Day 2956: Appreciating

Appreciating people is very important to me.

Yesterday, on my birthday, many people were appreciating me and I was appreciating them. Right now, I’m appreciating today’s Daily Bitch Calendar.

I’m especially appreciating today’s Daily Bitch because, for weeks, I’ve been saying this in my therapy groups: “Good work not murdering anybody.” That’s my way of appreciating people for not acting out with pent-up anger and frustration, which most people have been feeling. I’ve been appreciating that my saying something like that usually gets (1) a laugh and (2) a sense of relief.

Today, I’ll be seeing two people I’ve been appreciating for years: my Primary Care Physician Dr. Laura Snydman and my cardiologist Dr. Deeb Salem. I’m sure I’ll be appreciating all that I get from them.

I’m appreciating that I danced to two favorite tunes (here and here on YouTube) with my husband Michael last night and I’m hoping my readers will be appreciating these songs too.

I’m appreciating that at age 68 I can still dance!

I’m still appreciating that my old friend and ex-business partner Jonathan suggested that I celebrate my birthday by listening to this commencement speech by David Foster Wallace that Jonathan has been appreciating for years:

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I’m appreciating that I get to share videos and photos with all of you every day.

I hope you are appreciating that I was too busy appreciating many things yesterday to take many photos.

Appreciating is the gift that keeps giving. I’ll be appreciating any comment you leave about appreciating others, yourself, or anything else.

As always, I’m appreciating all who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU.

Day 2860: Achieve a calm state

How to achieve a calm state four days before the most important Election Day in my long lifetime ?

• Breathe.
• Get some nutritious sleep.
• Eat some nutritious food.
• Listen to people you love.
• Restrict your “doomscrolling” through the latest news.
• Laugh.
• Express yourself.
• Get some exercise.
• Play music.
• Play.
• Keep your blood pressure low.
• Be safe.
• Share your views, including fun fotos.

Also, realize that it’s hard for the current administration to make a comeback.

Let’s achieve a calm state together as we watch “Porch restaurant caters to chipmunk.”

Achieve a calm state as you take in my gratitude to all who helped me create this achieve-a-calm-state post, including my wonderful, dog-loving Primary Care doctor Laura Kate Snydman at Tufts Medical Center, Georgia food writer Angela Hansberger, Thelonius Munk, the Daily Bitch Calendar, and YOU.

Day 2565: Lost and Found

Six years ago, on Valentine’s Day, I wrote another “Lost and Found” post, “dedicated to my boyfriend/inamorato/whatever Michael.” I’ve lost the need to use those words to describe Michael since we found ourselves calling each other husband and wife on December 27, 2019.

Yesterday, I realized I had lost my wallet when I was at a doctor’s appointment. I immediately lost all focus on everything else. I found the memory of looking in my wallet to make sure I hadn’t lost the card I needed for the doctor’s visit while I was walking by Fenway Park (where the Boston Red Sox lost lots of games before they found themselves in the World Series).  I figured I lost the wallet soon after that.

I found the phone number of somebody I thought might be able to help me find what I’d lost. Here’s the phone conversation of me trying not to lose it:

Person Answering Phone: Hello?

Me: Hello!  I need to reach the Ipswich Garage.

P.A.P.: This is not the Ipswich Garage. This is the parking office.

Me: I know!  I need to talk to somebody at the Ipswich Garage. I’ve lost my wallet!

P.A.P.: You can’t call the garage.

Me: I need to contact them.  I think I dropped my wallet while I was walking to the garage.

P.A.P.  I can call the garage. What do you want me to tell them?

Me: Tell them I dropped my wallet. I think it’s near the statues outside of Fenway Park.

P.A.P.: If your wallet is not in the garage, they can’t help you.

Me (losing the ability to express myself in words): Arrrghhh!

P.A.P.  Give me your phone number.

Have you ever lost your wallet?  I was thinking about all the time lost in the future, cancelling credit cards, getting a new license, etc. etc.  I lost the ability to be in the present as the medical assistance tried to measure my blood pressure (she couldn’t).  When I walked into my doctor’s office, I told her I’d lost my wallet and wanted to leave to look for it. My doctor, whom I luckily found eleven years ago (and whom you can find posts about here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), found a lot of empathy for my situation and told me to go. At that moment, my cell phone rang.

Me: Hello?

P.A.P.: Hello. They found your wallet.

Me: I love you.

P.A.P.: Thank you.

Here’s the lost-and-found wallet:

That wallet is made out of recycled billboards and I’m so glad it was found. (If you click on the link in the previous sentence, you’ll find that the wallet was lost and found before.)

Here are all the other new photos I’ve found on my phone this morning:

I’m so glad I found

when “I” becomes “we,” “illness” becomes “wellness”

… which was posted on Facebook yesterday by a group therapist I love.

I’ve found a lot of tunes titled “Lost and Found” on YouTube. Here‘s one of them, by Jorja Smith:

I’m hoping to have found comments about this lost-and-found post in the near future.

No matter what I’ve lost and found over the years, it’s always been easy for me to find gratitude. Thanks to all who helped me find what I needed to create todays post, including YOU.

Day 2481: Information for healthy living

Just now, when I searched my thousands of blogs for a previous post about “information for healthy living,” this is what WordPress told me:

Nothing Found

Sorry, but nothing matched your search criteria. Please try again with some different keywords.

 

And here I thought I’ve been giving you, my readers, information for healthy living for approximately two thousand, five hundred and seventeen days!

Well, as I like to tell people, there’s no time like the present, so let’s begin:

That photo helps explain and corroborate today’s title, but there’s no information for healthy living there!

Let’s see if there’s any information for healthy living in the rest of my photos from yesterday:

When I search YouTube for “information for heathy living,” lots of videos show up, including this one:

 

Yesterday, I told my wonderful Primary Care Physician —  Dr. Laura Snydman at Tufts Medical Center —  that I hoped  my dancing was as good for healthy living as medicine is.

Here‘s Bailey and Gino from So You Think You Can Dance (which I think is great medicine):

 

Feel free to add more information for healthy living in the comments section, below.

Here’s some healthy thanks from your grateful blogger:

 

 

 

Day 2019: Hey!

Hey!  Do you know the meaning of “hey”?

hey
hā
exclamation
used to attract attention, to express surprise, interest, or annoyance, or to elicit agreement.
“hey, what’s going on here?”
US
used as a friendly greeting.
“I just called to say hey”

Hey!  One syllable can express surprise, interest, annoyance, elicit agreement, or be a friendly greeting. Hey!  How can we know what people really mean when they say “Hey!”?

Hey!  Look at all the photos I took yesterday!

 

Hey!  Those are three people I love.   Hey!  Did you notice that my Primary Care Physician, Dr. Laura Snydman, was running late yesterday?  Hey!  What else did you notice?

Hey! I forgot to include the photo I took after yesterday’s Coping and Healing group, where we focused on feelings.

Hey!  I hope you know that all feelings are accepted here.

Hey!  Here’s “Hey Ya!” by Outkast:

 

Hey!  If you can’t see that VEVO video, maybe you can see this one:

Hey!  Here‘s another live performance of “Hey Ya!”

 

Hey!  I’m grateful to all who help me create these posts and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 1809: Caregivers

Today’s title is inspired by this photo

and by all who give care, including my co-worker Janice.

Janice, a caring nurse who gives great care, loves purple, and she took care to show me her purple Christmas tree yesterday.

Here are other items Janice has carefully placed where she gives care to patients.

Janice, who obviously cares, always autographs her work with excellence.

Later in the day, I saw my excellent care-giving Primary Care Physician, Dr. Laura Snydman. She cared enough to tell me that the excellent care my very unusual heart has been given by caregivers from Boston to Minneapolis has paid off. With good care, my caregiving heart should last many more years.

Do you see any caregivers or caregiving in my other photos from yesterday?

I now care to give you this funny cat video that might lower anxiety as much as (or even more than) exercise:

As always, I give caring thanks to all who helped me create this post and — of course! — to you, for the care you give.

 

Day 1557: Self Love

In my therapy group yesterday, we discussed self love — a topic that I, myself, love.

I loved that my social work intern, Justine, told the group about a Buddhist monk who was perplexed that people in our culture have so much difficulty with self love. The group talked about how it’s so much easier to love others than to love oneself.

I asked the group members to practice self love by writing down their positive qualities. As I expected, all the lovely and lovable members of the group found that difficult. To help the process along, I told everyone to write down the word “beautiful.”

Here’s my list of self love:

Besides loving myself and my work, I love my Primary Care Physician, Dr. Laura Snydman.  I think Dr. Snydman loves her work; I KNOW she loves her incredibly lovable dog.

When I saw Dr. Snydman yesterday, she told me she always checks my blog the day after our appointment.

Hi, Dr. Snydman!

Do you love yourself,  dear readers?  Do you love any of the pictures I took yesterday?

 

 

Do you love this YouTube video about self love?

I love that I end each blog post with gratitude. Thanks to all who helped me create this self-love post and — of course! — to you!

Day 1374: The near future

Whenever you’ve had a harrowing experience, it helps to plan for the near future, especially if you focus on what you adore.

For example, exactly  two weeks ago today I had major heart surgery which was, honestly, pretty harrowing. So it’s helping me to plan for and focus on the near future, which includes:

• My college roommate, Maria, whom I adore, flying in from Portland Oregon, which I adore,  to stay with me and my boyfriend Michael, whom I adore,  for eight days.
• An appointment this afternoon with my Primary Care Physician, Dr. Laura Snydman, whom I adore.
• Getting a ride to my doctor’s visit this afternoon from my sister, Ellen, whom I adore.
• Seeing Mel Brooks, whom I adore, in person in a few weeks, accompanied by my neighbor Karen, whom I adore.
• Attending a performance of “An American in Paris,” which I adore, the following week with my friend Barbara, whom I adore.

It also helps to look at the near past, especially when my progress is so encouraging, which I adore.  For example, last night — for the first time since my surgery — I went for a short walk outside alone, which I adored. Here’s what I saw:

In your near future, you could plan to adore this post even more, as I show you other pictures from yesterday of things I adore:

Here‘s the music I am listening to as I write this near-future post, which I adore:

Is there a comment in my near future, which I would adore?

I adore everybody and everything that helped me create this near-future post and also you — of course! — for including me in your near future.

Day 1297: It’s all about you

Do you believe it’s all about you?

In this blog, it’s all about capturing images that are all about you, me, and the day’s topic.

Actually, today’s blog post is all about me seeing my Primary Care Physician,  Dr. Laura Snydman, who

• always makes her patients feel it’s all about them,
• has been my doctor for many years,
• is all about her adorable dog, and
• told me yesterday I’m recovering VERY WELL from pneumonia and heart failure.

Now, it’s all about you and what you see in my other photos from yesterday:

If it’s  all about you wanting to know what “The Pillow Men” is all about, I can’t help you there.

As I look all about me and my day ahead, it’s all about

• my getting my teeth cleaned,
• our veterinarian visiting our cats at home, and
• a board meeting of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy.

It’s all about me taking care of myself as I continue to heal, so I’m not sure what tomorrow’s post will be about.

It’s all about music that’s all about you.

 

Finally, it’s all about you leaving comments for this all-about-you post!

Day 815: The more you know, the better you feel.

Here are some photos I took yesterday in the office of my Primary Care Physician, Dr. Laura Snydman:

Do you agree with that? The more you know, the better you feel?

My answer to that?

Here’s more for you to know.  “Whatever” would NOT be my answer. That’s just a cup I saw yesterday evening. My answer would be:

Whether I feel better would depend on the knowledge. 

I DID feel better after I met with Dr. Snydman yesterday and I DID know more, including this:

At least one doctor in my crowd of cardiologists is recommending the  treatment plan I prefer (and which I recommended — in an email, months ago — to another cardiologist).

Knowing that helped me feel much better, because:

1. That plan — replacing my pacemaker with a pacemaker/defibrillator combo to reduce my risk of sudden cardiac death and to try to restore my heart’s ability to speed up in response to exertion and exercise  — is a much less invasive plan than valve replacement surgery (which I know other knowledgeable cardiologists have been recommending) and
2. I love feeling smart.*

What more would you like to know now, to feel better?

Here are some other photos I took yesterday, for more knowledge and/or better feelings:

    

That last image  reminds me of some more better-feeling knowledge: There’s an “ice cream social” today at work.

Do you know any feel-better songs that would fit today’s blog post?

I choose  “Beat 70” by the Pat Metheny Group:

… because I’m hoping my heart will keep beating until I’m 70 (and more).

You might know this: the more you comment, the better I feel.

Many thanks to Dr. Snydman, to the Pat Metheny Group, to medical teams everywhere, to people I know who felt better or who helped me feel better yesterday, to crowds of cardiologists and pacemakers, to ice cream, and — of course! — to you, no matter what you know or how you’re feeling today.

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* I was going to write “I love feeling like a know-it-all” instead, but know-it-all’s don’t usually help me feel better.