Choosing Civility

That's the name of a book by P.M.Forni that I'm reading right now. It's excellent. It's one of those books you wish everyone would read. It came out of the John Hopkins Civility Project. He bases his book on the principle that"a crucial measure of our success in life is the way we treat one another every day of our lives...When we lessen the burden of living for those around us we are doing well; when we add to the misery of the world we are not." It's a readable, practical little book. I'm finding it life-changing.

Best.Group.Ever.

Wow! Pink Martini. What a great concert. If you ever get a chance to see them, they are FABULOUS! The flamenco night was fun too. I love Jazz Festival time!

On the Mend

Ray is healing nicely. Matt's got a small infection in his wound,so he's on antibiotics. The weather is nice. Things are looking up.This weekend, POP members from South Bend Indiana, Dorothy and Kevin Ranahan, are coming to Saskatoon. We also have tickets to Pink Martini(great group!) and Annie and I have press passes for a Flamenco dinner and show that she's covering for the Sheaf.She's the Arts editor for the University of Saskatchewan newspaper, so she goes to lots of music, literature and art events. Sometimes she gets to bring a friend(or a Mom). She'll be taking in a lot of the Jazz Festival too. Maybe we'll even see her at Pink Martini. That concert is held in the garden behind the Bessborough Hotel. I may practise my rumba. I hope Ray is well enough to go.

The Hospital

Ray is doing well. He can do most things for himself now, and is able to walk all the way around the block. The weather has been cool and rainy. I blame the weather network-they've been predicting a hot,dry summer. Kiss of death for hotness and dryness! Two days ago Mat hurt himself at work. He was using a skill saw and a piece of a 2x4 fell from a story above and hit the saw, which in turn hit his leg. Mangled skin,lots of ugly stitches, but thank goodness he didn't hit a major artery or cut his leg deeper. So it is a bit like a little hospital here for a few days. Except the food's better.

Another week

We're almost at the end of my week off work.I'll be going back on Monday. Ray should be just fine on his own-especially since I work a split shift and am not gone for long. It only takes me 7 minutes to drive to work. It's close and my employers are compassionate and flexible. I'm not worried. Ray is able to do a little more on his own, and he rests a lot. Now he's reading more and needing to sleep less. He was outside in the shade in his lounge chair on the front deck yesterday,reading one of the Bourne books. It's nice that this all happened in the spring so he can be outside. It would have been tougher in the winter.

Slowly

Ray's getting better. It's going to take a long time, but he doesn't seem as fragile as he did. I walked with him to the end of our street today twice and he's doing a little more on his own. He tires easily and has to make sure he doesn't do very much(He even has to take a rest after eating a light meal.) I'm encouraged that next week when I'm at work he'll do just fine.

Home

I picked Ray up and brought him home today. He is,of course, tired and sore. He's grateful for heart-smart food,as he's afraid of bad-for-you food. One day at the hospital he was watching T.V. and a Kentucky fried Chicken add came on. "Don't do it! Don't eat that!" he was shouting at the people on T.V., semi in jest. So don't lecture him about how he should eat. He's being very,very good. Encourage him that he looks thinner,fitter, better. I find the lecture-advice the worse thing for me too. I want to scream when people say"You know,he's going to have to change his lifestyle!" "DUHHHH" Sorry. I've had enough.