“Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” The Beatles
O it’s a rainy, rainy Christmas Eve, ‘n I just got back from walkin’ the dogs....Rusty seems able to maintain without getting too awful wet but poor ol Willie is built so low t’the ground ‘n he gets in such a fret over the chickens ‘n pigeons ‘n squirrels ‘n cars that he chases back ‘n forth thru the leaves ‘n wet shrubs ‘n puddles, his short little ol legs churning furiously while Rusty seems at times bemused but occasionally gets caught up in the spirit of the moment, I guess, ‘n then he yips ‘n charges a few steps ‘til he figgers out that they ain’t no there there....then he stops ‘n looks at me ‘n I just shrug ‘n we go on....nuthin’ much seems to faze Willie ‘cept maybe Kellyes cats ‘’n they don’t run from him....t’is a puzzlement.....’Course, Willie is in his own time zone so he don’t let it bother him for long.....
Dogs live life in the moment mostly, at least I think they do...y’can’t ever be sure what evil lurks in the minds of men or animals, unless maybe you’re Lamont Cranston ‘n we don’t know if he really knew or was just faking it for the radio.....I know dogs have memories ‘n I know they dream...sumtimes Willie cries in his sleep ‘n if he gets petted a bit, I swear he’ll sigh ‘n snuggle down.....it’s pretty easy t’tell when a dog is happy or sad...they seem to wear their hearts on their sleeve as Grandmaw Smith was fond of saying so many years ago....she was fond of saying a lot of things, a trait that she seems t’have passed on.....one of those ‘gifts’ that keep on giving.....
‘N if you don’t mind me getting possibly a little maudlin, I woke up tonite thinking about a gift that keeps on giving...when I was diagnosed with cancer, while I was waiting for an appointment with an Oncologist, I had an appointment with a Nurse Practioner for a vitamin shot.....she was a tall, blonde lady with an easy smile ‘n on the chatty side...
so we chatted a bit (as I’m wont t’do on most any occasion) while she prepared my injection.....I spoke of my cancer diagnosis ‘n how I wasn’t really worried about it since I’d done all I c’d do so far ‘n we agreed that was a healthy attitude ‘n God willing ‘n the creek don’t rise, etcetera ‘n so forth ‘n as I got up to leave, she hugged me......I can’t say that I’m a stranger to hugs...I’ve been hugged before but generally by someone I knew at least a little bit ‘n I’d never been hugged by a nurse...not ever.
But it felt really good ‘n I told Millyrose about it ‘n we both agreed that it’d been a nice thing for her to have done......A few days later, we went t’see the Oncologist.....a nice young lady about the same age as our youngest daughter ‘n she told me about the treatment she had planned for me ‘n what it would probably do for me ('n to me) ‘n she remarked that I seemed to have a pretty good attitude going into this treatment ‘n that was a good thing.....’n I told her about the nurse hugging me ‘n how it was the first time I’d ever had that happen ‘n we chatted a bit more ‘n when I got up to leave, the Oncologist hugged me.....’n then she hugged Millyrose ‘n I remarked that I’d never been hugged by a doctor before, so she hugged me again.....One of the really interesting things about that period of my life, at least it was interesting t’me, was the strength of the people I met who were fighting cancer...’n I ain’t talking about me but people who were a lot sicker than me with a lot worse odds of winning.....lot of courage.....and a lot of hugs....and a hug is a very simple gift that keeps on giving.....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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