Happy Second Day of Spring!

I know... Who are you and what have you done with Denise, right?

While I could tell you it's quite possible that my attorney has already spent my retainer, and then I still have not gotten what I need from the Someone to get the re-fi on my house, I think I will simply say that the rose pictured above is blooming outside my front door. Carted here in its pot inside a friend's truck, it took months to adjust to the cooler temperatures and sea breezes, but adjust it did.

I will also tell you that a heron just flew by my window--legs outstretched--its long neck seemingly in the future while its legs are already in the past.

I will tell you, too, that my mom's gastroenterology appointment went well, and that the doctor is as handsome--nay, I'd say even more handsome--than ever. My mom endured nearly constant stomach cramps for a long time, and she is much improved. I think of all the figures of speech we have that relate to this central element of our bodies: turned my stomach, he doesn't have the guts to do what is right, intestinal fortitude, it takes a strong stomach, too much to stomach, bust a gut, butterflies in the stomach, I have a gut feeling, we trust our guts, we gut it out, some things are gut wrenching, divorce is an emotional punch to the gut, some people eat to live, sometimes my stomach is in knots. The sympathetic knot in my stomach is loosening now that my mom is feeling better.

I will tell you that my mom is now wearing earrings everyday--not just when we go out to a doctor's appointment. And I will tell you that today, she put on lip gloss. A true beauty in her red sweater and pink shoes.

Report from Pillville: The Gastroenterologist, the Scan,the Blood Test, and the New Medication

"My God, you're handsome!" my mom said a couple of minutes into the appointment with her latest doctor--a gastroenterologist. Nothing wrong with her eyes. Seriously, this doctor needs a TV show. Or perhaps a trip to Bollywood. Now I understand why the nurse comes in first and takes the patient's heart rate and blood pressure before the doctor appears.

And here's the best part of it. After I told him she doesn't hear well, and she could communicate much better if he looked at her, he did. Every syllable. He listened to her complaints. He asked a lot of questions and listened some more. He studied her list of medications, then rearranged the scheduling of those a bit so he could work in a new med that might help her.

He also ordered blood work and a scan in addition to the other lab tests she's already had. The scan was today, and I'm always amazed by what a trouper my mom is. Chalky drinks, IVs, loud machines--no problem.

And when we got home, she received a shot of vitamin M--the best medicine of all. In fact all the residents of Margaritaville have been suffering from a severe vitamin M deficiency. We're all feeling better by the minute.

photo notes: The picture at the top of this post is an Indian movie star--not the gastroenterologist. The picture at the bottom of the post is, however, the real and true M.

And what a fabulous day it was!

The TV is seldom on at my house, but I skipped yoga this morning and tuned in to the inauguration at 8:30 a.m. My mom and I sat on the couch with our coffee. The throngs of people, the Capitol, the Washington Monument. I thought of three years ago and of the month I lived in the guest quarters at Washington Hospital Center while she lingered at death's door. How I knew then that those historic landmarks were out there just a mile or two away, but I never even tried to visit them.

This afternoon we went to the gastroenterologist, and then across the street to the hospital for a blood test. When we got home, I tuned in again to the inauguration. The magnitude of our amazement struck us both at the same time. We talked about change and how much progress has been made in her lifetime. "Next we need a woman president!" she said. "The next ticket ought to be a woman and a Native American!"

Tonight after dinner I turned on the TV a third time. Michelle in her red gown. The dance. The kiss. Stevie Wonder."Wouldn't you like to be there--at the inaugural ball--just once?" my mom asked.
"Yes, I would," I said. What a privilege that would be if my mom gets her wish. For that I would travel from sea to shining sea.