One more left!

I may have skipped a week or so. Which is both good and bad. Good, because I don't want to give this thing any more energy than I already give it. Bad, because, as they say, an hour of reflection is worth more than seventy years of pious worship. Basically: if you aren't reflecting on yourself, your actions, your life, what are you doing?

In my opinion, those four hours in the chair are my reflection. And honestly, I didn't think I had anything left to think about, or that any more good could come out of my last session. But if I sit long enough, I do have great ideas! Which is ALSO good and bad, because I'm a multi-passionate, and too many good ideas means none of them get the focus they need to actually be good.

At any rate, a few things came up.

I owe you a recap on the Joy gathering. We had seven or eight people for the spiritual discussion, and it was absolutely lovely. I did "invite" others, but it was a text, and most folks won't come out to something when they don't really know what it is. I was too lazy to do proper invites, so nobody came beyond the ones I expected. (My husband also tells me people just don't want to have spiritual discussions, or only expect to have them at their place of worship. Noted.)

We listened to "Joy Joy," which is such a fun song, read a handful of quotes on joy, and then just talked. How do you hold joy and compassion and sadness all at once? What happens to the people around you when you let stress take over and don't let joy in? One person talked about their parent, how joyful they were, and what a difference that made to their whole childhood. I keep thinking about that one.

The other thing: clipboards. My friend paints these beautiful clipboards, and I've been looking for the right market for them. And voilà: the "infusion room"! Yes, that's what it's called. So barbaric. (Lots of folks in there getting iron, incidentally.) The nurse who welcomes everyone had a clipboard, and it was so boring. What better place to see beauty than a place where you're in need? I gave her the one I had and she loved it, I hope the patients do too! I'm bringing my main nurse another one next time, and if folks really like them, I may donate a bunch.

I'm not done with that place yet. The hard part is almost over, but I'll be back every three weeks for targeted therapy (shouldn't take long) for something like eight more months. This is a ridiculous process.

Lots of people offered to come with me these last three months, and my preference was to be alone. But I bet I can come up with something interesting for the ones who still want to come. Turn it into a ritual of sorts. Maybe a girls' day. Maybe we donate a clipboard, or do something for the folks in a worse position. Or SOMETHING. I'll ponder it and get back to you.

One more post coming, with my final thoughts and a plan!