Happy Halloween

Yes, it's a holiday with "pagan" roots. So what?

A late thank you for an award

My dear fellow blogger Pen & the Sword gave me an award a week ago, and as I am still way behind on my blog reading and writing, I had not had an opportunity to thank her until now. Thanks, Pen! You are a gifted writer, so I feel honored that you like my blog.

My Happy Place

I am writing this too late to meet MPJ's original group writing project deadline. But she said she might post some late entries from others, so I jumped into the bandwagon. If you have never visited MPJ's blog, I urge you to do so. She is a great writer and pretty cool all around.

My Happy Place is an idealized world, where the gap between the haves and the have-nots has shrunk to the point of being non-existent. Everybody will be middle class, with access to things that are now reserved to the wealthy. In industry, there will not be huge gaps in pay between high executives and the rest of the company. There will be profit sharing on an equal scale to all. The accumulation of wealth will be seen as something obscene. Politicians will not lie.

Healthcare would be seen as a basic need of society, not a business area. Every town would have an extensive library and a performing arts theater. People will be free to embrace their diversity under an atmosphere of tolerance. Multiple languages will be spoken everywhere, and at school children will be taught two foreign languages as a requisite. There will be no fences on the border of any country. Everybody will be free to move from one place to the next. Women would have a one-year paid maternity leave and the guarantee that they will have their job when they come back. All beaches would be public and no construction would be allowed to restrict or block access to them.

You get the idea.

Sunday Snapshots- Lola

Sunday Scribblings- Hospitals

This week's Sunday Scribblings prompt is "hospitals."

My dad died at a hospital, after a weeklong stay. Complications from diabetes landed him there, but it was a blood clot in his lungs that took him away from us. That was almost 18 years ago and I still think of him often.

I remember sitting in the waiting room, completely numb and spent, while my brother and my mom dealt with doctors and arrangements. I was 21 years old, way too young to lose my father. In my grief, I tried to trick myself into feeling his presence, imagined his ghost at the door to the waiting room, watching over me. I very much wanted it to be true, for me to be able to say goodbye to him. But it wasn't. There was no shadowy presence by the door. I was all alone.

The day my oldest niece was born, my mom and I were pacing that waiting room like crazy. A nurse came out to show us a beautiful girl. I was sixteen and had never seen a newborn at such close range, much less one who shared my blood. It was such a thrill. The next day I was taking the college entrance examination test, and during our lunch break I convinced a group of friends to drive me over to the hospital to visit. Good times.

Thirteen years later, I gave birth to my oldest daughter in the same hospital my niece was born, the one by the sea. I had been going to an OB-GYN practice that had several doctors, and I had been encouraged to see all of them at one point of my pregnancy, so that when the time came, I was familiar with the doctor on call. I saw them all, except for one, the youngest of them all. It turns out he was the doctor on call when my labor came, and he was fantastic.

I had a natural birth. I refused the epidural but could not handle the pain, so they gave me Demerol on an IV. Shortly after Paula was born, a nurse handed me a quivering newborn, still covered in blood and fluids. I hardly had a chance to realize what was going on, and promptly fell asleep from the meds. A couple of hours later, I woke up in a recovery room and they brought my daughter to me, wrapped in a bundle. I held her in my arms and was overcome with such love and emotion that I could not hold back the tears. She was the most beautiful being I had ever seen, and I instantly felt a bond such as I had never before experienced.

At that time I also felt a presence by the door, looking down upon us. Maybe I imagined it in my postpartum fatigue. Or maybe my father was paying his respects.

My new camera arrived yesterday evening

I am so excited! I held it in my hands so lovingly and pictured (pun intended) all the images I will capture with it.

I have manuals to read on how to operate the camera before I can start using it. I certainly don't want to screw up mounting the lens, for example.

Does anybody know any good online tutorials? Or maybe a good book on photography basics?

Where are they?

Someone else from my blogging circle (I can't remember who) asked about Seiche recently. His blog link is down. Does anybody know what's going on with him? Is he OK? I always enjoy reading his posts and I hope he's just taking a break and will be back.

I also miss Wolfgang, who has been so busy lately with work. I hope he is doing OK.

Show Josie some love, please

I am so behind on my blog reading that I had completely missed the recent happenings in Josie's life, specifically regarding her daughter. Josie and her daughter are going through a tough time the last few days. I want to dedicate this post to them and ask you to pay Josie a visit and show her some love, if you have not done so already.

Sleepy

I am still so relaxed and sleepy from my massage. Hmmmmm...

I am supposed to be following up on the feedback from this morning's meeting. And I will this afternoon, as soon as my mind finishes cooking up what I need to draft.

I am also awaiting the publication, scheduled for sometime today, of third quarter market figures from one of the analyst companies that tracks the industry I work for.

Lunchtime Therapy

Guess what I am treating myself to in about half an hour!!!

After the long and stressful day I had yesterday, this is just what I need to re-energize. This morning's meeting went well and I have a ton of action items. But I will slow down for one hour and allow someone else to take care of me and help me relax. I can't wait!