I like when I read other people's Thursday Thirteens, but I don't know that I have thirteen things worth blogging about (for my whopping two readers!)
Or maybe it will be Thursday 3x3, three related sets of three things. That's more likely.
Set A: the parents
1. I am tired of parental health issues. Especially as I am far far away. My mother healed just fine from her lumpectomy. But my father ended up (completely unrelatedly)in the ICU for pulmonary embolisms. He's home now, recovering well although still on oxygen for any major exertion.
2. It is entirely in character that my father insisted on having breakfast before going to the emergency room. (When I told a friend about that last item, she said "So, what you're telling me is, you're related to your father?" I can't really argue the point validly.)
3. I feel fortunate that I talk to my parents frequently. That if my father had been 10 minutes later to the ER, which the doctors say would have been too late, at least there wouldn't have been lots left unsaid.
Set B, in which I hang by my heels
uno) I am sort-of taking an aerial dance class. Which is fun and challenges my brain. It's more a mental workout than a physical one, although I do get physical exercise. I've been working on technique and tricks for trapeze for several years, so the concept of playing on equipment and just trying things is somewhat liberating. But simultaneously intimidating. I am not very coordinated. I don't feel fluid and dancer-like; I feel bumbling and klutzy. The aerial dance class is at ... surprise... a dance studio. With other dance classes. Walking in there is really kind of neat. Full of people, full of energy. A buzz in the air. Kids running around. I can't quite describe it, but I like the vibe.
dos) Why the heck doesn't fitness transfer from one discipline to another? After September's fabulous hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies, my running got ignored for a few weeks. I feel a little like I'm starting over. I didn't run in September, although I hiked >60 miles in a week.
tres) My trapeze act is slowly coming together. I haven't been working on the act itself much lately, more on technique in general. I've had a few very intense classes recently and I feel like I am making progress. I don't have a natural aptitude for aerial arts. I don't have a gymnastic or dance background; I'm not fluid in my movements, or generally talented for the trapeze. But I feel like I'm getting better.
Set C, where October is a roller-coaster
i) October started out wonderfully. We "celebrated" my two-year surgiversary -- the two-year anniversary of my shoulder surgery. Which I celebrate because of how far I have come. We had a lovely day, a pleasant long stroll and a fabulous dinner, then joined a friend who was celebrating her birthday at a local bar. Much laughter and raucous enjoyment was had.
ii) and the following day, our darling old gray cat got sick. I'd promised her (and ourselves) that she'd been through enough with her spinal degeneration that I wouldn't put her through another major treatment regime or maker her live in pain. She basically just went into a full-body shutdown over 24 hours; by the time we got to the vet, the decision was obvious. It still sucked. Still sucks. I miss that little gray ghost. Stupid darn cats, causing us to get attached.
iii) that was just the first weekend of October. The rest of the month has been a crazy set of bumper-cars. The parental worries. Jury duty. Getting caught in a downpour; seeing a rare rainbow in the city.
