I Missed It!

It occurred to me today that I completely missed an anniversary of sorts — the fourteenth anniversary of the removal of a brain tumor.  Kind of a big day in this little woman’s life.  I’ve never before missed marking the day – July 6th.  It’s now seven days past; I only just remembered this morning.

I’ve been distracted recently, though.  Distracted by cumulonimbus clouds that form themselves into sculptures of dragons and tall-hatted faces, giving our normally flat desert a sense of height and depth which keeps me fascinated for whole hours at a time.  I’ve been distracted by bunnies that hold tea parties in the yard across the street, twitching ears at one another and lunching on the little purple flowers that make the mistake of hanging low like dainty bunny dishes.  Distracted by the shape of sleeping doggies down the hallway leading to my writing room.  By Chaucer … and a tin of Medjool dates.  Yes.  I’ve been distracted of late.

It’s good I forgot my anniversary, though.  It means I’ve finally overcome the trauma.  I’ve at last reconciled myself with the little holdovers from brain surgery — making certain my legs are gathered correctly under me before heading down a flight of stairs; touching the chair with the backs of my knees before allowing them to fold downward, lest my backside ends on the floor rather than my intended target; combing my hair in such a way as to cover the scar that sits on my head like a girl’s headband; allowing myself grace and mercy for those small moments when I forget a word or I name something incorrectly.  The other day, I noticed our rose garden in full bloom.  Look at all the loves, I said to my husband.  I meant, flowers, but nevertheless, the word my brain selected was fairly appropriate.

So it’s all good.  Some things are okay to forget.

Still, when I remembered this morning, I made certain to send a kind thought to the brain surgeon who saved my life and helped me — after fourteen years — to continue to remain a member of a very select group of people whom I refer to as the “True Brainiacs.”

(If you’d like more information about brain tumors and such, see the ABTA tab at the left side of this page.)