I called mom on the way to work this morning to wish her good luck with her chemo today,
she got all motherly on me & said that she didn't like hearing me sounding so sick & that she didn't want me walking to work alone in the dark
I reassured her that the sky was beginning to illuminate behind the mountains in the east - the days are slowly getting longer & longer and on a day like this, where the sky was clear, that's when you can really tell the difference.
& as far as being sick goes, I told my mom not to worry (she was the one getting chemo - & she's worried about me? goodness!). I told her that my new boss is a mom too & that I trusted her to send me away if she thought I was too ill to work today.
By the time I made my 25 minute trek across town to our office building, I wanted to collapse. I walked in & sure enough, as soon as I said hello, my boss was on the phone trying to find me a doctor in town. She called the other woman working in our office & told her that she'd be taking me to the doctors this morning.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to cry out of gratitude.
This woman cares,
I'm not used to that.
I hated my most recent job, hated it.
I hated how it was all about money, all about sales & budgets.
I hated how even if you were sick, you were expected to report to work unless you could find a sub to cover your shift.
This woman shut down the entire office just to make sure that my health was seen to.
I wanted to cry
but I didn't.
Instead I said "thank you".
I think she could sense the gratitude in my eyes,
she responded "I'd hope that someone would do this for my daughter if she was sick".
& with that I was off to the doctors and the pharmacy with a heart overflowing with appreciation. Had I been merely turned away, I would've spent the day in bed - I still don't really understand how to navigate the bus system & I don't know any doctors in town.. I would have felt helpless.
But I didn't because I was taken to the doctors.
She cares, and that means the world to me.
The doctor told me it's likely a virus (everyone in our house & around town seems to be catching this) and recommended some medicines to help me deal with the symptoms. When I was dropped off at home after going to the pharmacy, the sun was out and the 20-something degree air felt warm. I took some pills which seemed to help & decided that what I needed most was to get some fresh air & to treat my soul to a bit of sunshine so I pulled on a light jacket & went for a walk.
I didn't know exactly where I was going, but I knew that I was headed west, towards the water.
I passed by a school where children were going in circles around the playground on skis.. on skis wearing t-shirts! No jackets, t-shirts! But I soon understood as I felt my body temperature rise with the sunshine & simple act of walking.
I wandered about almost hoping to spot another moose - I saw one this morning on our way home from the doctors.
Here the moose seem more like decorative lawn ornaments than like the enormous, powerful creatures that they truly are. Laying about like ceramic deer figurines we see in neighbors of the lower 48, you'd think someone had placed them around town if you saw where the showed up - by the bank drive-through or planted near a parking lot at the cemetery in the middle of town. It's unreal. Truly unreal.
But - no moose. Not this time.
Eventually I'd made enough right turns for the bay to come into view.
Wow.
Most days it seems a haze or clouds hang over the city & mountains, but not today.
Across the bay the sleeping lady mountain was clearly in view.
I'd heard rumors about this woman who fell asleep waiting for her lover to return but this was my first time seeing her myself. I was very impressed by her loyalty & found her legend to resemble that of the sleeping bear dunes in Michigan although my memory is a bit blurry and the only thing they might actually have in common is the whole "sleeping" thing.
Just to the left of the sleeping lady I saw what appeared to be mountain-shaped clouds only to realize that they were truly mountains -in- the clouds. The peaks of the Alaska range floated like a castle in the sky, I'd never seen anything like it before. The mountains in Rwanda were so rounded, the mountains here though are anything but. Very jagged, they pierce the sky with their sharp white peaks. It was beautiful & left me standing in awe on the costal trail as others passed by on their cross country skis.
When clouds started to appear in the sky, I decided it was time to turn around & head home. Here I feel guilty spending precious moments of sunshine inside when I know my heart craves the light just as much as the rest of my body. So I made my way back across town & followed the eastern mountains home again. The rest of the day was spent curled up on the couch with my book soaking up the remaining sun through the window or in bed, trying to sleep away this bug.
I think it's time to take some nyquil & call it a night.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be well enough to make it back to work again, fingers crossed.
xo
the alaska range
the sleeping lady
No comments:
Post a Comment