HAIKU

THE DISCOMFORT of the MRIs and the biopsies are behind me, but my smashed fingers remind me that I had an experience. It could have been worse had I not signaled that something was terribly wrong. As it is I got by with minor bruises, some scrapes and a diagonal cut reminiscent of how you'd make a plain radish into something decorative.

Tears flowed at the pain

Silent agony expressed

I won't press charges.

Remember the Q&A Journal I bought myself last August on one of Tim's Sunday Parents' Days? There's a question each day and places to answer for the next five years. Some of the questions this past week have been:

• What's the most valuable thing you own? (my grandmother's Regina music box)
• What famous living person would you like to meet for drinks? (still considering an answer to that one)
• What was your last credit card purchase? (Books for the Manor library)
• Who do you count on? (Before chemo, Bob; now, the kids.)
• What new word have you learned? (Our new neighbor across the hall is French and has the most delightful accent, even after living  in Glendale for 35 years. She told me her favorite red wine which is "like velvet on the tongue" and now my new word is "Chateauneuf du Pape".)

Yesterday's directive was "write a haiku about your day.  5 syllables/7syllables/5 syllables". Mine is pathetic and has no graceful flow whatsoever but it sums up our Saturday:
           On Sundays Tim comes
           Painting in Pomona calls
           So today he's here.
                             
Certainly nothing to brag about. Tim's helping his friend paint the newly purchased condo this Sunday. He came with Tulip yesterday. and took my grocery lists, returning with every single item. Someone taught that boy how to shop! Could it have been his mother? While he was gone, Tulip missed him and most of the time sat against the door awaiting Tim's return.

The Master has gone

On a search for provisions

Why did he leave me?

    
            §§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§

Company coming?

                 And your house is a big mess?

Just put on lipstick.

TULIPS

I'VE KNOWN PEOPLE who say that cut flowers remind them of funerals. Maybe it all has to do with childhood and I can't even recall the first funeral I attended, but I don't associate flowers with it particularly. Thank goodness!




When we meet for lunch,  Susie usually brings me a bouquet from her bountiful garden. She has a knack, not only for gardening, but for putting form and color together in informal arrangements that please me no end. Thank you, dear Susie!

Once in a while I yearn for a clutch of tulips. I rely on Trader Joe's to supply me when the urge strikes. There's something about the way that tulips rearrange themselves, seemingly during the night, that fascinates me. And did you know that they continue to grow once in water? Therefore, the arrangement gets taller and when the flowers droop to one side, I'm in heaven.

Now about the other Tulip......the Bedlington Terrier that's in Tim's life. It's an interesting situation in that the dog is owned by a friend who lives in an apartment that doesn't allow animals, so Tulip lives with Tim at night, but is picked up by the friend on his way to work at his dog grooming establishment. When Tim walks Tulip, they are continuously stopped by people who ask about the breed, never before having seen a Bedlington which for all the world, does resemble a little sheep. 


Forty-nine years ago, while Tim was in utero, we bought a full-grown Bedlington. Buddy came from a family of adults and didn't much like sharing attention with our children. He lasted three weeks in our household until we were forced to admit that it wasn't a good match and returned him to his former owners. I don't think we even asked for a refund, in the shame of our failure.

In the years she's lived with Tim, Tulip has barked only once. She's a most unusual being (don't we all say or at least think that about our children?) For instance, at Christmastime, Tim puts antique toys under his tree. To the side is a basket with Tulip's toys in it. With no training whatsoever, Tulip helps herself to her playthings, but never touches the other treasures. We're not altogether sure whether it's brilliance or possibly the other end of the intelligence scale. No matter, we love Tulip for who she is.


The poignant part is that Tim's friend has just purchased a condo. It's a place that allows animals.

In other words, Tulip will be going away. It makes me sad to think about it.

“Lamott is an unstoppable storyteller, whether writing about church-going with a sullen adolescent or reconciling with her late mother. She rages against the Iraq war but takes comfort from her sage-like Presbyterian minister, who says faith is not about how we feel; it is about how we live. ... Rule 1: We are all family. Rule 2: You reap exactly what you sow, that is, you cannot grow tulips from zucchini seeds. Rule 3: Try to breathe every few minutes or so. Rule 4: It helps beyond words to plant bulbs in the dark of winter. Rule 5: It is immoral to hit first.”

Anne Lamott

CANIS FAMILIARIS

"A house without either a cat or a dog is the house of a scoundrel."

                                                             - Portuguese Proverb

"If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater... suggest that he wear a tail."  

                                                                 ~Fran Lebowitz

"You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, `My God, you're RIGHT! I NEVER would've thought of that!'"

                                                            - Dave Barry

"A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk."  

                                                                  ~O.A. Battista

"Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? " 

                                                                    ~Robert Brault

"I named my dog Stay so I can say, "Come here, Stay.  Come here, Stay."  

                                                       ~Steven Wright

"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will

 ign

ore him." 

                                                    ~ Dereke Rita