MrsDoF's Dear Ones

The doggone cardinals woke me up at the first pink light of dawn this morning.  Now that those teenagers are flying around, the momma and daddy are teaching them their most popular bird songs.  It looks like a boy and a girl grew out of the nest.  The main noise melody has moved up to the branches of the maple tree above the neighbor kids’ tree house, and the response comes from the mulberry tree down the row.

Oscar has lost interest.  Much more easy to bring home a little gray mouse and leave it on the walkway beside the garage.
The flies loved him for it.

At five minutes ‘til 7am, I was on the porch ready to begin a walk around the block.  Both Oscar and Mahalia scratched on the door I had closed in their faces.
Not this time, beasts, I have a ways to go.

My gait was my usual walking pace.  I’m not out to win any rose garlands.

When I got to Main Street, there were only two cars waiting at the light.  Sleepy Saturday.

Rounding the corner, I came upon a mulberry tree, and its juicy offerings got crunched underfoot.  Don’t silkworms live on mulberry trees?  Are they native to North America?
Next to it is a black walnut tree, but it doesn’t have as many hanging as in years past.

The next corner there was a man setting up his lawn sprinkler.  All the rain last Monday evening didn’t last long enough.  The plan for our yard is that if we don’t water, the grass don’t grow.
If the grass don’t grow, there’s no need to mow.

Two squirrels hollered down at me from the maple tree in the middle of the block.  This early in the morning, no kids up there.  That tree has been a favorite for climbers ever since my oldest son was in Kindergarten.  Probably even before that, because a couple other kids showed him how to do it.
Yessirree, on Normal Avenue, youngsters will climb a tree.

The last corner had a plastic bottle stuck in the grate covering the storm sewer.  There was a bunch of dirt and mess built up behind it, so I tugged out the bottle and brushed back some of the stuff.  The next time it rains, maybe no puddle will form along the gutter.  I put the mud-caked bottle into our trash can as I walked up the driveway.

Oscar zipped out the door as soon as it was open a tiny crack.  A great cross-legged hurry.  He really does not like to use the litter box in the basement unless the weather outside is freezing.

17 minutes to walk around the block.  Gotta get that time down to under 10.  When that happens, I’ll add some more territory.
~~love and Huggs, Diane

ps   Edu Psyche class continues.
The online Quiz was due for Cluster 6.
Title: Behavioral Views of Learning
I earned a 15 of 15 Perfect Score!
Don’t be feeling an earthquake…I’m doing a happy dance.

All week long I was getting myself all talked into being ready for the routine physical female exam.
No big deal, long overdue, Great Nurse Practitioner.

The first thing is to get weighed.  That’s 9 pounds more than the last time I was on a scale.  Proof positive I’m sitting too long in this chair in front of view screens.

Then the blood pressure.  Well, after seeing the number on the scale, doncha think my blood pressure might have raised just a little?  Yeah, it’s on the upper number of normal.  Gotta watch it, high blood pressure leads to a stroke, and heaven knows, there were enough of them happening on my dad’s side of the gene pool.  Sure, it’s connected to the weight.

Get undressed.  Pants go on the seat of the chair I have just vacated.  Then undies and bra, with shirt on top.  Isn’t that the way women do it?  Why have the delicates right out there in full view?  There oughta be a little cubbie box or something.
The one hook on the wall is way over in the corner near the head of the exam table.

Then I waited almost 15 minutes with the sheet and the drape (that’s what the assistant called the 3 x 3 piece of cloth covering my upper body).  I could hear mumbling in the room next door, so I figured the CNP was getting behinder on appointment time.
No matter, I had kept the day free for this little jaunt.

I notice there’s this little line-up of bottles to collect samples resting on a clean pad on the desk.  It looks like so much work for some Lab person.

After the CNP comes in and ask more questions, we figure out the non-regular times of my supposedly monthly cycle.
Menopause is not a straight and narrow trip.
Then I assume the position.

And each of the little bottles gets its little specimen and I figure we’re just about done when I hear “Hmm, nice polyp….”

Now, I don’t know but two other people ever who have had a polyp, and the word Nice was not in the same sentence, no matter where in their body said polyp might be.

As she’s poking around a bit more, she says “It looks like I can get that taken care of today”.  She straightens up, pulls the sheet over me, tosses away her gloves, then goes out the door saying she’ll be right back.

Meanwhile, I do believe this is the longest I have ever had my knees as high as my waist, and that takes into account pushing out three babies.  Gheezsh!

When she comes back in, her arms are full of packages and she’s chattering words like “the doctor says we’re good to go and when I order your labs be sure to include this and add on a possible consult with a proctologist and how’s your feet doing?”

Someone who enjoys her work. on a Thursday no less.

I’m not sure what all else went on down there because I think some numbing solution was applied.  The piece of tissue looked as big as a nickel when it was dropped into the solution of the jar.
There’s very little bleeding, but it means I do have to wear a pad and not my Diva Cup.

This afternoon was my Mammogram (Six squishes films. SIX!), tomorrow is the Podiatrist for the lump in the arch of my left foot (which is unrelated to the female exam but is still a medical appointment)(and being in stirrups didn’t help).

Monday is fasting blood work at the Lab.  Hopefully all specimens and doctor’s orders will be overlapping now that the departmental computer system is on the same network.

The results can be taking as long as 3 weeks.  Which is fine with me, I’ll be done with the Edu Psyche class around that time, we’ll go on from then.

You all take care of yourselfs.
It seems I should be taking better care of me.

~~love and Huggs, Diane

Today was a day for doing what I wanted to do.  And what I put on my list was to get all the stuff into the envelopes for the gift-giving fun.  I love to put things into envelopes.  Things like stickers and poems and crocheted crosses and stickers.

I mention stickers twice because I have a whole shoebox full of sheets of them.  For awhile, I had them in little drawers marked by category, such as flowers and animals and birthday.  As I got new ones, I’d just toss them into the nearest bin, and so they are all ajumble again.
Now as each envelope gets filled, I dig through and find just the right one for that person.  As if the receiver is going to know.

You might be thinking here sits a woman with too much time on her hands.  And you would be right.  But this is also a way I do some thinking, and I have two papers for the summer school class due on Monday.

So while I was using my paper edging scissors, in the back of my mind is the lesson plan example for my future hypothetical Pre-K classroom.
Which is very much like my previous experience in a Pre-K classroom, but that’s beside the point.
I’m getting college credit for the current writing.

There was awhile when I was on the Production team for our church newsletter, and I really grooved on the Keeping Order of it, and the staples placement and the address label and the sorting by Zip Code.
When all got done, there is a box full, just waiting to be taken to the Post Office.
As in times past, today finished 21 envelopes, all filled and named and stamped, then either sent away or will be taken to the church cubbies.

Apparently, this goes along with my Personality Type and Learning Style.  Way back in 7^th grade, Mrs. Pickens Homeroom teacher, supervised our class with taking a special type of test.

I know it was special, because she never touched it after she passed out the papers.  I was the person designated to collect them all in the pre-addressed envelope and seal it.  Yeah, I’ll admit it.  I was usually the one person the teacher left in charge when she had to leave the room.

Except this time, I had to take the sealed envelope to the Principal’s office and sign a form.  Talk about responsibility!

Weeks later, the results of the test came back.  Mine said my IQ was 112, which I thought was really cool, seeing that I was age 12 and we did something with 100.
It also said that I am a Performance type, meaning that I like to get rewards outside myself.

That was in Junior High, then I took a similar test in high school Psychology class.  and for LPN school in Personal and Vocational Relationships.  and for an ‘Experience Your Gifts’ class in Sunday School.  and then last week for my Educational Psychology class.

The tests and questionnaires have different names, asked similar questions, use a variety of answers to find pretty much my same results.  I am a Detail person.  I want small steps which add up to a whole.  Don’t confuse me with more than I need to know to get through this minute.  When I’m done with this, we will be working for whatever comes next.

I am ME and I move along in response of the world with its problems and celebrations.  That phrase in the Bible about putting away childish things didn’t take into account the basic Personality types and Emotional Intelligences.

And so this day, I brought together all the small steps.  The crocheted crosses were washed and flattened.  There was a trip to the copy shop, and later, the Post Office.

And a whole bunch of folks are going to be quite surprised in a few days!
~~love and Huggs, Diane