Day 1518: Left the house before I felt ready

Yesterday, I left the house before I felt ready but not before I was ready to put on this t-shirt:

Sometimes we leave the house before we feel ready.

Sometimes people leave our house before we feel ready.

Whether we feel ready or not, we need to  move on.

Do you feel ready for other photos that are left on my phone?

 

Ready or not, here comes Ms. Lauryn Hill!

 

Before you’re ready to leave my blogging house today, here’s a well-deserved thank you.

Day 1406: Unlimited

When people ask me how I can blog daily, I reply that there are unlimited sights and sounds that inspire these posts, even when my activity is limited by recent heart-related surgeries.

For example, there seems to be an unlimited number of teabag sayings I can include here.

While I have a limited capacity to believe that I, personally, am unlimited, here is a limited list of unlimited things I experience around me:

• Love
• Fear
• Hope
• Doubt
• Anger
• Forgiveness
• Worry
• Acceptance
• Anxiety
• Judgment
• Beauty
• Injustice
• Kindness
• Comparisons
• Colors
• Problems
• Solutions
• Creativity
• Wounding
• Healing
• Isolation
• Connection

I hope there are unlimited connections among that list and my other photos from yesterday.

Because I have limited time here on earth, I have unlimited appreciation for what’s around me.

Here‘s an unlimited song from the musical Wicked:

 

I have unlimited gratitude for music, my friend Deb, Watertown Massachusetts USA, walks near water, the beauty of autumn, and you — of course! — for your unlimited generosity in visiting my blog, today.

Day 1021: Water towns

No matter what town I’m in, I like to be near the water. Perhaps that’s because my hometown was on the water.

Last week, I was in another Massachusetts water town.

Yesterday, I was in Watertown, Massachusetts, USA.

Here are some other recent photos of nearby water towns:

Today, I’m going the Fort Point Channel Open Studios, in Boston. I’m sure tomorrow’s blog post will include more pictures of water towns. 

I think it’s time for some water town music.

That’s Bruce Hornsby,  singing about a water town,  in  “Every Little Kiss.”

A year from now, my son and I will probably both be in water towns, although not the same one. In this year before my son goes away to college, every little kiss, word, and moment with him seems even more precious. 

Thanks to my son, to Bruce Hornsby, to water towns everywhere, and to everyone who helps me water these daily posts with love — including you!

Day 881: Faces and numbers

Let’s face it, my dear readers (with dear faces), facing my life experiences through this daily blog of 881 posts has helped me face a lot, over the last 29 months.

On the face of it, I like numbers. I find that knowing numbers often helps me face things.

Here are some numbers that would help me face the near future:

1. The number of faces who will be looking at me during my conference workshop on my therapy groups, in 6 days,
2. The number of workshop packets I need to make over the next 5 days (equal to or greater than the number in #1, above),
3. Numbers regarding the therapy groups I’ve been doing, over the last 43 months, that will put impressed or otherwise positive faces on that unknown number of workshop participants (see #1, above).
4. Figuring out how to get more than 5 hours of sleep a night, so I can face each day with a well-rested face.

Here are some numbers I faced over this past weekend:

1. My #1 son (and only child), Aaron, faced 3 audiences of many faces over the last 2 days, in the 1-act  play he wrote and  directed with 1 other person (his close friend Cameron) and which he also acted in, with 9 other people.
2. My happy face saw all 3 performances.
3. After the performances, I faced more than 30 smiling faces telling Aaron how much they loved the play.
4. Let’s face it, I also loved the play, to the nth degree.
5. Aaron and Cameron’s 1-act play included way more than these 7 plot elements: (1) Aaron’s High School Economics textbook, (2) the economist who wrote that textbook, N. Gregory Mankiw (whom Aaron invited to attend,  with 1 email), (3)  Satan (played by 1 of Aaron’s closest friends Clark), (4) God, (5) at least 3 levels of economics, (6) 1 large nuclear warhead hidden under 1 brown cloth and (7) 1 giant abacus (which is an ancient counting device).
6. At least 8 people I love saw Aaron’s play,  including my 1 sister, my sister’s spouse Linda, my childhood friend Barbara, my ex-sister-in-law Deborah, Deborah’s daughter Laura, Laura’s daughter Victoria, Aaron’s father Leon, and — last but not least — my boyfriend Michael.
7. Before I saw 2 performances of 6 1-act plays yesterday,  my #1 hair stylist, Mia, gave me 1 awesome haircut and 1 purple hair extension.

Here are 27 photos from yesterday:

                          
               

                    

I have 1 more story to tell you, today, about faces and numbers.

Yesterday, while I was taking 20 of the photos shown in this post, the doorbell rang 1 time, where Aaron, Michael and I live. Aaron, who had been in the 1st performance of his play the night before, decided to answer it.

Aaron found a family of 4 — 1 mother, 1 father, and 2 children approximately 11 or 12 years old — at our door. They gave Aaron 2 pamphlets:

About 2 minutes into Aaron’s conversation with this family of 4, he realized he was still wearing most of his makeup from the 1st night’s performance of his 1-act play. Here’s 1 photo of that makeup (shown in this blog for the 2nd time):

What would be your 1st guess about what happened during Aaron’s conversation with 4 Jehovah’s Witnesses, with 1 cross on his forehead and tears of blood running from his 2 eyes?

According to my #1 son, all 5 people spent  5 minutes with each other ….

.

.

.

.

.

.
… and not 1 person said 1 word about Aaron’s face.

What number of words might you say about THAT (or anything else in this post)?

1 more thing to face here: A musical number.

That’s “God Bless the Child,” performed live by Blood, Sweat and Tears for 7 minutes and 53 seconds  (with over 300,000 views on YouTube).

Countless thanks to the large numbers of faces — especially Aaron’s — that helped me create today’s post. And a huge number of thanks to you — of course! — for spending n minutes of your precious time with me, here and now.

Day 858: A dozen ways to melt away your stress

Yesterday, I saw a sign.

I recognize that melting away my stress is extremely important, because

• I’m recovering from an operation I had earlier this week,
• I’m the owner of a very unusual heart, which has outlasted most conventional predictions for longevity, and
• I’m soon returning to work, where I do my best to help others melt away stress.

Therefore, I shall use the other photos I took yesterday in service of helping us all melt away stress.

Ready to melt?

#1. Spend time with friendly creatures

 
    

when you’re outdoors

or indoors.

#2. Be kind to yourself, applying things that help you feel better, including

chocolate, pleasing colors,

and every other little thing that gladdens each beat of your beautiful

.

#3. Keep away from real

as best you can, whether you’re far away

or close to home.

#4. Seek out the beauty that surrounds you, even if you have to spend some time and energy looking for it.

      

#5. Pay attention to helpful messages from the universe.

#6. Work at

… but let go of worry when communication does not go perfectly smoothly. In almost every case, you’ll have another opportunity to connect.

#8. Come to think of it, let go of worry (and other future-oriented fears) about EVERYTHING, including

#9. Help preserve —  or even transform — the world, as best  you can.

 

#10. Listen to more classical music

… whether it’s Spring or any other season.

#11. Indulge in your favorite things whenever possible (like, for example, a showing of the musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” with music performed by the Boston Pops, tonight).

#12. Make ’em laugh (and let them make you laugh, too).

Stress-free thanks to cats, to Boston and its surroundings, to Antonio Vivaldi, to Donald O’Connor, and to all those who help melt away my stress, including you!

Day 839: Never worry alone

“Never worry alone” is something my manager likes to say.

I most recently heard him say

Never worry alone

two days ago, during his presentation on “Violence in Health Care,” at the hospital-based Primary Care Practice where we both work.

Earlier this morning, I followed his advice to

Never worry alone

by sending an email to my cardiologists, about some worries filling up space in my head.

As I approach surgery for my very unusual heart on May 4th, I hereby resolve to

Never worry alone

from now on. Does anybody want to join in with that resolution?

Yesterday, I spent some time with my friend, Deb. We never worried alone, as we walked around less-worried Watertown, Massachusetts.

    

That’s Chris, who told us he no longer worries about flat tires or chains, now that he alone has that most excellent bicycle.

There’s Deb. Does she look worried? Whether she is or not, she’s not alone  — I’m right there, taking pictures.

      

    

At some point, I shared with Deb my worry that I had left a bottle of heart medication pills at the Royal Restaurant in Watertown the night before.

No worries! I found those pills when Deb and I returned there for brunch: 

Deb and I shared worries and other things (including soy milk French Toast, a Gruyere and mushroom omelette, and FRIED OREOS) at The Royal.

Does anything about that worry you? It didn’t worry us, and we left The Royal for more walking.      

One thing I didn’t photograph yesterday: imagining my worries attached to a rock I found  and throwing that Worry Rock —  with Deb as my lone witness — into the Charles River. 

      

I wasn’t worried yesterday when I accidentally switched to black and white photography for a few shots.

Deb said I should put my name (or the non-judgmental name of this blog) on my custom-made t-shirts. Should I worry about that?

Should I worry about which “Worry” song to include today?

Never worry alone, when Stevie Wonder is making such beautiful music on YouTube.

I’m not worrying alone now, thanks to my manager, my cardiologists, Deb, Chris and his bicycle, Watertown, the Royal Restaurant, the Charles River, my Worry Rock, Stevie Wonder, soy milk French toast and fried Oreos, kids and pogo sticks, peaceful frogs and people, and — of course! — you.