Thurs. May 1, 2025: A Wrench in the Works

image courtesy of Gerhard Rohrer via pixabay.com

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Waxing Moon

Beltane

Sunny and pleasant

Blessed Beltane to those in the Northern Hemisphere, and Blessed Samhain to those in the Southern Hemisphere.

You can read about the latest on the garden over at Gratitude and Growth.

Up early, cooling the apartment down before the painters arrived. Did a quick dash, on foot, to mail a bill at the post office. When I returned, Willa and my mom were in the back of the apartment, where it was quieter. Tessa and Bea were in my room. Charlotte was in the front windows, flirting with the painters. Because she’s Charlotte. This is the cat who thinks the town throws her a parade every autumn.

I packed up three project files and my computer and headed to the college library. Got set up at a desk by the window overlooking the quad, which was lovely. It took me a bit of time to settle in, but once I did, the work went well.

I took care of a bunch of admin work, answered a bunch of emails, found a book of essays relevant and interesting to my work, re-read the CASTLE LYSENDE material and added layers, and wrote the next 910 words. I sent an apology to two of the fellow members of the literary committee – we live fairly close (three neighboring towns). I had suggested carpooling down to the office for meetings, and then never followed up on it. I told them that I am on jury duty the day of the next meeting, but I put it in my calendar to see if they wanted to coordinate for June’s meeting. They were very gracious about it.

By then, it was time to head home for lunch. I timed it so we had a bit of quiet while the painters had their lunch break. I really wanted a nap, but the sanders were too noisy.

I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my mom because she seemed a little off. So I stayed in the kitchen and worked on VICIOUS CRITIC at the kitchen table, until it was obvious that we needed to go to the ER. Her blood pressure numbers kept going up, and her feet were swollen. So swollen that the only shoes that fit her were my residency slippers.

I got her into the car (we can’t afford another $3K ambulance bill to drive a mile up the hill, even with insurance) and we drove up to the local ER. They took her right away, no waiting (a plus of being 100) while I had to do the paperwork and get the security badge.

We were there about 2 hours. They did a lot of bloodwork and gave her Lasix. I’m teasing her that they’re prepping her like the horses for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. She was definitely much better by the time we left, and the blood pressure numbers were down by about 15 points.

She will be on Lasix every day until her appointment with her regular doctor, and we’re back to monitoring the blood pressure every day again instead of 3x a week.

We got home a little before 5. I got her settled in, we had dinner, and had an early night. She was doing better; I felt like I’d been run over by a truck. Hopefully, between the three insurances she now has, the visit will be covered, or mostly covered.  It SHOULD be, but they always try to bill for things that are supposed to be covered, and then there’s a battle. I wish we lived in a country with actual health care.

Willa took good care of my mom all night, once we got home.

Heard from a colleague who was onsite for Creative Advocacy Day in Boston. 400 people showed up to advocate for our arts funding. That’s a great turnout. I’m glad I contacted my reps in writing ahead of time, and I’m grateful for colleagues who were able to be there in person.

Of course, I woke up at 2 and had a terrible time getting back to sleep. Finally fell asleep around 3:30 for a couple of hours.

Got up, fed the cats, did my morning meditation and writing. It’s Beltane, so I want to do some gentle celebration today.

During the work portion of the day, if my mother seems well enough, I will go offsite to get work done. The radio play and VICOUS CRITIC need to be the priorities.

I’m supposed to have online meditation this morning with the group in Concord, which should make Charlotte happy. This evening I have a 2-hour yoga workshop for stress management, which is well-timed. I miss going to yoga.

I’m tired, but there’s elder care to see to and work to get done. So I better get on top of that.