New Day

 

(PCS = 7)

I am working to put a more positive spin on my emotions today and hope to keep focusing on things in this light into the future.  

+ + +

1.  We have yet to receive any news/updates about my wife.  She had five "spots" removed from her skin and they are being analyzed.  From my knowledge about skin cancers, they do not "fit" any classic forms of this condition, but they were worrisome non-the-less.  Her wounds are healing acceptably at the moment.  Unfortunately, our doctor is one of those types that says "if you do not hear back, everything is fine".  The ambiguity of such a clinical approach is not helping to reduce our stresses, so I am trying to coax my wife into calling the doctor, perhaps as early as tomorrow since it  has been 8 days by tomorrow morning.  

2.  Working mostly on cyborgy things for the upcoming new semester's class at the moment.  It is going adequately, although I would be much farther ahead if the U's IT had not mistakenly changed some settings in the U's system that made it impossible to create audio/video lectures when I tried to do so yesterday.  It has now been resolved, so I have been making several all morning.  They are now uploading (in their slow as usual pace) but they should be processed by perhaps this evening, I hope.

3.  I ran 10.2 miles (16.5 km) this morning.  As you know, the last few weeks have been more of a chore for me in terms of running.  I did all my typical ~54 miles (87 km) each of those weeks, but my heart really wasn't into it.  Today, I tried to approach the start of the run with thoughts of how appreciative I should be that I *can* now do this, and appreciative that the weather was dry and temperatures were above freezing (it was 36 degrees (~2 C)).   And, I decided to use the two gimmicky toys I guiltily allowed myself to splurge on a little over a week ago (a ~$18 set of wireless earphones, and a $10 phone phone holder/strap for my arm) that allowed me to listen to both the Capuchin Mass from yesterday and also to listen to my Pandora (CSN & Y channel this morning) while I ran outside.

4.  Even though it was very early morning when I ran, there were a few people out and about this morning on the trails.  There is a section where I cross over the same part of the path several times during the particular run pattern I used today.  A grandmother had a very young little girl (perhaps about three to four years old) were playing in the field near the trail with her when I ran past the first time.  As I do whenever I pass someone when I am running, I wave, smile and say hello as I run past.  On the second time I went through that region the grandmother smiled and hollered out to me that the little girl thought I was Santa, which tickled me no end.  So,  each time I passed again after that, I let out a hearty "Ho! HO! Ho!" while running.  And, the little girls squealed and laughed each time.  It was very cute and fun to hear her.  I may be getting "whitish enough" in my beard and mustache (not as gunmetal grey) to really succeed at Santa school someday! 

5.  After I finished my run, I went inside and got the dog.  Since early Winter, she had not really had much in the way of exercise other than running around in the house and running around in the backyard.  So, I thought it was time to ease her back into longer walks with me, and hopefully... possibly some more short parts of my runs with me.  I am a little hesitant in some regard about her running, as she is now 8 years old and will be 9 in July.  But, she has loved running with me for the last couple of years, and I would have her run with me for one, two or three miles of my total.  I am going to start with walking her for a few weeks and see how she does.  We walked 1.2 miles (~ 2km) on the trails this morning, and she loved it.  She enjoys seeing all the "new" to her stuff.    

6.  When I went to band last week, I was playing my bass clarinet to warm it up, and about a minute before the rehearsal was to begin, a pad fell out from one of the keys on my instrument. And unfortunately, it was one of the pads under a key that required dismantling to re-glue and reinsert.   So, at rehearsal, I ended up not playing at all..... but practiced my fingerings while the rest of the people were playing.  I repaired the errant pad and should be good to go tonight.  My horn is a "frankenhorn" if you recall.... I pieced it together from a few well battered and worn bass clarinets that were being junked and I cobbled my beast from the various parts I could salvage.  This was perhaps 25 or so years ago.  The pad that had fallen out and became unglued was an original style pad, and was more likely than not the original one on that key on the horn, and was probably from when that part of my bass clarinet was built which I was able to estimate was made originally in the early 1960s.  So, I cannot complain.... it did its job.  It was the classic, reddish/orange leather color.  The other half of the long body from my bass clarinet hearkens to a much more recent time.... by the serial number on that part, it was perhaps built around 1965 or so. The horns were school band instruments and received very ROUGH abuse until they were discarded by the schools and became my rebuilt, "frankenhorn" treasure.  :)  

7.   I even found some happiness in my pipe cravings.  They are still pretty strong at the moment.  I would relish taking a deep, pleasant draw from the stem of one of my pipes, perhaps with the bowl filled with Sir Walter Raleigh today.  But, twice last week at Mass (one in person on Sunday, and one of the Capuchin videos) there was mention of the value of "pruning" in the readings.  The idea that pruning back growth to force more substantial growth appeals to me.  I am of a mindset that I may be in a process of pruning away parts of myself to help myself grow to be a better and more kind and perhaps more productive person.  I have been trying to prune away the branches of anger and resentment towards those two who you know hurt me, and now I am thinking perhaps my refraining from the pipe is a type of pruning, and perhaps in some meaningful way, I may be able to return to smoking my pipes if I think of a pruned, meaningful method.  And, as you know from the top of my post, I am trying to prune away some of the negative feelings I recognize as well.  

PipeTobacco