Ode to a Foot

Oh Foot! I am attached to thee.
Yet I am footloose?
And fancy free?

Foot, you have 5 toes
Face, why do you have
only one nose?

Foot you smell like shoe.
Shoe, you smell like sock,
which is not new. Pew.

Foot, I think you are neat.
But what is better,
Is that I have two feet!

The Robin exists and I am filled with hope.

I am filled with hope. Hope springs eternal. I think about this and ponder on the phrase. Hope - Springs - Eternal. I have hope, spring is near and eternal. Hard to explain really, but spring feels eternal. It is the season of hope and is thus always within the hopeful. Therefore, I am compelled to love spring and remain hopeful.

I have a book at home called "If I played My Life: Poems by people with schizophrenia". The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta - Calgary Chapter was heavily involved with the publication of this book, which was published in 1998 by Bayeux Arts Incorporated, who have an office here in Calgary. I present to you a poem which strikes me deeply.

Man's Works
I am to a healthy woman
As a fire hydrant is to a tree
The little yellow metal
Staunch standing water bearer
Short arms extended
Stands and waits while behind it
The Poplar branch
Births, has seasons
A woman emotes
Has suns and shadows
While I'm man made
A technical success
Who stands and waits
To feel, to become
If someone taps me, I respond
But life's sap doesn't rip
From my roots
To touch the sun and sky,
Through leaves which work
Radiant energy into life,
As my loving arms
Would hold a husband and child
Or my idea-filled mind would change lives.
I exist as a hydrant
Limitedly useful, but still.
-Elizabeth MacDonell

Now you may wonder why I would consider to use this particular poem in a blog about hope. It is very sad and more then a little tragic. Yet, when I read this poem and consider the strength it takes for this woman to be every day, to know her illness and still choose to live with it, I am filled with hope. The last line "Limitedly useful, but still." is silently triumphant. It is a banner and a cry and so very powerful. It says to me "I am not what I want to be, but I still am. I exist and thus am a being of substance".

I am inspired. I saw the Robin today (actually I saw two of them). Cheerful birds who wing their way around the treetops; collecting springs of twigs for their nests. Hope springs eternal!


P.S. 2 kitties x 4 feet each = 8 paws in total. 8 paws pounding the floor at mach chicken is very noisy. We don't live in a house - we live in a race track.

I can hear a Robin.

Somewhere in a tree very near to my house is a Robin. I know this because I can hear it. I cannot see it, but it taunts me nonetheless saying "Spring is coming" "Spring is coming".

This evening my husband and I actually got to go for a walk together with Keira. It was quite lovely to spend the time with him. The past few weeks (as every semester end is) have been nuts. Usually it is one or the other of us who takes Keira for a walk while the other is making supper or doing homework. This last semester has been undeniably the most challenging.

Half way through this semester I switched from caring from "lil'peanut" to just "little"... I am now on maternity. I have been getting all of the baby snuggles I could possibly want in and it is wonderful! I have been present for three separate births now; one cesarean section and two spontaneous vaginal births. Isn't spontaneous a funny word to use for that? I mean it makes complete sense, it refers to a birth that required no assistance. To my mind's eye though, every time someone says this I have this vision of "Voila! Look, a baby! Isn't that nice, just like that". It just kind of takes away all of the HARD work that went into that birth. Funny.

I thought it would be just the babies that I loved about this rotation, but I think I love the families just as much. I have worked with a number of different cultures and some really fantastic people. It's really quite amazing the kind of relationships you build in only 8 hours.

Anyway, seems these days that no matter where I turn there are babies. Baby shower for a friend, friend's babies who are no longer babies, and a new baby I have yet to meet, but already love. I think it is providence that a friend should have forwarded me the following link. I need to finish this degree first (and have a few babies of our own!) but then I think I am going to go for it. Hopefully they will have the program up and running by then. So, just think: This time next year I am finished my degree! That's only 12 months away...

In other news, regarding our two feline furry babies; they both have colds. Again. Sticky green snot is flying fast and thick (yes, disgusting isn't it?) at our house. But, we took them both to the vet and they now have prescriptions. So hubby and I get to pill the cats, twice a day, for 30 days. Yes, 30 DAYS!!! These infections in kitties can lay dormant for quite some time, so we are really going to try and knock it out of them. To all those who read this blog, I am asking respectfully that you consider making a donation at your local blood bank...because we are going to need transfusions!