Last night, the writing group - so much fun! And a good large group, think there were more than eight of us. And afterwards great conversation with Lucas and Convex at the Orrington. Lucas is on pins and needles because in a week they drive to Baltimore for Henry's cochlear implants. She is very brave indeed to be doing this - Western medical solutions fly in the face of everything she believes in. What's more, people with implants are more susceptible to meningitis because there is a direct pathway from the outside air into their brains and it was meningitis that caused Henry to lose his hearing in the first place - meningitis runs in Lucas' family. And then there's the aesthetic piece of it. One of her friends whose son got implants said she no longer derives pleasure from nuzzling her son because he smells of electrical circuitry. As Lucas says, "I'm turning my son into a bionic boy." And yet, if all goes well he will have hearing and speech. Such a trade off and such a leap of faith for her to do this. Courage, yes?
Today, a WW challenging day! Lunch with employee and friend Dorothy and tonight dinner with Christ at the casino he manages the hospitality for. I just got on line and studied the menus and have decided ahead exactly what I will order so that I can stay WW compliant today. Last week I worked so hard - had a practically ideal week and woohoo! - I lost .4 pounds (less than 1/2 pound). Remember I said that I am adjusting my expectations? Well that put me to the test. In the past I probably would have thrown in the towel (stupid diet) but now, I'm grateful for the weight loss which was the equivalent of two sticks of butter. And just think, if I lose 1/2 pound a week in a year, I'll be down 26 pounds and that is nothing to sneeze at. And yet, hard, right? Grrrrr...
James was brilliant again last night - wrote a piece about an evil tree. Over drinks I asked him what I need to do to get my hands on his recent writing so that I can post it here - even offered him sexual favors (jokingly of course). He led the prompts last night. The first one was a picture of a tree with the directive to write a piece where a tree was central to the story. Here is what I wrote:
"There is no such thing as a dwarf cherry tree," Alan said. "It's a con, just wait and see. That thing will be twenty feet within the next five years," he added as he looked out into the yard. I'd planted the sweet little thing with the hope that I could harvest buckets of sour cherries for pies and preserves. I'd convinced myself I would spray early in the spring so that the harvested cherries wouldn't each contain a thread worm. I would climb a ladder and drape the tree with netting to keep the cardinals from devouring the crop before me.
Mother always said, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I wasn't good to my word and so the tree grew and grew and the cardinals grew fatter and fatter. I have never even eaten a single cherry from that tree.
There was a man I loved - still love. He wasn't always the most demonstrative to the people he loved, father mother, sister, brother. He even resented them much of the time. But he was a man of deeds. On many occasions he showed his devotion by cutting or trimming their trees. I remember a time when his sister was out of town. He took a day off from his regular chores (and me) and took down a dead tree in her yard. I remember listening fascinated as he described climbing it, chainsaw in hand, protective shoes, a helmet I think. And tow straps on his SUV that assisted with the hauling.
This man is huge - it had to be a large effort just to hoist himself up the trunk. Thighs the size of small children, arms the circumference of Scarlet O'Hara's waist, he must have been a sight to behold in that tree. I wish I had been a squirrel in the next tree over, watching him take it down. I love imagining his sister's surprise and delight upon returning from her trip to find the dead thing gone, things tidy, the wood cut up with precision and shaped into a new wood pile against her fence. No note, no expectation of anything in return. Just his love for her expressed in the vanishing of a tree.
When I think of him these days as I sit on my deck, coffee in hand in the quiet reverie of a fresh morning, sometimes my eye is drawn to the now huge cherry tree - the tree that mocks me with its too high cherries. I remember he once said, "I will top that tree for you." He never did - we never got that far in our relationship.
Often I still miss him and in those quiet moments I fantasize that some day I'll come home from a trip, and as I put away my clothes and stretch my weary arms, I will stand at my window, look out into the yard and see, with wonder and amazement, that half the cherry tree is gone.
It was good to write that. Today I'm writing this blog with kleenex stuffed in my nose because of incessant dripping. Me who rarely gets sick. Think it's because I'm on steroids - they dampen your immune system and so the cold, that I would normally dodge, seized its opportunity. Ugh.
Challenge today is something I beat the drum about. Do you have a creative outlet - something that gives you deep contentment and satisfaction? For me it's writing and singing primarily but also cooking and entertaining. This Saturday, I have an open house for whoever wants to come. New thing is to cook for the world on the last Saturday of every month. This month it's gourmet pizza. I have no idea if I'll be cooking for three or thirty. It will be casual, unfussy and, I hope, a blast. No RSVP's needed - just show up! Lucas is especially looking forward to the pear, Gorgonzola and walnut pizza. There will be twelve different types. Come! 1211 Dewey, Evanston.
Peace,
Sarah
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