”, I thought to myself. I was hoping to hear something like “It’s probably a long-lived, undefined virus that will fade as mysteriously as it appeared”. I’m still hoping to hear that because, if for no other reason, it will prove my dad right – again!
The weekend that just ended was beautiful. Our son and his traveling companion, Beems the Cat, spent the weekend with us and we had good visits around his work schedule. Feeling refreshed and optimistic this morning after their visit, I went out for a long walk. The calendar finally agrees with meteorological spring and we see some beautiful colors. With such beauty around me, and such beautiful people in my life, there is no way I can feel anything other than hopeful.
I will take some time off from writing because I need to rest up (and get rid of this damn headache!). I anticipate hearing good news but if not, I will face the demon head-on, push my glasses up with my middle finger, and say “Nope, not yet. I have too much to do.”
In the meantime, here are a few variations on spring pink I encountered this morning.
I wish you a spring full of beauty, fun, and good days.
While I Was Gardening 