Report of 25 May 2020
Good evening!
Eid Mubarak! May Allah's choicest blessings be upon you and yours.
Much of our furniture on the balcony is piled up on itself as we swept and mopped this morning. India has a plethora of hired help and many households have assistance with cooking and cleaning; with the lockdown, no help is coming - appropriately - and so we are doing all of it ourselves, as many in other countries do. It is meltingly hot - 41 degrees celsius or 105 degrees fahrenheit on 1 or 2 days - so we hurry up with the chores before the sun unleashes its midday glory.
I do appreciate having the sun, though. Many of us are in robust good moods because of the abundance of sunlight. I have lived in grey areas and been miserable, thus I appreciate getting into the sunlight. Just before I left for the U.S. for the first time, my father said, "Take a good look at the sunshine. You won't see it for another 2 years," and he was almost right.
We are well. Scott shaved his head last week with my help, as no barbers were open. He feels that by the time his hair grows back, a barber or 2 might have resumed the trade. I gave him an initial haircut and was very pleased with it myself, but the shave was the ultimate destination, so off went the hair. My late mother used to say that not everyone can be bald, that some folks have head-shapes that cannot rock baldness - I might be one of those. Scott, though, looks good and cool and comfortable.
The Banyan is good. I was at work last week and handled lots of cases, both patients and staff. With the heat, we are seeing many skin conditions - prickly heat, rashes, etc. - and all have to be treated. I tend to liberally prescribe the panacea, coconut oil. I also gave a talk on tuberculosis and COVID-19 (a repeat); folks from other sites joined us online and it was grand fun. The staff at the B are unfailingly eager to learn and are a joy to teach; Scott is perennially envious.
The bed that our late dancer used to occupy is now occupied by someone else. My eyes tend to mist up when I see that bed: I remember Ms. X, her lack of enthusiasm for my curls unruly; her love of old film music; her easy use of obscenities; her initial chattiness about her family; her asking if I was married (considered a rite of passage for women here, with spinsterhood viewed as a grand curse); and most especially her dancing. As I said during a talk once, I am heterosexual and happily married, and yet when I saw Ms. X dance, I perceived a happy sensuousness about her.
We grow with our patients. We grow old together, our hair greys, we acquire spectacles, and sometimes, we employees cremate or bury our patients. We miss them and I am grateful that they were with us, to give us all the joy of a well-placed obscenity or a mesmerizing dance.
Kovalam is also fine. I had to take a phone call today about a patient who has a pelvic fracture. We try to prevent falls in our patients with diet and exercise, and are not always successful. We are grateful that SMF Hospital's orthopedic surgeons are available to help us.
We spoke to our children during the week and that was nice. During one call, it was morning for them and there were plenty of yawns plus staying in bed; it reminded me of old times, when both children were little. That time flew. I also spoke to my Dad. There was a COVID fatality in the next street and he is being doubly careful.
It is, ultimately, a good life. We have done what we can.
Unw -
R
Eid Mubarak! May Allah's choicest blessings be upon you and yours.
Much of our furniture on the balcony is piled up on itself as we swept and mopped this morning. India has a plethora of hired help and many households have assistance with cooking and cleaning; with the lockdown, no help is coming - appropriately - and so we are doing all of it ourselves, as many in other countries do. It is meltingly hot - 41 degrees celsius or 105 degrees fahrenheit on 1 or 2 days - so we hurry up with the chores before the sun unleashes its midday glory.
I do appreciate having the sun, though. Many of us are in robust good moods because of the abundance of sunlight. I have lived in grey areas and been miserable, thus I appreciate getting into the sunlight. Just before I left for the U.S. for the first time, my father said, "Take a good look at the sunshine. You won't see it for another 2 years," and he was almost right.
We are well. Scott shaved his head last week with my help, as no barbers were open. He feels that by the time his hair grows back, a barber or 2 might have resumed the trade. I gave him an initial haircut and was very pleased with it myself, but the shave was the ultimate destination, so off went the hair. My late mother used to say that not everyone can be bald, that some folks have head-shapes that cannot rock baldness - I might be one of those. Scott, though, looks good and cool and comfortable.
The Banyan is good. I was at work last week and handled lots of cases, both patients and staff. With the heat, we are seeing many skin conditions - prickly heat, rashes, etc. - and all have to be treated. I tend to liberally prescribe the panacea, coconut oil. I also gave a talk on tuberculosis and COVID-19 (a repeat); folks from other sites joined us online and it was grand fun. The staff at the B are unfailingly eager to learn and are a joy to teach; Scott is perennially envious.
The bed that our late dancer used to occupy is now occupied by someone else. My eyes tend to mist up when I see that bed: I remember Ms. X, her lack of enthusiasm for my curls unruly; her love of old film music; her easy use of obscenities; her initial chattiness about her family; her asking if I was married (considered a rite of passage for women here, with spinsterhood viewed as a grand curse); and most especially her dancing. As I said during a talk once, I am heterosexual and happily married, and yet when I saw Ms. X dance, I perceived a happy sensuousness about her.
We grow with our patients. We grow old together, our hair greys, we acquire spectacles, and sometimes, we employees cremate or bury our patients. We miss them and I am grateful that they were with us, to give us all the joy of a well-placed obscenity or a mesmerizing dance.
Kovalam is also fine. I had to take a phone call today about a patient who has a pelvic fracture. We try to prevent falls in our patients with diet and exercise, and are not always successful. We are grateful that SMF Hospital's orthopedic surgeons are available to help us.
We spoke to our children during the week and that was nice. During one call, it was morning for them and there were plenty of yawns plus staying in bed; it reminded me of old times, when both children were little. That time flew. I also spoke to my Dad. There was a COVID fatality in the next street and he is being doubly careful.
It is, ultimately, a good life. We have done what we can.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu at
4:33 AM
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