Free to Heal

I am still processing what I have been through. When I went to the doctor last Monday, I felt the release of the good news. The stiches came out. And, I was still in my head, when the doctor said I shouldn't go back to work on Memorial Day weekend. I LOVE this little job I have. But, it is not the money. It is getting together each week with some of the nicest people I have ever met. It is the beauty of the setting, the wedding we are celebrating, it is the flowers, the shine of the champagne glasses, the string quartet playing love songs, the sound of a champagne cork popping, it is the taste of the food eaten family style with my co-workers and on and on. It is basically a celebration of love and life. It took me a few days of still feeling the sting of my wounds. But, on Wednesday I finally put the thought of going back to work to rest until mid-June. Then, yesterday I finally cancelled my plans to go to Maryland this weekend to celebrate Mother's day with my grandchildren. I am not bouncing back as quickly as I thought I would. I am in pretty good spirits considering, but so disappointed. My doctor changed my recovery period from 2 weeks to 4-6. I can't believe my reaction to him. Luckily, he was not mean about it. I just had to feel for myself this week to go with it. I didn't realize how the lymph node wounds would end up being new wounds that would have to start healing this week. Luckily, I am still riding on a high from seeing Jon Batiste live on Mother's Day. A friend made sure I was greeted by get well cards in the mail each day. I subscribed to Netflix, which I haven't watched in three years. Wednesday I went on a errand day. This is when I then showered for the first time. I realized then, I needed a week of complete rest. I am getting ready for watercolor painting for the next few days. The watercolor painting pictured is one I did yesterday. I did it while listening to Jon Batiste's song butterfly. I bought some cards from Hallmark at the Post Office they were my inspiration. Today, I hope to paint a blackbird to the song. Thank God for my painting and music. Art and Music heals. And, it is the most needed part of my life, now. My next time out of my house is Thursday. The reception for Music Heals Interwoven Stories is on Princeton University campus. The best is I talked to my good friend who moved to Florida. She will be up this week and she is meeting me there! Yay!!! Quote of the day: “Healing is figuring out how to coexist with the pain that will always live inside of you, without pretending it isn’t there or allowing it to hijack your day. It is learning to confront ghosts and to carry what lingers. It is learning to embrace the people I love now instead of protecting against a future in which I am gutted by their loss. Katherine’s experience and her insight sit with me. She went through something she thought she could never survive and yet here she is, surviving. “You have to shift from the gloom and doom and focus instead on what you love,” she told me before bed. “That’s all you can do in the face of these things. Love the people around you. Love the life you have. I can’t think of a more powerful response to life’s sorrows than loving.” ― Suleika Jaouad, Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted Song of the day: Blackbird by the Beatles sung by Jon Batiste