Today's Yuck and Yippee

There was a book (and then 2 movies, which I never saw) called "Cheaper by the Dozen."  What I remember most is that the dad in the book took photos of his family doing things and then he created what he called "time motion studies."  With 14 people in a house, I guess they needed a way to save time!

At any rate, the thing that stuck with me (for 40 years!) was how they figured out to take faster showers.  In college I used their method to get clean during TV commercials, especially when our apartment was cold!  Wash hair in kitchen sink during one break, rest of washing during another.  Having never owned a "soaking tub" or anything else that allowed my whole self to be immersed once I was over 4 1/2 feet tall, it's always been showers, the shorter the better.  And I didn't particularly care; it was just part of getting ready for the day/going out for an evening.

Even right after my mastectomy, when the surgeons told me to go home and take a shower because it would make me feel human again, it was so much trouble (balancing drain bulbs and trying to not "scrub" certain places) that it made it still more of a "get in and get out and get it over with" procedure.  I even started showering in our SOT (shower over tub, in real estate lingo) bathroom instead of the one in our own room, which is a stall shower, because at least I could maneuver myself around a little easier.

Then sometime in the fall I took full possession of the "big" (Andrew's) bathroom when he moved to Fairlawn.  Rod installed a hand-held shower head for me and I moved in my shampoos, conditioners, girly poufy thing, razor - the whole shebang.  And I started to love the shower.  I now spent a whole TEN minutes in there - it was awesome!

But fate intervened in the form of this ridiculous tape/gauze thing that's been glued to my midsection since January 4, and now it's 1)wash hair in kitchen sink or leaning over tub 2)wash face in sink 3)wash lower body in tub with handheld shower head 4)"wash" upper body (waist to neck, inclusive) with wipes from CVS that are supposed to clean you without needing a rinse.  They mostly work, but still................A wise woman (Iris) told me not to expect to have the bandage removed when I go this Wednesday to the surgeon, so I won't be disappointed.  So, I've changed my hoping to just getting the bandaged changed out for a new one, since the tape is curling and sticking to everything I put on, and it's getting a little itchy under there. (If you've ever had a cast on, you know what I mean.) I daren't even hope for a shower; if I were superstitious I'd buy out CVS's supply of wipes in the theory that the more prepared you are for something, the less likely it is to happen:)

But where would I like to be on Wednesday night (maybe ALL of Wednesday night?) - in the shower!

ON THE OTHER HAND,

Friday night was Shabbat Shirah and although I wasn't up to singing with the choir, I was still able to sing many, many favorite songs from my place in the pew.  There was so much sadness about the recent death of Debbie Friedman, an iconic Jewish music composer/performer, but there was also so much joy singing her songs and those of others.  It was such a warm, wonderful evening inside while there was still about a foot of snow outside, left over from two storms we had within two weeks of each other.

This morning our family ventured into Chinatown to try to find a replacement for our favorite dim sum restaurant, which Rod and I had been going to since before we were married, and which had closed without warning a week before a planned visit for my birthday, so, way back in June.  Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, this morning it was open (had opened on Friday,) with a few of the wait staff and "cart ladies" we had so carefully cultivated over the years still working there.  I actually got a hug from one of our favorite waitresses, Josie!

The food was unchanged (i.e. delicious) and everything we wanted came by on the carts.  I can't remember the last time I smiled so much.  Over the years, we've introduced a lot of people to this place and even though we hadn't brought anyone with us this morning, we decided it was okay that our nuclear family was "helping" the place re-open!

On our way to drop Andrew off in Fairlawn, we stopped at the Kosher Nosh to pick up some "supplies" - thin-sliced (fatty) pastrami, pickled green tomatoes, apricot "shoe leather" (okay, fruit roll), rye bread, kishka (stuffed derma) and gravy, tongue slices......................we dropped Andrew off with his own supply of pastrami and rye and headed home. All this before noon!

Tomorrow Ari goes off to sing at an MLK event with his choir and Alex goes back to school, but Rod has off so I'm going to hang on to my "long weekend" as long as possible.