All posts by Katharine

1. Goddess

2. Call with my mother

3. Call with Julieta

4. Visit from Catherine RM

4b. Ping pong with Viktor

5. Randall is an affable silent companion.

6. Chad spotted the roosting turkeys on our walk.

7. Assent

8. Dissent

9. Negotiation

10.privilege to take time to regroup

1. Goddess

2. Meditation

3. A good walk around campus with a small group. The sun was warm and bright, and there was shade and a cool breeze, which were refreshing.

4. Having food brought to me.

5. I love you and naps. (Want that on a T shirt).

6.  Meeting with my treatment team and the medical student, whose last day with us was today, and the mental health specialist, who is also a researcher at the hospital.

7. Watched the news on TV. I like to watch and listen to as many perspectives as possible, and work for and vote for the candidates I agree with and who support my whole community.

8. Deacon Cynthia came to visit me. She bought me a card, signed by the community. She also bought me coffee from Dunks, coffee with cream, just the way I like it. We have a lot in common.

8a. Most of all, she bought me a bracelet of African prayer beads, made of brown opal. I can make a cruciform with them, and say the Jesus prayer or any prayer my Goddess moves me to speak.

8b. Deacon Cynthia prayed with me and we prayed for the Church and the hospital teams, and all who suffer, visibly or invisibly, externally or internally.

9. After dinner Avi S. And Jeff P. Came to visit me. We know each other from AA service work. We read from “As Bill Sees It” and I heard the words” Service gladly rendered; obligations squarely met”, which is one of my favorite passages in all of AA literature , from the 12 & 12. I told of how I came to be hospitalized, and how things are looking up for me, in that I slept 6 hours last night, and my medication  regime is getting simplified, and I am confident it will work. I accept the judgment of my treatment team, whether I am liberated from the hospital next week or must remain under observation longer, so be it.

10. The NBDI meeting , which doesn’t start for me until I get there, the topic was a higher power, and I told of how I strive for a relationship  with my Goddess. As Robert Browning  wrote:

” Ah, but a man’s reach must exceed his grasp/

Or what’s a heaven for? “

11. Made a new friend named Naomi. Who texted me when she thought  I was her friend Anne. She said “You are so nice”, after I replied that it was no trouble , she told me her name and asked about me, and I told her my name and that I am a college librarian. I asked her what she did. I also texted her and wrote “I believe there are no accidents, just unintended consequences.” She didn’t write back and either she’s busy, went to sleep, or thinks I’m a real weirdo. I’m fine with whatever.

 

”I ought to be equal to every relation” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friendship

”Let’s have a Union, Jesus listening

Let’s have a Union, Jesus died. “

Spiritual taught by either Bernice Johnson Reagon or Ysaye Barnwell, of Sweet Honey in the Rock, held at St. James’s Episcopal Church, May 1998 (?).

”The sun has gone to bed and so must I” The Sound of Music

1. Goddess

2. Messengers

3. Meditation

4. Prayer

5. Yoga

6. Journal

7. Journal prompts

8. “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord” Psalm 19:14

1. Goddess

2. Doctor’s, nurses, social workers, mental health specialists, and cleaning crew.

3. “Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home.” – Simon & Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson”.

4. Visit from Chris

5. Visit from Jeff

6. Call with Julieta

7. Call with Ashley.

8. Texts from friends.

 

 

  1. Goddess
  2. Picking up clothes at the cleaners to store for winter. The proprietor was very helpful.
  3. Getting a chai latte at my favorite coffee shop, Espresso Yourself.
  4. Not finding a seat, I walked outside and went to the bench by the crosswalk. A white-haired woman was sitting there. We talked and it turned out we had many things in common.  Her name is Caroiyn G. We exchanged phone numbers.
  5. Finished my latte and went to the consignment store and dropped off two large garbage bags of outsized clothes.
  6. On my way out on a walk, I ran into Maureen L. She said it was her birthday, and I gave her a big hug. She was on her way to her partner’s for birthday cake.
  7. Walk around Jamaica Pond.
  8. Made an omelet for dinner. Grateful for groceries and basic cooking skills and a dishwasher.
  9. Talked with my mother on the phone.  She had a busy day with the realtor and errands and took the afternoon to relax and read.
  10. Worked on questions from the Artist’s Way.
  11. Went to my church where there was a meeting, and spoke at the meeting, and the business meeting afterward, and picked up a service position. Grateful that there is a meeting so close to me.
  12. Got on the online meeting, caught the tail end of it, and then the after meeting, Spoke about the meeting I went to, and then on the topic, I spoke about assuming things, which is a weakness of mine, and something I’m trying to work on. Grateful for the help I receive daily.

1. Goddess

2. Going to the morning meeting, even though I had to leave early for choir rehearsal.

3. Singing with the choir at church.

4. Lunch with my mother and David.

5. Working with GG.  We took on my bedroom, and she helped me clear my closets, and get rid of clothes that no longer fit me.

6. Hosting the evening meeting and the after meeting,  Grateful to be of service.

1. Goddess

2. Morning Pages

3. Help from a wonderful woman at the bank. Went there for dollars and quarters.

4. Seeing Eileen at the cafe.

5. Chairing the meeting, and leading a discussion about prayer.

6. Hugging Karen for a long time, she told me her daughter is coming to visit, and hugging her again for a long time.

7. Going out to lunch with Kellie, Janis, and Janet.

8. Texting Alison, Alicia, Melissa, Nykhole, Craig, Freedom, Gerry.

9. Sending Alycia a birthday card.

10. Going to Papercuts bookstiore, and buying a book for Cassie and two books for myself and ordering two more. Learning that Stephanie Burt will be reading her poetry at the bookstore in a couple of weeks.  Stephanie was a huge inspiration for me in coming out.

11. Cleaning the bathroom

12. Ate dinner. Waffles and a banana.

13. Talking with my mother on the phone.

14. Logging on to the evening meeting and volunteering to be timekeeper.

15. Grateful for a life of happy usefulness.

1. Goddess

2. Morning Pages.

3. Coffee.

4. Working on my essay, having received one of the papers i needed.

5. Kind compliments on my essay from Ben and Mary.

6. Went to buy lunch at the supermarket. Hot outside.

7. Annmarie indulged my vanity and took a picture of me. I wore a straw hat, a peplum blue and white floral embroidered top, royal blue nail polish, white jeans, white socks, and grey everyday sneakers. Grateful that I can afford pretty clothes and can dress how I want.

8. Attended part 2 of the ACRL/MLS workshop on Open Educational Resources and Affordability. Listened and participated and got some great help.

9. Talked to my mother on the phone.

10. Grateful a car didn’t hit me crossing an intersection. Almost happened again, in the rainy night, when a motorist ran a red light. Full of thanks and prayers, especially that my brakes worked.

11. Dinner at Punjab Restaurant: vegetable samosas, garlic naan, and Malai Kofta.  The service was excellent.

12. Fellowship at the cafe.  And then the skies opened up. Grateful I remembered to bring an umbrella.

13. Meeting at the church, poignant and moving.  A lot of women talked about losing their fathers.

14. Arriving home safely, despite the pouring rain.

15. Listening to relaxing Louisiana music and some blues.

1. Goddess

2. Helpful criticism from Jen.

3. Help from Mary Ann.

4. Mary Ann got accepted into her continuing education program.  I wrote a letter of recommendation for her, and I think I helped a little bit

5. Kind compliments from Jane, Annmarie, Leslie, and Mary Ann.

6. The go-ahead on my next presentation from Bob,

7. Going to 40 South Street, putting in a request for the white embroidered dress in the window, buying a floral dress and a straw multicolored (white, robin’s egg blue, fuchsia, and navy blue) straw hat.

8. Phone call with my mother.

9. Going to choir practice, like I said I would. Natasha worked us hard. John and Jim welcomed me, John gave me water, and I followed them both on the tenor line. Mary has an enthralling voice (I have a massive crush on Mary.) She looked back and smiled at me several times. The singing voices resonated beautifully in the church.

10. Walking home in the moonlight and the cool breezes.