It Was an Eventful Day and an Excellent One!

Yesterday's doctor appointments turned into a kerfluffle instead of appointment followed by appointment followed by appointment. I arrived early - I usually do - and I was called in almost immediately, so I texted Claire - who hadn't yet arrived - and went into the ultrasound room. The technician spent 15-20 minutes with the ultrasound wand, making sure she was seeing everything, then she called in her supervisor/department head to take a look as well. Neither of them saw anything to merit additional biopsies or tests, so I was cleared to go home. SCORE! 

I got really lucky. The ultrasound didn't show 
anything new or missed, so I was released to 
spend my day as I wanted. No additional tests 
needed. 

I thanked Claire for coming down, we gave each other hugs, and I was off to get my car out of the parking ramp and head onward to the grocery store. I wanted to make soup for dinner since the soup I had made last week was almost eaten up. With a very specific shopping list in hand, I purchased EXACTLY what was on my list - ingredients to make my next batch of "Ogre Jurce" and the vegetable/beef soup I had decided on for dinner for the next few days. 

I couldn't imagine who would have pulled into my driveway, 
but I do get people pulling in who are switching directions 
on our roadway. It turned out to be my swimming partner, 
Meg! What a lovely surprise. 

It was a beautiful day - cold but brightly sunny - so I decided to wash Minnion on my way home. The guys at the car wash are almost personal friends by now - I purchased my membership as a birthday gift to myself in the Spring, and I use it every week on average, sometimes even more often. I had a chance to catch up with the wash guys and owner, and then continued home where I saw a strange SUV pull into my driveway ahead of me. Thinking it was someone who was merely pulling in to change directions on the roadway, I hesitated for a moment before pulling in next to it. I recognized the car - it was the car of my friend Meg from the gym, who lives two blocks west of me. She's a fellow swimmer and we usually share a lane in the pool. 

We had a nice, albeit cold, chat in the driveway, catching up and hugging. She gifted me with a lovely daffodil plant which currently resides in the kitchen next to the sink in the sunniest part of the room.  It was a joy to see her - I miss all of my swimming buddies SO much. I can hardly wait for the surgery to be over and done with so that I can start the recovery process and eventually get back to the pool once again. *sigh* That's still a ways out there, But I'm trying to take things one day at a time. 

I do love my baked fruit for breakfast. I had enough time 
after the clinic, to make a batch of fruit as well as a 
nice veggie soup for my meals for the upcoming few 
days. A total win of a day from start to finish. 

The rest of the day was taken up cooking my next batch of fruit for breakfasts, and a nice soup for my dinners. All in all, it actually turned into a totally lovely day. I'm still on schedule for pre-op stuff at the Cancer Clinic on Tuesday afternoon, and surgery on Wednesday morning, and since they didn't find anything else in the ultrasound, I'm probably having the lumpectomy I had originally thought would be best. I'll leave that final decision up to the surgeon, of course, but I think I might have lucked out. Have an excellent Saturday and weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

Today's Plan - Accentuate the Positives, Pass Along the Love

It's going to be a good day. I'm determined that it will be, and I'm alive, the birds are singing (actually, not quite yet. The birds are intelligent enough to not sing for another hour or so.), and I'm ready to head to the swimming pool. I actually slept until my 3:00 am alarm went off - a rarity these days of tension and too many thoughts for deep sleep. I'm going to have a tremendous day today - are you? 

Today is going to be a GREAT day. You're alive, you're 
safe, you have food on your table and friends around 
you. Frankly, that's really all that we need for happiness. 

There are many things that can make a good day. Simple things - a loving pet, a child's smile, a silly joke or a funny antic by a pet or wild animal. There are always good things around us that can make a day special and lift our spirits. The problem is the negatives that surround us, smothering us, dampening our joy at living. Don't allow those outside negatives to dampen your glow today. Instead, allow your glow to lighten the lives of others with whom you'll have contact today. Spread that light throughout the shade and darkness encroaching in from the sides. 

I don't think my dog was ever this comfortable with my 
cats, although they got along well enough. The cats could 
easily have made mince-meat of my pup, and she was wise 
enough to know that - LOL. 

Look at your life. What can you positively impact today? It's not going to be earthshaking. We're normal people in our own small circles of interactions. But can you bring a smile to someone's face? Can you help someone in some small fashion - reaching something down for them that they can't reach, or simply smiling. Smiling is contagious, after all. That simple act actually changes the body chemistry for the positive, pushing away the negatives - at least for a small time. 

Smiling is contagious. Sometimes we forget 
that, going through the day gloomy or simply 
lost in our own thoughts. But today, pull yourself 
out of yourself and spread a small bit of joy to 
others - one-to-one, one by one. 

Do one thing that you love to do today. Do you like listening to music? Listen and dance for five minutes. Do you enjoy gardening? Plot, plan, dig and clean - make those plants happier and they'll reward you with oxygen to breathe. Wave to a neighbor, smile at a stranger. Pass along positives, they'll reflect back to you ten-fold. 

Accentuate the positives today. It's be a benefit to 
you and everyone you come into contact with. 

I'm going to put up two shelving units that I got in yesterday's Amazon shipment. I also got a small extendable garden rake that DH had been wanting. He was VERY pleased - put it right down with his gardening stuff. I'm sure it will be used on Thursday when he's back in the yard. So, I passed a little sunshine into DH's perpetual rain cloud mood. Even those who have dark skies above them can smile with the right reward. Let's spread love and happiness today. We need it. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. I'll be back tomorrow.