Anybody Out There?

I remember one day, a long time ago, when I was driving to Westport with my dad, and suddenly he says, "I've found something more precious than gold!" It was a parking spot.

I feel the same way this morning. I've found a couple of quiet minutes. The kids are all sleeping. Swim team was canceled due to rain. It's just me and the birds, having breakfast and blogging. (OK, the birds aren't blogging, but wouldn't that be cute if they were?)

We are having such a good summer. Busy as hell. But good. Here's a quick snapshot: Little MJ in his baseball uniform, hot afternoons at the pool, summer camp, evening walks, National Boys Play Outside Day, lake weekends, movie nights, staying up late, catching lightning bugs, flowers and tomatoes and basil, oh my! Grill Queen, driving with the windows down, Anna the lifeguard, baby showers, road trip to Chicago and St. Louis, art lessons, baking cookies, selling lemonade... The list goes on and on.

How blessed, how lucky am I.

Even if I'm not posting much, I'm keeping up with my blog friends. Especially mac.Nants, who's getting married this weekend. And Cookie's trials and tribulations in the guard house, Kairu's culinary and literary adventures, Frida's Bean, FoilNews, Miss Wynizzle, and a certain Stranger's meanderings. And then there are certain net.friends who shall remain nameless, who used to blog, but don't anymore, (you know who you are, MPM.) I hope everybody else is having a great summer, too.

And now I hear little footsteps overhead. My goal today: Make sure the kids put on clothes. They've been wearing their bathing suits for several days in a row. I don't know. It just seems like clothes should be worn from time to time.

Crazy Summer Days

I'm getting ready to go to work today, so I just have a few minutes...

Wow! This summer has been crazy so far. I'm really sticking to my policy of less TV/less computer, which is good, but it means that we are out doing things. Translation: No time to blog.

I'm getting into swimming as a form of exercise. For the past few days, I've been at the pool for the last hour of the day, swimming laps for an hour. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not doing "real" swimming. Mostly kicking around with a noodle, or doing side-stroke, etc. But I can really tell it's working my arms. I love it! Of course, my teenage daughter/lifeguard doesn't hesitate to whistle at me if I incur the slightest infraction. But I feel entitled to hop over the lane ropes if there's no ladder in my lap lane.

Paul's birthday is next week. It's kind of weird because he will be the same age as my dad was when he died. In my little mind, life for husbands & fathers kind of ends at age 44. I guess it will be a new adventure, assuming he makes it through the year. (Kidding!)

Little MJ has been going to cub scout camp. That kid! He loves doing stuff. He's as happy as a clam. He's been doing archery, shooting BB guns, making bead jewelry, tie-dying, hiking, swimming and generally being 100% boy. Initially he was afraid to go, and cried and begged to stay home. But after day one, he was upset that the camp only lasted a week. What is it about boys? They are so dang cute!

My garden is taking off. All my tropicals are loving the rain, and now the heat is starting up. I expect great things. My Elephant Ears are already getting big, about 2 - 3 feet tall with 18" leaves. Of course, I'm not competing with any Chicago growers, but if I was, I'd be kicking their Elephant Ear Butts.

Well, off to the salt mines now. Wish me a good day!

Pretty Woman

Two posts in one day...when it rains it pours.

I had a patient today, a woman. I don't have many female patients. Anyway, this was a really beautiful woman. She was black, (or "African American" if you prefer, although I don't like to use that phrase. It seems like we're trying too hard.) She was in her mid-50s, without a single wrinkle or age spot. Her hair was long, curly, and gorgeous. Her fingernails were perfectly manicured, shell-pink, acrylic. She wore large jewelry, which suited her. Her outfit was lovely, a black skirt and jacket that tied in front over a leopard print shell. She had wine-colored lips, full and generous, and pretty dark, large eyes.

She was curvy in that appealing way of certain women. Her clothes were not tight, but they certainly acentuated every curve.

And the thing that really surprised me was that she was ashamed of her weight. She didn't want to get on the scale, (well, who does?) and she actually jumped off it before I could read it. Yes, she was overweight. Obese, if you want to get technical. But she was so very attractive just the way she was. In fact, I think she would have lost much of her appeal if she were thin.

I don't know why this made such an impression on me. Rarely do my patients object to the scale, (another thing which surprises me.) Most people make no comment about their own weight. My personal policy is never to comment either. If someone wants advice about weight loss, or if they ask me if they're overweight, then I will tell them. But I'm not going to lecture or cajole anybody about weight. People are generally well-aware of their status on the weight spectrum. They don't need me to tell them where they stand.

As a nurse, I could have/should have advised my patient to lose weight for health reasons. But if I were her beauty consultant I would have said, "Honey, don't change a thing."

TB

Is anybody else disturbed by the story about the globe-trotting TB patient?

I mean really, really disturbed?

1. This man has a highly resistant form of the disease.
2. He travelled extensively and exposed many people.
3. He recklessly eluded health authorities to get back home.
4. He slipped right through the border, no problemo.

All that's bad. But the worst part? The part that's going to keep me up at night?

They don't even know how this man was infected! The TB was found by accident! He cracked a rib and had a chest x-ray, otherwise he would still be blissfully ignorant and contagious as hell. Who else has this virulent strain? I'm guessing this guy is not the only one.

At my job, I give lots of TB skin tests. I always assume they will come back negative. I think my cavalier attitude is about to change.