Jessie came out today to pick up some grill baskets to cook fish in over a fire. Their family is going to go stay at a state park on the beach in a cabin which is not camping, but will be fun for all and a bit easier. It's spring break. Lily and Lauren have taken the kids to Lauren's parents' house which is always a fun time because they have so many animals to love on. Goats and chickens and dogs and I don't even know what all. And they are generous people who love to spoil the almost-grandchildren. There are always good stories from these trips. I believe that when they get back, Jason is going to take the kids to Washington, DC. This will be a very different adventure from hanging out with the baby goats and playing in the pool and hot tub, obviously. I commend Jason for planning and carrying out such trips.
Anyway, when Jessie came over we went out to the garden for a quick look-around and damn, if the rose bush I just pruned a little while ago isn't blooming again already. That rose does not ever give up. I was surprised and pleased.
Poor Jessie is sick with what seems to be a combination of her yearly allergies and whatever August had. On top of that, she worked two overnights in a row and as I've said before, I don't know how she does it. I don't know how Lily does it either. I did some side-hustles when my kids were growing up and oh yeah, was in nursing school when Hank and May were little but Lily has a full-time job and three children in three different schools and Jessie's job is super demanding.
Women get no credit for all they do. Well, we are quick to say, "Being a mother is the hardest job in the world!" while not even considering giving a woman compensation for doing that job. And even if partners are very involved and aware of all the work it takes to keep a home running, let's face it- women still usually carry the bulk of it all on their backs.
As Erica Jong (remember her?) wrote once, "When the baby cries, it is the woman whose breasts leak."
Or something like that.
It has been raining all day long with intermittent thunder and lightening. It rained yesterday too, but mostly just a drizzle. No worries on making sure the potatoes and tomatoes recently planted in the garden get enough water. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow. I feel quite sure that the bamboo is coming up and I need to get out there and see what's going on and start kicking. You can't have blooming roses without bamboo plotting its annual attempt at a take-over.
Tomorrow is my mammogram and then the appointment with the realtor to look at the house. I'm far more excited to see the house than I am to get a mammogram. It never really hurts when they squish my bosoms and I am not modest in the least about the techs handling them and I always appreciate their gentle touch and encouraging words so much. You have to be a special kind of woman to do that job and do it well. And so I'm not worried about that aspect of a mammogram. For me, it is the worry that there will be the dreaded call-back. "The doctor would like you to come back in so we can get a few more images."
Fuck. Is there any place in the world where the radiology doctor looks at the images before the woman leaves so that if there's anything suspicious, they can get what they need right then?
I don't know but I do know that every woman has this same fear and for good reason. Over 300,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the US. I am sure that some of you have been through that and also certain that every one of us knows and quite possibly loves someone who's been through this particular disease.
I'm just a big ol' party on a page tonight, aren't I?
I'm sorry. But this is where my mind is going at the moment.
To add the cherry to the top of the cowgirl (thank you, Tom Robbins), the kidney stone kept me awake for quite awhile last night. It is not, and I repeat NOT, the sort of pain that sent me to the nearest facility offering IV morphine. But it did wake me up and kept me that way for awhile. I didn't even have to get out of bed though and eventually got back to sleep. However, I don't want to feel it at all. I do not want to be reminded it's there.
I will say that seventy years of life have told me that it doesn't matter in the least what I wish or want when it comes to things like kidney stones.
Time to make supper.
Tonight's menu:
Leftover Soup and Leftover Shrimp Salad.
The soup came out far better than I thought it would. The white beans gave it a nice creaminess and the vegetables seemed to want to be there. The shrimp salad, which I expected to be as delicious as it always is, was.
I'll let you know tomorrow what I thought about the house.
We shall see.
Love...Ms. Moon
Diagnostic Imaging for almost immediate results. I'm not sure if they are regional or national but it would be worth you looking into it. I've kept going there for years for mammograms, both because they have nice, efficient techs and the radiologist there on site. After the procedure you go back and sit in the little room where you left your upper clothes and within a few minutes the tech comes back with results.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your report on the lake house.
Stone begone!
I discovered today that there is a radiologist on site so if something looks iffy, they can look at it and ask for more film then.
DeleteLake house. Yes. I will be writing about that in a few minutes.
Mine do that,but it's mainly to determine that the mammogram was clear enough to read. You still get a callback when the doctor studies it if there's anything to recheck.
ReplyDeleteMammos hurt fiercely when you're small, and all the skin on your chest is pulled. That would be me
And me. But they did find a cancer once & took out a divot. So thankful! Barbara from Houston
DeleteExactly on the techs making the call on whether they got a good shot or not.
DeleteMy bosoms have been so thoroughly nursed by four children who each wanted at least two years apiece that there is not a whole lot of connective tissue in them.
Barbara- glad they found that cancer.
Camping in a cabin is camping! The state parks here with cabins are booked a year in advance.
ReplyDeleteYes. Same here with the state parks and cabins. However, there is a day or week or something where Florida residents get to "go first" to reserve one and Vergil had it planned to the second of when to call.
DeleteOn behalf of mankind, I feel that I should challenge your assertion that "women still usually carry the bulk of it all on their backs". We men have some pretty demanding tasks to undertake - rarely acknowledged by women. For example, we have to keep up to date with a range of sports - gathering knowledge that will be vital if we are to maintain good relations with our male friends. Also - we have to scratch our balls every five minutes and frequently fart (trump!) like silverback gorillas in order to mark our territory.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud at this comment. Love the humor and smiles this blog brings to me.
DeletePlease forgive me, Mr. P., for not including this information in my post. Also, you men are generally the ones who have to take out the dead animals that cats have brought into the house. I can do it and will do it if Mr. Moon is gone but by golly, I'd much rather he do it.
DeleteSusan- I am glad.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. My last mammogram was a bit nerve wracking because she took picture after picture, repositioning and trying again. She was very open about the area she was trying to make sure she got. She also told me point blank that the doctor would want previous films for comparison before issuing a report. It took nearly a week to finally get that 'all clear' call. I was quietly dying inside for the first week of February. I don't know that the fear ever entirely goes away.
ReplyDeleteGod. So, so nerve-wracking. I'm sorry you had to go through the breast cancer experience in 2008 and I am sorry that you have to feel such anxiety with every subsequent visit these days. I am sure you did feel like you were dying. And no, I doubt the fear ever leaves you entirely.
DeleteMay all be well with the mammo and also with the lake house, whatever well turns out to be in the latter case.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...
DeleteI wish that too.
Everytime I've had a mammogram the tech checks the images and if she need more pics she comes right back and does them immediately, apparently that's how they do it here. Good luck with yours. I hope the lake house is beautiful. That rose certainly is.
ReplyDelete"When the baby cries it's the woman whose breasts leak" so my daughter did the feeding and changing, burping etc, but my son in law stepped up and did shopping and laundry and vacuuming and dishes, even a fair bit of the cooking and once the babies were weaned he shared in their bottle feeds and nappy changes and other care too. Ditto younger son with his twin daughters.
Yes, that's what they do here too, but the tech is only looking for readable film, I believe.
DeleteI am sure that both of your sons were extremely helpful in both the running of the house and in the caring for the babies.
Same happens in your family I'm sure, I read the respect you all have for each other everyday.
ReplyDeleteBoth husbands did indeed do a good amount of childcare and making sure that the house ran as smoothly as possible but I think it is very hard for a woman to feel as if things are fifty-fifty.
DeleteI think my DIL is feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility of working and taking care of very young children right now. My son is an excellent dad (he took off the other week to take care of both kids during school break while mom worked) and has no trouble changing diapers etc. but, as he says, I leave for work at 6 am so how much more can I do? As for my mamogram, over here they take the x-rays and about 15 minutes later a doctor comes into to do whatever else he/she has to do and I get my results right away, thank goodness! I think the waiting is probably half the problem!
ReplyDeleteI am sure she is! And of course if her husband has to go to work at six, then he can't be the one to get the kiddos ready for daycare and take them or do those other morning things and that time of day can be rife with difficulty. Getting the children awake, dressed, fed, in the car seats, and driven to their schools is not easy at all. Throw in feeding and dressing yourself and you're trying to do five hours work in less than one.
DeleteThe way your system works re: the mammograms sounds wonderful.
Excited about the house. Happy the next time you write the mammogram will be history. That rose is a wonder. Hope Jessie feels better quickly. I wish I could magically zap that kidney stone.
ReplyDeleteI do not think you would swoon over the loveliness of this house, dear Mitchell. But Glen loves it so...
DeleteJessie did feel better today and off they went to the beach!
I would be so happy if you could zap this damn stone.
When I had my annual mammogram in December I had a tech from hell. It wasn't that she was rough, she wasn't, but she was deep into conspiracy theories due to the drone sightings going on at the time. The first thing out her mouth as I walked in had nothing to do about the procedure--instead, she says, "Aren't you afraid of the drones?" Um, no, I said I wasn't. That didn't stop her. She went on and on about them--how she couldn't sleep, why wasn't the government telling us what was going on, why were they spying on her. The ultimate statement she just had to share as I was getting ready to leave: "If we're all going to be killed tomorrow, you didn't even need this mammogram!"
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I will be going to a different facility next time.
Hoping your experience is better and that the visit to the potential house goes well.
Oh my!
DeleteOh, Mary! What an experience! Was there any way you could have spoken to her supervisor or someone up the chain about what happened? That just sounds like Crazy Pants Talk. And so very inappropriate.
DeleteWhen I went in for my last mammogram and ultrasound because I'd had a consistent pain in the same spot for weeks, they did the analysis right then and a doctor came in to talk to me before I left which was really nice. Turned out to be nothing and eventually the pain went away.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go camping on the beach in a cabin and grill fish over a fire and I want someone else to plan it and just invite me along.
We need rain. We were supposed to get some Saturday night and Sunday but nary a drop.
Oh, and my friend and neighbor has breast cancer. Done her chemo and her surgery is today. It's only in one breast but she's having them take both as a preventive measure. Doesn't want to go through this again.
That is a very sensible way to get a mammogram done.
DeleteJessie and Vergil should have a terrific time with those crazy boys the next few days. And Glen was laughing because Jessie was so sure they'd catch fish that she borrowed those grills. That tickled him.
I completely understand why your friend would want to just go ahead and have both breasts removed if she had to have one. But oh, the idea of it all is so overwhelming to me. She must be very, very brave.
I was lucky to be at home with my kids until they were in school and then I worked part time in school libraries so I had the same schedule as they did. I'm glad that my sons do a lot of the work in the home these days. They didn't get that from their dad. It's a much better sharing of what needs to be done and in some cases, they do more.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the mammogram, Mary!
My son-in-law and ex-son-in-law were both (and still are) very good about taking the responsibility of the children on. Things are changing.
DeleteOur radiologists do look at the pictures before the patients leave, but even then they might get called back. Breasts are complicated and sometimes they might see something on the edge of a picture and want patients back, just to be sure. I find mammos to be quite painful and I hate having my boobs squished. The techs (I work with them) all know me and know that I don't suffer in silence:)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading what you thought of the house.
So do you scream and cuss when you get your mammos? Before or after you take a breath and hold it?
DeleteThanks for the reminder about how reading the images more thoroughly can reveal things not caught on the first go-round.
There is some yelling and swearing, I ain't gonna lie:)
DeleteBest of luck with both! I went through several years of the callbacks for more images before they decided to do ultrasounds as well. Apparently my boobs are dense, better than being mentally dense I guess. The facility I go to does have you wait a few minutes while the radiologist reviews and you get an ok before you go.
ReplyDeleteXoxo
Barbara
I always wonder why they can't just do ultrasounds to begin with? So much less radiation and it seems as if it must reveal more than the regular process but I really do not know. I'm glad that they include the ultra sound in your appointments.
DeleteGood luck with the 'gram and with the house viewing. I'll be very interested to read what you both thought!
ReplyDeleteAnd you know I will share my thoughts on both!
DeleteI thought all M-grams were read and reviewed on the day of the appointment. That has been my experience.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like the house. I do love the porch with the water view.
I believe that they are leaning more towards the reviewing of the images right after the scans.
DeleteGood luck with both the viewing and the mammogram. I have had quite a few of these over the years (and am a bit dirty because they NEVER find anything but dense, fibrous breasts - it was my ultrasound that found the cancers) and most are good but some technicians just don't have the touch. I had my annual one last week and it was H-E-double hockey-sticks. Good thing is that they take a finite amount of time and no more.
ReplyDeleteBack to me wondering why they don't just do ultrasounds as a regular part of the procedure for everyone? A lot of women have very dense breast tissue. I'm sorry it hurts you so much.
DeleteGood lord you have a lot going on!
ReplyDelete