Yea for me!

Good morning, y'all! Picture my face when I read this in an e-mail in my online Kaiser account yesterday, from the Anesthesia Care Provider Team for my surgery with Dr Steiner: You can have clear liquids until 2 HOURS BEFORE (9:30 AM) you check in. This includes water, clear apple juice, 7-up, tea, or black coffee.

Here's how the emotions went yesterday as I processed that statement. First, disbelief. Huh? I can? Then, joy. Oh, boy! I can have some tea when I wake up in the morning! I'm going to be so empty after my pre-op routine's success that this is spectacular news! I sat here in my chair, excited to even think about drinking some tea Thursday morning!

Now it's Thursday morning. I took this photo while the tea cooled in the mug which I gave to my little Mama years ago; it's so fine to drink from it as she used to do. I have sipped half of it. That's all I needed to make me feel somewhat normal, y'all. I know, what's normal mean for a never-dull-and-boring gal like me? Let's just say that I feel as if I could get dressed and go to work after that half a cup of Twinings English Breakfast Tea, even though the only thing I've had to eat since Tuesday evening has been Jell-o and Popsicles. Yea for me!

About my pedometer. I'm not wearing it again until I get home tomorrow, at the earliest. If I were to wear it today and somehow forget to put it into my purse (which Lamont will be in charge of at the hospital) and then never see it again, devastated would be too small a word to describe my emotions. That little device packs a motivation wallop way out of proportion to its size. Yea for me!

About the robot. My surgery is labeled as robot surgery. Dr. Steiner explained, "The robot has a 3-D camera and little hands that I will use during the surgery." She herself has small hands, so to me that says that the robot's hands will serve as a natural extension of hers. Sort of like a hockey stick serves as an extension of their arms and hands for those wild folks who zoom headlong across the rink. I'm in awe of professionals whose skills transfer from themselves into their tools. Yea for me!

Lamont will be here in not quite three hours to take me to the hospital. Once I brush my teeth and get dressed, I'll be ready. Mama's recliner. That's where I'll wait. Yea for me!

Lost my mind for a little while this AM, and I didn't even realize that it had gone, well, I realized the first time in a few minutes, but not the second time till I uploaded these photos

I sat on a bench watching people, waiting until time to meet my friend Janessa this morning at the Hollywood Farmers Market. I rode there on the 12 bus. People watching led to photo taking. I had no idea until after I had taken quite a few photos that I didn't have the camera set properly. Therefore this photo that I took to you show you color-coordinated parents and their children is somewhat of a bust because you can't really see the parent in blue with one of his/her children wearing blue, the significant other in red, the other child in red. You can sort of see the man in blue shirt and shoes holding the hand of his son in DayGlo chartreuse shirt and shoes--they're the ones that caused me to notice the others, how they dressed and all. Best laid plans, and all that, for me anyway.



I realized it in time to get this photo a little girl on her scooter--do you call that thing a scooter? She's pushing the crosswalk button. If it's not time, at this particular location the automated voice hollers, "Wait!" and when it's time to cross, a sort of machine-gun-sound starts up. She had been talking animatedly to the woman, so I suspect that's her mom.



The last photos, which I had no idea that I took, well, this is one of three almost identical ones--they're evidence of the second time I lost my mind this AM. I don't know the lady in the black shoes; she's wearing a top my little Mama would've loved. The person holding the Thrive tote bag with the purple straps is my friend Janessa. I loaned it to her so that she could carry some of her purchases in it home to her apartment. She had filled up her backpack. Kaiser Permanente gave me the Thrive bag when I went to their seminar, Thrive with Cancer. They also gave me the pedometer I've been wearing ever since. I've only managed to erase the count twice since May 19, both times when I leaned into the bar at the Blue Diamond, which is where Janessa works. I'm going to ask her to remind me not to lean in like that 'cause both times it happened after work which meant my whole day's worth of steps went up in thin air before I could record it in my One Line A Day, A Five-Year Memory Book. I sort of remembered the count both times, having checked at some point while I sat there talking and laughing and listening to great live music.

All of what I bought is washed and ready to cook Sunday. I'm looking forward to every single bite!