word of the day: benign

After almost two weeks of waiting, I finally got word from my doctor: benign.

Once I knew I was in the clear, I thought it best to let folks know. Heaven forbid they should find out somehow and wonder why they had NOT been informed. I would have never heard the end of it! So, here is what I wrote:
"Just to let you know...
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I had surgery to remove a lesion on my vaginal wall. I suspect it was a ruptured cyst, but it had been there for several months and was not healing. Surgery, requiring me to be put under, was required, as the lesion was near my left urethra and the doctor wanted to make sure he didn't run into any complications.
The surgery was at 7 AM on the 21st and I was home before 11 AM.
My elder stepsister knows, because she was on duty at the hospital on the 20th when they were making the call to let me know the time of my surgery.
My bfe took me there, brought me home, and took general care of me - and custody of my car - until the 25th. He was amazing, pretty much leaving me alone to sleep and recover and making sure I didn't try to jump back into my busy schedule too quickly... which I certainly would have done.
Yesterday afternoon, I had the post-op check-up. Benign! Benign!!
Thank God.
Now to be patient while the wound finishes its healing.
I am so relieved!
Due to the sensitive nature of the location (i.e., interior vaginal wall), I didn't really want to talk about to everybody. I had not informed my eldest brother, my middle brother, and my first niece (my ICE) until the Sunday before the surgery (the 18th). My eldest brother and his wonderful wife, as well as my first niece, brought me Thanksgiving dinners and visited briefly, again allowing me time to recover from the anesthesia and surgery.
I only took pain meds for three days and never had the intense pain and cramping the doc had said I would, nor did I have heavy bleeding. Good!
So, I did want you to know, in case you might hear about it somewhere along the way."

Here are some of the responses I received. I truly am blessed to have such caring people in my life!

my SAR bf (who had a cancerous kidney removed about two months earlier) said:
"Y'know, you didn't need to have sympathy surgery to show that you care.....
Glad to hear that everything is, as my sister put it, "unremarkable".
Isn't anesthesia fun?
On my end, my MRI came back clean this week. Next thing is a CT scan in
March to monitor the suspicious location in my lung. So it looks as if
I'm clean for now. (Time for a victory dance....oh yeah, oh yeah...)
How long is your recovery time? Are you back in the swing of things yet?"
my reply:
"Victory dance is good!!
I'm glad this is the end of the term. Mostly, I'm grading Final Exams, so I'm on my butt and off the streets... mostly!
<3
Glad to hear all you are passing all of your tests with flying colors!
:D"

My copper friend proclaimed "Am verrrryyy happy for you!! Bestest news I've heard all month!!"

My first niece said:
"I take it you got the results from the cyst?
I love your word for the day then.
I love you."

The Canadienne wrote:
"whoopie Benigh is Awesome. Been saying quite a lot of prayers, nice to know they were answered..
Ok Time to Happy Dance xo nice pic too of the canteen lol. Now working at a local bar for only 8 hrs a week, looking for a second one too. HOpe you have a really wonderful Christmas too. My youngest daughter is coming to Windsor. Love to all! xox"
my reply to her:
"Happy dance all around! <3"

my melaness (the cystologist) said:
"omg girl that's scary!!! Usually those are benign unless you've had abnormal paps. Ill pray for you to have a quick recovery! NO SEX either!!!"
my reply was
"No sex???
That's what the doc said, too.
Not even with my toys.
Damn.
For at least three more weeks.
Damn!"
She nearly fell off her chair, laughing!

The ex, when I told him, said:
"I am so thankful that everything went well and that the biopsy was negative. Thank you for letting me know.
Pending vacation approval, I'll be driving down for Christmas, traveling December 21-22 and on December 31- January 1. I'll let you know more soon."
I told him:
"Please do let me know as your plans evolve.
I'll be away, but returning on the 23rd, with no plans for further travel.
I have NO idea what is going on for Christmas Eve this year... I have heard nothing about a family get-together."
(Turns out my eldest brother was to have passed the word to me... oops!)

my stepmom told me:
"and again, Thank God it was benign…
I am sorry you had a confining Thanksgiving.
Your bfe sounds like a really good guy…
Let me know when you can spend some time together…I can come to Savannah if that would be better..
No more surgeries …"
I say, I sure hope not! This isn't the first time I've had a little alien hanging out where it doesn't belong. I do hope it will be the LAST.

My paternal aunt put it into perspective:
"Needless to say I didn't know about your problem, so glad that it was not "BAD". My middle daughter's was of course. Had a complete hysterectomy. Has finished the kemo and radiation. Her hair is comming back in. We had Thanksgiving dinner there this year. She had just had her last radiation treatment the day before but I didn't know that, she was afraid we would not come if I knew that {probably right}. I am happy that things proved good for you. We love you."
Nothing like hearing the grass is NOT greener on the other side of the fence.
"Oh, my, I feel like such a wienie. I'm glad things are improving for Beverly... I had no idea. Thank you for letting me know."

This points out two important things.
1. Stay in touch more often.
2. Realize you are not the only one.

get well soon

Tonight, I was given a postcard.
And I remembered.
I remembered you asked for my address while we were in the waiting room. I started to give it to you, then my name was called and I had to go.
I remembered that you kissed me on the top of my head when time came for you to leave my pre-surgery room.
That was a very sweet surprise.
I had sweet dreams when I went under that morning.
Thank you.

Thank you for taking such excellent care of me during a difficult time for me.
And thank you for the postcard.

wild sod

As you are aware by now, some of the in-print conversations (mini-letters, or "texts") between my bfe and myself are quite entertaining, and certainly worth saving to savor again. (And if I had a phone with limitless memory for such, then those bits would not find their way here, as I would be able to enjoy them over and over for my sole amusement. So, three cheers for outdated phone technology!) Very interesting tangents, arching up to the blue, blue sky, at times!
Here's one such, so enjoy!

me: Yo, home fry? wanna dine wit me 2nite? maybe Thai or Indian?
bfe: I think I will pass on today but maybe we can do some Thai in the near near future?
me: So i have to forego Nam Sod this evening? oh no! but, i will try to be strong...
bfe: Were you in the muck back in 'nam? The VC were everywhere... you were patrolling the ho chi Minh trail... caught in a fire fight. You have nightmares to this day.
me: Not THAT kind of sod!
me: But i must admire the tangent!
bfe: Oh, I thought your platoon was hit and 2nd Lt Vince Lancing went missing. You guys searched all over- no man left behind... but he was MIA.
bfe: Damn VC.
me: :) silly-assed Vince. he always made me smile with his crooked moons.
bfe: I recall your stories of the tete offensive. Absolutely horrifying.
bfe: Some call it a conflict, you and your buddies called it a war. We will never forget.
bfe: What's really bad ass... you were 9 years old.
me: hahaha! thats what made Vince so special! he was always trying to "make the kid smile"!
bfe: ha ha!

Ain't it glorious??? You betcha!

123456

Just a little fun item today!
I was traveling between here and there and happened to glance at my odometer... and it read "123451". Oh, how very cool! I had a picture-taking opportunity coming up for my car!
I had a few of those moments which I had hoped to capture earlier, but each slipped through my hands, as I would forget that I was waiting for THAT dial click to occur. First, I had wanted "121212", simply because of the symmetry. That would have been cool!
Then, I had wanted "122107", as it would mark an anniversary of my life AD. But that reading flashed on past before I realized it was lost. Perhaps that was a good thing? Most likely. Much better to commemorate positive dates!
At any rate, today I was truly not thinking about much of anything and had this bit of coolness fall into my lap, so to speak.
And now I have shared it with YOU!
What treats are in store with YOUR odometer?

hugs and kisses

Dear Dr. Faustina, how are you today?

I do hope this text finds you well.
I must say that I am concerned about your mental health. You have been cooped up in your place since Wednesday.
Will she go stir crazy?

Will she have cabin fever?
Images of spontaneous combustion flash in my head!
Mrs. Rogers is in Atlanta right now and will not be back until later this week.
Would you care for the return of your horseless carriage today?

Well this text is getting kinda long.
Guess I had better get it in the mail.

Hugs and kisses,
bfe

from a child's mind: oceanography

These were sent to me by my former sister-in-law's mother and I thought I would share. Honestly, if I were the teacher, they would have to get partial credit for at least making me smile!


Children Writing About the Ocean. The next time you take an oceanography course, you will be totally prepared.

1) - This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. (Kelly, age 6)

2) - Oysters' balls are called pearls. (Jerry, age 6)

3) - If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don't have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. (Mike, age 7)

4) - Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily Richardson. She's not my friend any more. (Kylie, age 6)

5) - A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. (Billy, age 8)

6) - My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and pots and comes back with crabs. (Millie, age 6)

7) - When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn't blow the sailors would whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been better off eating beans. (William, age 7)

8) - Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get pregnant? Like, really? (Helen, age 6)

9) - I'm not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got pregnant, so I can't think what to write. (Amy, age 6)

10) - Some fish are dangerous. Jellyfish can sting. Electric eels can give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I think they have to plug themselves in to chargers. (Christopher, age 7)

11) - When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes my willy small. (Kevin, age 6)

12) - Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers can't go down alone, so they have to go down on each other. (Becky, age 8)

13) - On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won't do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. (Julie, age 7)

14) - The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don't drown I don't know. (Bobby, age 6)

15) - My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean. What he doesn't know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. (James, age 7)

totally blonde roots

So, yesterday, I picked up my bfe and off we set for Jacksonville. This is his birth month, so I've been trying to find some extra-special events for this fall month.
One such event concerned girls on skates. He had not been to the local rollergirl games, ever, and, somehow, we had missed all the home games this fall. But all was not lost! The girls would be winging their way down to Florida for a double-header! And, it was in November! And, it was on a Saturday that was open for both of us! Yes, folks, we had ourselves a winner!!
So, off we set, even getting a morning start for a change. The weather was good, the traffic was light on this non-holiday weekend, and we should arrive in time for a late lunch, then some walking on the waterfront before the games. Nice!
Well, that was the plan. And the plan was nice. And it was a pretty loose plan, built to allow quite a bit of flexibility. You know, in case we found an interesting museum or toy shop or an open bench to watch boats and folks.
So, there we are, traveling along, making good time. Not paying any attention to the view outside the car windows. Well, no, that's not quite true. We were both admiring the fall colors of the kudzu and the trees, the golds and oranges and reds, set against the ever-green of the pines and the blue, blue sky. All so very nice! Enjoying each other's company, catching up on chatting.
You see where this is leading, right?
We were talking, admiring the view, not paying any attention at all to road signs...
And all of a sudden, SMACK!!! We were on the outskirts of MACON!!!
Say what?!?
Exactly.
In my soon-to-be-patented, trademark style, I had become lost.
No. That's NOT it. I was not lost. I knew EXACTLY where I was, once I saw the exits and road work surrounding Macon. Oh, yes.
The problem was, we had driven better than two hours IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, neither of us noticing the signs for Statesboro or Dublin or any of the other towns along the way. Neither of us having noticed that we had not seen signs for Midway or Darien or Brunswick.
Amazing.
So, now the trick would be to make it to Jacksonville in time for the games. Because, now, we weren't just two and a half hours away. Oh, no. We were about five hours away.
Good thing our plan was so loose!
And we DID manage to make it there in time for the games. We even had about twenty minutes of free time. Woohoo!
And, amazingly, he was fine with that. Absolutely fine. No temper tantrum, no guilt trip laid on me, no animosity of any type.
Amazing, right?
And I was treated to a day in his company and he to a day in mine, even though much of the time was sitting in a car, rolling along highways.
And THAT was the whole point of the trip, right? To spend the day together and see some girls on skates?
So the trip was a rousing success, after all.
Amazing!