Yesterday, rather than hiding and denying mistakes (like others seem to do), I celebrated my mistakes by owning them, sharing them with others, and learning from them. One of my co-workers — who feels some worry and shame about their mistakes because of inexperience — texted me “You are a gift that keeps giving!” when I shared another mistake I had made.
Unless I am mistaken, I believe you might find some mistakes in some of my photos from yesterday.
Personally, I think it is a mistake to play hide and seek alone.
Let’s celebrate the late Ginger Baker with this video on YouTube (which may include mistakes):
Because I’m creating this post on my iPhone it may include my mistakes fusion mom. Ooops! Let me try that again. Because I’m creating this post on my iPhone, it may include more mistakes than usual.
Ending with gratitude is never a mistake, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s blog and — of course! — thanks to you.
Now, these thoughts that are going down in my head are keeping me up:
How are we going to get that fallen painting back up, now that our faith in those picture hanging strips has gone down?
How are we going hang up another wonderful watercolor by Paul Nagano and the amazing photograph my ex-husband recently took of our son Aaron with his large-format camera?
Are we the only people who don’t like putting holes in our walls to hang things up?
I’ve now written down lyrics for five songs that are still up in the air — I haven’t completed any of them. That’s neither keeping me up nor getting me down; I have faith in my own process (even if I’ve lost faith in the process of the people in charge of our country).
Here’s what’s going down in my latest photos:
If you’re feeling down about what’s going down around you, maybe one of these Pumpkin Spice songs put up here, here, here, and here on YouTube will cheer you up.
I’m up for whatever comments will be going down, below.
Gratitude helps keep me up no matter what’s going down, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.
What does “Play Like an Animal” mean? I wondered about that, yesterday, when I saw this at a local supermarket:
Apparently, playing like an animal involves finding your way.
Tomorrow, when I find my way back to my job after a two-month medical leave, it will be time for me to work like an animal. But what kind of animal will that be? Will it be a tired animal? A healthy animal? This animal will know more, soon.
Do any of my other photos from yesterday play like an animal?
Don’t be shy …. please play like an animal, here and now, by leaving a comment below.
Before I work out like an animal at cardiac rehab, I have time to share this play-like-an-animal music:
Playful thanks to all the animals who helped me create today’s post and to you — of course! — no matter how you’re playing or working today.
I should know, by now, that I’ll have plenty of blogging topics to choose from on a Friday, because I do two therapy groups on Thursdays.
In last night’s group, somebody said this:
If you read my blog regularly, you should know that I think “should” statements are not particularly helpful.
You should also know, if you read my blog, that I have a very thorough medical team.
Yesterday morning, I went for an appointment with some pulmonary specialists.
You may think you should know what “pulmonary” means, but you should know I think that’s just a fancy term for lungs and breathing.
You shouldn’t know — because I haven’t told you yet — that in January a pulmonary test indicated I had two types of “abnormalities” in my lungs. I should know the terms my Primary Care Physician used about that, but I’m not sure what they were. I think one was mild “restriction” and the other was mild “obstruction.”
You should know that, to be safe, my doctor made an appointment for me with a pulmonary specialist she liked, for last week.You should also know that I had to postpone that appointment to yesterday at 8 AM, because I had cardiac surgery last week.
I should know that if my doctor likes other doctors, I am going to like them, too.
Here’s Dr. Kari Roberts:
You should know that I thought her glasses were the coolest.
You should know I like to make goofy jokes, so when Dr. Roberts asked if it was okay that her medical fellow talk to me first, I replied
Is he a jolly good fellow?
I don’t know if I would call Dr. Manley
jolly, but he was definitely good. He explained the results of my pulmonary tests, very helpfully and clearly.
You should know, if you read my blog, that I like to collaborate with medical people. So yesterday, Dr. Roberts, Dr. Manley, and I together came up with the conclusion that the slight abnormalities in my pulmonary tests were probably due to my heart becoming somewhat enlarged recently, allowing less room in the chest cavity for my lungs. I don’t assume you should or shouldn’t know this, but nobody seems particularly worried about my lungs.
You should know that besides Dr. Manley and Dr. Roberts, Dr. Bains
was also there at my appointment yesterday, but I don’t know why.
You should know I like to include photos in every blog post, from the day before.
You should know I love comments on this blog, so feel free to ask a question and/or make a statement below.
You should know I’m going to leave some music behind, right now. Did you know I’d think of this Beatle tune
(Although we all should know that “Dr. Robert” is not a perfect match.)
I should know I can’t create these posts on my own, so knowledgable thanks to my groups, my PCP Dr. Laura Snydman, Dr. Roberts, Dr. Manley, Dr. Bains, the Beatles, make-your-own Sundaes, flowers, Michael (for cleaning every Thursday), my co-workers for the Get Well card, Paul Nagano (for the rabbit fan) and you — of course! — because I should know I blog everyday for me and for you, too.
My sister Ellen sent me this email two days ago, after she saw me in the hospital recovering from surgery:
Hi Ann,
It was really GOOD to see you.
You just underwent 8 hours of surgery!! Done by people using their experience, skill, and intuition to mend your heart using the best technology and tools possible. Your heart was the end product, so to speak…and from my point of view, it was doing its job well.
You looked bright, alert, in touch, had good color… Mom would have put “good color” first. You had better color than you have had in a long time. ..and that’s directly related to cardiac functioning.
What a compliment to you and everyone else involved in that surgical process. And it wasn’t just the 8 hours there, it was all the planning, prepping etc. And before that, the planning of this particular solution.
Every time I read Ellen’s email, it brings me more good color.
Here’s some good color I observed yesterday, as I prepared to leave the hospital:
That’s Ellen on the right, holding a brown paper bag with the supplies for the daily changing of my surgical bandages. On the left is my nurse, Diane, who took a “field trip” away from the cardiology unit to take me to the hospital pharmacy as I was being discharged. Don’t Ellen and Diane both have good color?
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (a holiday with lots of good color) AND Diane’s birthday, and we talked about how she was working on her birthday and taking today off.
As we were waiting at the pharmacy, Diane said, “There’s Deeb!” because she saw one of my colorful cardiologists, Dr. Deeb Salem (who has appeared in many previous colorful blog posts, including one titled “Pink“).
Doesn’t Dr. Salem have good color, too?
Here’s some more good color I saw yesterday, after Ellen brought me home from the hospital:
That last shot shows our cat Oscar, with good color, in the middle of the night. He is doing his best, there, to keep my color good by lying on the bed — safely away from me — as I heal from surgery. This is colorfully notable, simce Oscar loves to lie on people, as you can see here:
My boyfriend Michael, who has good color but does not like to appear in my blog, often says that Oscar looks “very brown in the morning.”
What do you think of all the good colors in this post?
If you start watching at 11:11, you’ll see the colorful images of Todd Rundgren (and Bobby Womack) included in my good-color collection of photos, above.
Good color thanks to Ellen, Diane, Dr. Deeb Salem, Dr. Mark Estes (who was in charge of my surgery Monday), our cats Harley and Oscar, my ex-sister-in-law Deborah for the Creative Cats book and the coloring pencils, my friend Jeanette for the white chocolate and other goodies, Michael for the good color dinner last night, Paul Nagano for the beautiful colors of spring on our living room wall, my son Aaron (who did some of the good color artwork in this post and who has a really good color hair), Todd Rundgren, Bobby Womack, David Letterman, Anne Tyler, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and you — of course! — for all the good color you bring, today.
Paul Nagano, a fabulous watercolorist and friend, who is leaving my hometown of Boston for Hawaii and
Pat Metheny, my favorite musician and jazz guitarist, who used to live and teach in Boston, and now habitually tours the world.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to make all the planned rounds of my personally planned tour, yesterday, because I’ve been feeling tired lately. However, I did make my way back to Fenway Open Studios, no problem, for the second day of Paul’s “I’m Moving to Hawaii” sale.
On my way, I noted other kinds of artists:
Yesterday, because it was Sunday and because I didn’t run into a friggin’ Spartan Obstacle Course Race (mentioned and foreshadowed in this post, somewhere in my “artistic” ramblings), I had a much easier time reaching and parking near all the artists at Fenway Studios.
After I reached Paul’s studio, I heard today’s topic sentence
Are you the artist?
many times, as people — who were visiting Paul’s place and looking at his art — wanted to identify, engage with, and communicate their thoughts and feelings to the artist.
Usually, people asked
Are you the artist?
NOT to Paul
but instead to another Paul
who is a friend of Paul’s or to Chris
who is another friend of Paul’s. Actually, Paul has a lot of friends. That is another way he is an artist — connecting with people through friendship.
I’m sure that the other Paul and Chris have their own art forms … as do we all.
I told Chris, Paul, and other people at Paul’s studio that I was sad about Paul leaving us AND happy for his moving on to Hawaii. That’s one way I’m an artist — accepting and expressing lots of different feelings, even simultaneously.
And I had lots of feelings as I looked around Paul’s studio.
That’s Paul with yet another good friend of his, named Ted, who told us that another artistic friend made his one-of-a-kind shirt for him.
See? Artists are everywhere.
After I left Paul’s, I spent some time with my boyfriend, Michael (who is a cooking artist, among other things) and my son, Aaron (who I think is an artist at EVERYTHING but, you know, I’m his mother). Before I knew it, it was time to drive to Worcester, Massachusetts (where I’m sure there are lots of artists) to meet my friend Peggy and go to the Pat Metheny concert.
While I fancy myself a photographic artist (at least for this blog), I did not take any pictures of the trip to Worcester, but I did snap these at Peggy’s home:
Peggy, another “Friendship Artist,” loves her dog Lulu and she loves elephants. I thought her home was very artistic, too, but I’m not sure if I captured that.
Soon after I took that photo of the Hanover Theater stage last night, I heard this announcement:
The artists appearing tonight have requested no photographs, taping, texting, or cell phone usage of any kind, so please turn off your cell phones.
I think I might be an artist of listening, because I heard that and I then heard two hours of sublime sounds, created by Pat Metheny on guitar, Chris Potter on saxophone, Ben Williams on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums.
That’s “Rise Up!” (found here on YouTube), one of my favorite tunes from Pat Metheny and the Unity Group’s latest album Kin (<– –>). And the audience at the Hanover Theater in Worcester last night, which included many artists, did rise up, several times, during the concert.
Later, Pat and the other artists on stage performed a very artistic version of an old favorite of mine:
(“Have You Heard” by the Pat Metheny Group found here on YouTube)
Have you heard something I’m trying to express here today? We are all artists, one and all.
Time for me to leave for work, to engage in the art of therapy with others.
Many thanks to all the artists involved in this post today (including you)!
Several years ago, I went into a store in the Boston area and noticed that people from a local radio station were there. One of the DJs announced to the shoppers:
A prize to the first person who can come up with eight musical groups with a color in the band’s name!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this in any of my previous colorful or non-colorful blog posts, but I love
CONTESTS and
WINNING.
I wonder if people who are reading this know that about me, or whether they are finding this out for the first time, much like I discovered, just now, that I can use colored letters in WordPress.
Anyway, the radio guy in the store announced that contest, and my mind went to work.
I now interrupt this story to bring you this question:
What band names, with colors in them, can you think of, right now?
While you’re thinking of those, here’s some mood music, brought to you this morning from high (or medium) atop the Koplow Family & Friends Building in beautiful suburban Boston:
Okay, ladies and gentleman! For my listening and viewing pleasure, please place your colorful, musical names in the comment section, directly below this post.
For your listening and viewing pleasure, here are the band names I came up with, back then:
I remember the radio D.J. doubting “Blue Cheer” as a real band name, but I must have convinced him (without anybody having access to the internet, back then), because:
Like I said, I love winning.
And I love colorful things, including these:
and these:
… which are the “Coping and Healing” group handout folders, that people get to choose from, before they join my therapy groups.
I like to point out the ever-present box of tissues to people in individual and group therapy, to let them know that all feelings are welcome. I like to point out that clock, too.
Speaking of feelings, time, color, and art, yesterday I got this email from my long-time friend and amazing artist Paul Nagano (previously appearing in posts here and here):
Dear Friends:
THE FINAL
OPEN STUDIO
of PAUL NAGANO in Boston
Saturday and Sunday — Nov. 15 and 16 — 11am to 5pm
This is a
CLEARANCE SALE
because I will be leaving Boston and moving to Honolulu on December 19.
Almost EVERYTHING —
art, frames, books, art materials, objects, kitchen utensils, tools,
even a few pieces of furniture — will be available for sale.
You will also be able to view the original of my magnum opus from this past summer–
“PARINIRVANA in the Great Garden” —
I look forward to seeing you for a fond farewell.
Please, as always, bring some canned goods or other non-perishable food items
to benefit our Annual Food Drive for the GREATER BOSTON FOOD BANK.
Thanks.
lovanaloha,
P a u l — (after 47 years, leaving Boston on Dec. 19, to live in Hawaii
…..and……. arriving there on Dec. 22)
.
In response, I sent Paul this one-word email (even though I knew this move was coming):
No!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
and Paul replied:
.
Remember, Ann, CHANGE is GOOD! –even when it’s bad, and a little sad.
lovanaloha,
.
I’m going to let Paul have the last words, today, except for these:
Yesterday, people who had gathered for a therapy group decided to focus on this topic:
Trust in self.
The questions people answered, during the group, included these:
What does “trust in self” mean to you?
What tends to decrease your trust in yourself?
What tends to increase your trust in yourself?
My own thoughts, about “trust in self,” right now?
When I got up this morning, I had trust that I would write a post that would be meaningful.
I just went into another room, and this is what I found:
That’s something I’m familiar with, because I purchased it five months ago, in May, during my spring vacation. That mug has already appeared in another post, here.
I also found something else, which is a new arrival to this home:
Here’s what I want to tell you about that piece of art:
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 