Lent wk 2

It was sunny but very cold yesterday, and it’s milder today but still not particularly warm.  These chilly looking crocuses were sent to me from some friends in NY, where they popped up in the neighbourhood.  Looking forward to a milder and warmer week ahead.  Jerry is lying down now after being a little hyperactive.  He ate, then tried chasing his ball, chewed on a toy, nibbled on Don’s elbow, ran around the house and bounced around quite a lot.  He’s tired himself out for a bit, so I’ll just be quiet and not wake him up.  Don is still struggling with pain in his legs and walking slowly and painfully around.  Some of the medications work better than others, but they cause some messy side effects, so he’s being cautious about how they’re used.  It seems that baseball is starting up again, as I see that there are games popping up in the reminders on TV… so that will take care of him for a few more months!

I’m in the droopy, not really hungry stage of post-chemo.  I fell asleep last night and just didn’t want to wake up this morning.  I went back for a nap this afternoon, which sort of helped.  Annoyingly, I’m not hungry, although I’m reminding myself to eat stuff.  I’m still hooked up to my IV, which has been running now for almost 8 hours.  I’ve still got another hour or so to go — we can’t be precise with the timing, since it’s all gravity induced — and I’m trying to think of something to eat that’s not too heavy and will stay in place!

So a few weeks ago I got a call from a charity asking if I had any clothes/household items to donate.  They will collect tomorrow, if I leave a bag at the door.  It was only this afternoon that I finally sorted out what I’d donate, and I packed up a number of oversized items that I haven’t even looked at in more than 5 years.  That took me about 15 minutes, followed by half an hour of rest because I was bending over quite a bit.  There are some places that I’ll donate to without hesitation, but then there are a few that I no longer support.  One place gets all its stock through donations, is staffed by over 70% volunteers, but they have been increasing the prices so that used goods now cost 20%+ over the new items (often the original tags are still on the items, so you can see that it’s gone from $1.25 to $2.00, which is a massive leap.)  They allege that their profits go to charity, but the portion keeps dropping from 100% down to “some” right now… it’s disappointing, to say the least.  I’m more cautious now about where I direct my contributions.  I’m finding that there are a lot of things that make me realize that I’m quite idealistic.  I’m not sure if that’s a serious flaw, or just naïveté or a reason to be disappointed in human greed.  I have this belief that if you’re committed to helping others, then that should be your primary objective, and not lining your own pockets.  We’ve talked about my socialistic leanings often enough that I don’t need to raise them again, but it seems that they go quite deeply into my psyche.

I’m going to make a cup of something hot, and get something to eat… I think that some cereal might be a good start, and I’ll work out details later.  Jerry is snoring on my toes, so I’ll have to wake him… Good night!