Mornings are always hard

It was another morning when I woke up coughing and feeling really lousy. Lauren arrived around nine, with another nurse, Cher, and they helped me to feel more comfortable. Once I finish coughing I slowly begin to feel better, and by the time Lisa arrived to give me my massage at around eleven, I was feeling pretty good.

As always, the massage left me feeling relaxed and mellow. I thought I might sleep, but I rested for awhile, and then I heated up some Whole Foods leftovers from the other night. Marty was out, and Ann had called and said that she didn't think it was a good idea for her to come because she had a cold, so I was alone for part of the day. My friend Susan had said she was coming in the afternoon, so after I had some lunch I rested and napped a little until she arrived.

She brought some wonderful pastries from Whole Foods; she sat on my bed and we had the usual lapsang soochong tea that we both like, and snacked on pastries, and talked. She admired Oliver, who was looking much healthier than the last time she had seen him. He's gained back the weight he lost when he was at the worst of his thyroid disease, and all the hair has grown back on the big bald patch he had developed, and he is definitely looking very handsome. Susan's dog has been very sick and we talked about how only people who have animals understand how attached people can become to their pets. I know that when Gilbert was so sick two Christmases ago and the vet was preparing me that he might die, I was totally distraught, and I look at all the time since that he has been healthy as a gift. He is probably the sweetest cat I've ever had; he is so sensitive to my moods and when I'm feeling bad Gilbert is almost always cuddled up with me.

It's about eleven o'clock and I'm very tired. I think Marty and I will work on the Friday puzzle for awhile and then I'll see if I can get some sleep. I was up for awhile in the middle of the night last night listening to the rain--it was really pouring and it felt good to be lying snug in bed and hearing the storm. I think this spell of unseasonably cool weather is coming to an end--it would be nice to have a good weekend and maybe get out a little. And we really have to start planning the details of the trip to New York, or it's not going to happen.