Day 3786: I have no idea

I have no idea how I’m going to convey, in a speech I’m giving on Friday, how special and important my cardiologist Dr. Deeb Salem is. Actually, I probably don’t have to convince my audience about how special and important he is, because they’re naming a building at Tufts Medical Center after him and that’s why he asked me to give the speech.

Whenever anybody (including myself) uses the phrase “I have no idea” I think about a psychologist at my first student internship who always responded with this: “You must have some idea.” And, indeed I do have some idea about how to talk about how great Dr. Salem is. My problem is I have too many ideas, because he’s been my cardiologist for over 40 years, helping me live my best life while reaching the ripe old age of 70.

I was about to say I have no idea how to use all the images I have for you today into a cohesive enough blog post, but I must have some idea.

I have no idea what Mother’s Day is going to be like this year. Wait, I must have some idea. I’m sure to hear from my son, Aaron, who coincidentally has the same birthday as Dr. Salem. I have some idea that if it weren’t for Dr. Salem, neither Aaron nor I would be here today.

I have no idea what the best Stevie Wonder song is, but I have some idea about which one I’ve listened to the most. It’s either this one…

… or this one:

I have no idea how to adequately express gratitude to all who help me meet every new day as best I can.

As usual, I had some idea.

Day 3576: Better days

As I recover from a bad reaction to the booster shot, yesterday was a better day than Friday. I’m thinking today might be even better, especially because I’ll be ZOOMing with my son Aaron and my ex-husband Leon.

Tomorrow, I’ll be facilitating my first in-person therapy group since the beginning of the pandemic and I hope that makes it a better day for approximately eight people. I’ll have markers there in case anyone wants to make the day better by drawing a facial expression on their mask.

Do you see better days in any of these images?

What could be a better day than National Dictionary Day AND Global Cat Day?

Here’s the song I keep hearing in my head as I’m writing this “Better Days” post.

Thanks to all who make my days better and brighter, including YOU.

Day 3203: When and where?

Last night, when I had completed a very long work day (including facilitating two remote therapy groups where we discussed COVID, family issues, the past, the present, and the future), I tweeted this:

When somebody asked about my answer to that question, this is where I went:

When and where did I capture the other images in today’s blog?

We now know where the Daily Bitch is going, but we don’t know when.

When you looked at those photos, did you notice that Joan is now getting breaks from the cone? When her skin problem is healed, she’ll be where she needs to be to be totally cone-free!

I just took that photo in the room where I’m blogging.

Regarding the when and where of most of today’s photos: Yesterday I went to CVS and Marshall’s where I bought an ace bandage and a baby onesie for Joan. When Joan is without the cone, she prevents her skin from healing by licking where the problem is. When we tried the other solutions , Joan let us know where she is on this issue — she definitely prefers the cone!

This is the song that takes me back to when I was young and where there were transistor radios, a different kind of cone (ice cream), the sun, and the sea.

When and where might you leave a comment?

When you get to the end of my blog posts, that’s where you find my gratitude.

Day 3147: Superstitious

Not that I’m superstitious, but sometimes I think it’s tempting fate to leave out a definition at the beginning of a blog post.

I actually don’t know how superstitious I am, even though I asked that question on Twitter last night.

I grew up in a family where it was considered bad luck to say anything positive about one’s situation — that attracted the evil eye. I rebelled against that pretty early on and this was a typical conversation when I was young:

Me: This is going to turn out great!

My mother: Don’t give a kanahora.

Me: That’s not the way it works, you know. What I say doesn’t affect the outcome.

And yes — what I said didn’t affect the outcome there. My mother, who was otherwise extremely logical and sensible, still felt compelled to say “don’t give a kanahora” when I said something too positive about the future.

I think most of us have little, automatic superstitions like that. I often witness people knocking on wood, talking about jinxing things, etc. This week in a therapy group, somebody expressed the fear that when things got too good, something bad was bound to happen.

I’m crossing my fingers that we all have a safe and happy Friday the 13th and that you enjoy my other images for today.

In honor of International Left Handers Day, this lefty is going to share a favorite song with you:

I am super grateful for every day and, also, for YOU!

Day 3122: What gets in the way of you celebrating every new day?

What gets in the way of you celebrating every new day?

Is it not knowing what to celebrate?

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Is it anxiety?

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Is it grief?

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Is it a battle between your heart and your brain? Or bad decisions from the past?

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Is it creepy people with too much power?

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Is it people telling you what to do?

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Is it too much responsibility?

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Is it weird animals?

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Is it dreary weather?

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Is it painful experiences?

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Is it sleep problems?

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Is it parts of yourself you have trouble accepting?

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Is it barriers in your way that you can’t control?

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No matter what might get in the way, I hope my other images help you celebrate the new day.

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This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “celebrate the new day.”

Consider celebrating the new day by leaving a comment, below.

Thanks to all who help me celebrate every new day, including YOU.

Day 2806: Stay calm

I’m trying to stay calm as I

• deal with new problems creating these posts because of changes on WordPress,
• blog on my phone this morning,
• get ready to resume working from home as a group and individual psychotherapist,
• attend a challenging Zoom meeting,
• set healthy boundaries,
• respect myself and others,
• balance preparation with spontaneity,
• deal with technological glitches,
• deal with human glitches,
• recover and learn from mistakes,
• accept my natural impatience and sensitivities,
• encounter disappointment,
• feel helpless,
• rush to respond to people as quickly as possible,
• plan my 50th high school reunion on Zoom, and
• face the uncertainties we are all encountering, here and now.

What helps you stay calm? For me, it’s sharing photos like these:

Music like this helps me stay calm, even while reminding me of how fragile we are:

I also stay calm by noticing and expressing gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Day 2716: Working it

Since I recovered from COVID-19 in March, I’ve been working non-stop.

Yesterday, a hard-working friend texted me that I should take a vacation and I replied “What is this ‘vacation’ that you speak of?”

As foreign as the concept seems, I will be getting a vacation from work to spend time with my son, who has finished up his school work for the year in Scotland.

Now it’s time to work this post with photos that show different ways of working it.

I had trouble working that dish by Michael into a recent post, so there it is, working it here and now.

There are several versions of the Beatles’ “We Can Work it Out” working it on YouTube, including here and here.

I’m looking forward to seeing our government working it better in future months and I’m looking forward to people working it in a comment, below.

As always, gratitude is working it in this blog.

Day 2617: What I found

Yesterday, I found hope …

… amid all the spin.

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I found a sign about how others are finding God.

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I found photos of beloved animals.

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I found ways to brace myself for a week away from home and Michael.

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I found peace in nature.

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I found everything I needed to pack for my trip to New York City today.

I found compassion for my own and others’ fragility, and I found this song written by Sting and performed by Stevie Wonder and Sting.

 

As usual, I found gratitude.

 

Day 2595: Attempts to be super

My attempts to be super at blogging this morning resulted in my finding this headline:

Moon attempts to be ‘super’ on Saturday night, settles for mediocrity

I think this is a super example of anthropomorphism (ascribing human characteristics to  non-human objects).

It might also be a super example of projection.   In attempts to be super in psychotherapy, we notice that when people see characteristics in others, that’s often a reflection of themselves.  Hence my super response to compliments: “It takes one to know one.”

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to suggest that perhaps the writer of that headline attempted to be super and settled for mediocrity.

Let’s see if there are any attempts to be super in today’s photos.

Harley and Oscar sometimes attempt to be super tolerant of each other.

Here‘s super Stevie Wonder with “Superwoman.”

I’m looking forward to your super comments, below.

Here’s today’s attempt to show my super gratitude for YOU:

 

Day 2585: I don’t want to bore you

I don’t want to bore you, but yesterday morning I heard  Stevie Wonder singing about not wanting to bore you either:

Personally, I’m not bored, at all, and I wonder why so many people worry about being boring. People are SO interesting, as I hope you can see in these photos from yesterday:

I don’t want to bore you with it, but Michael cooked a new fish last night.

I don’t want to bore you with this story, but when I was in my first year at college, one of my professors told us on the first day of class that he would not remember any of our names and quoted a biology professor saying, “Whenever I remember the name of a student, I forget the name of a fish.”

I don’t want to you bore you with this, but I can’t remember the name of that new fish Michael cooked last night.

I don’t want to bore you with this, but

• I get my teeth cleaned every three months because  I got endocarditis three times in my life,
• I’m getting my teeth cleaned today,
• I haven’t gotten endocarditis for ten years,
• I’m seeing my cardiologist Dr. Deeb Salem next week about my very unusual heart, and
• I’m doing fine, even if I worry at times.

I don’t want to bore you with it, but I’m in the photo at the beginning of this post:

I don’t want to bore you by quoting more lyrics of the Stevie Wonder song but “I don’t want to bore you with it, but I love you, I love you, I love you.”