Watch the Birds...August 13, 2021

For the past seven months, I have been in the brilliant care of four doctors, each with a different focus. They took my hand and walked me through one of the scariest times of my life.

My surgeon and I laughed this morning, celebrating that I am healed, that life prevailed. Sun streamed through my window, as I thought about going home today. I remembered the nurses and aides, in and out of my room all week, tending me oh so well.

The coffee has been good, the Netflix has been fun. It is lovely to order food, with no need to make it. And I have been carried through, with all the conversations bringing life into my room.

I have heard about a nurse's first home, another's happy pregnancy. I got advice about a tattoo parlor, because I want to get a tattoo. And I learned that a nurse's aide loves Victorian homes, and that she comes from a small town with many.

I have learned that nurses hold your hand, as you drift away to anesthesia and surgery...asking what you want to do in this world. The nurse urged me...list the stuff you still have to do, list your stuff you still have to do, list your stuff you still have to do. He then held his hands to his chest and slightly bowed, as if to bless me, as I faded away to a new way of life.

As I am discharged today, I will wonder about all the good and holy that has happened in the hospital this week. The pain and the tears, the joys and the dragons, as life seems to demand from us, offer us too, always, always. I will remember the nurse from Ethiopia who urged that we can choose what to focus on...where do we put our attention, she asked?

Count our blessings, one by one.

And I will also wonder how we can know the good in a moment, when we live it, rather than waiting for some future to look back with nostalgia. So for a moment with my coffee this morning, I was thankful to have known that this week has been very, very good. Thank you to all of you, for your love and cheers that helped me live it.

My surgeon asked if I have a yard to sit in. Yes, I have a place to sit outside, I answered. Then sit in the sun and watch the birds today, he suggested.

Yes, I will watch the birds today.