These boots…

I’ve been looking at this art a lot lately. Sometimes I’m more drawn to it than other times, rather like people I suppose. You know how certain friends drift in and out of your life, and your relationships have ebbs and flows — sometimes you can’t get enough of each other and talk multiple times a day, while at other times you go weeks without speaking then, if you’re lucky, pick back up right where you left off. That’s how you know a true friend, IMHO. The picking back up right where you left off part. Love that.

This little gem hangs in my bathroom, right above the light switch. Sometimes when I’m in a giant hurry, as opposed to the regular-sized hurry, I knock it clean off the wall as I grapple for the light switch, dashing to and fro through the house, delivering bundles of clean laundry, exchanging tennis shoes for flip flops, and going about my daily domestic business.

I glance at this little gem every day, sometimes more than once, and in the heat of the battle that was Nancy vs Breast Cancer in the qualifying match, then Nancy vs Mycobacterium in the main event, it made me smile. The battle was long and arduous, and any little thing that propelled me forward or gave me pause to chuckle was most welcome.

In retrospect, I see that the simple yet sassy message on my little piece of art reminded me that I had what I needed for the battles at hand. I was well-equipped with research; statistics; drug therapy information; most excellent surgeons; first-class hospital care (except for the part in which I got an infection, that is); an army of friends & family to help with kids and meals and dogs and errands; and comprehensive medical insurance to cover most of the nearly $300K I’ve racked up so far.

Inspiration comes in many forms. For some, it is found in nature. As I type this, I see the gentle motion of the lake across the street, calm waters moving peacefully just beyond the sign that says: “DANGER! Beware of Alligators.” As I glance upon the calm yet gator-infested water, I hear birdsong of many varieties. While the little birds that perch on the peak of our roof drive Harry the dog completely insane, I like their song and welcome their feathered presence into the hustle & bustle of my busy day. Hearing the peep! peep! peep! of baby birds in a nest, buried high and deep in the Italian cypress trees along my back fence, made me smile and reminded me that life’s not so bad, even with cancer and infection and all that mess.

I suspect those babies have grown up and left the nest, as it happens quickly in the bird community. I haven’t heard the sweet little peeps in several weeks, nor have I seen parental bird figures flitting in and out of the cypress to care for their young. The only evidence that the fledgling family was even there is the one long string, raffia-like, that must have been used in the nest-building process. It sticks out of the cypress about 8 inches, and while I always assumed it was leftover building material, it strikes me now that perhaps the industrious nest-builders placed it there on purpose, to make it easier to find the nest from outside. The 3 cypress trees along the fence are identical in appearance, and the nest was buried deep within, not at all visible from the outside. Perhaps the momma bird told the daddy bird to leave a piece visible from the outside so they’d never have to stop for directions.

Or maybe it’s just a fluke.

So much in life is just that, a fluke.