“I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen.”
We have sun. I even opened the front door to let the warmth stream. The cat is lying in the sunlight. Cats know how to be comfortable. It is still chilly, in the 30’s, but will get warmer, low 40’s, toward the afternoon.
My heat has started blasting. It is time to shut the front door. Maddie won’t mind. She’s here with me. Henry is upstairs. He had a tough night. He threw up a couple of times and was so restless he was on and off the couch and on and off my bed. Around 2:30, I was thinking to take him to the emergency vet. I looked on-line at vet sites most of which said to watch the dog, check for dehydration, and if the vomiting continues to take the dog to the vets. He seems better this morning and ate some chicken. I’ll keep an eye on him the whole day.
I’m still limping though my knee hurts less. My fractured arm is just about healed. I only wear the brace toward the evening after using my arm all day. Such are my trials and tribulations.
I was once a candy striper. My uniform was a white blouse and a striped pink and white jumper. The New England San was the hospital where I volunteered. It was also the hospital where I was born. We’d all meet first then get our jobs for the day. Sometimes I delivered flowers and mail to the patients. Other times I brought stuff to the lab. I even worked in the gift shop. My stint only lasted a few months. I didn’t enjoy it. Being a candy striper helped me decide I would never want to be a nurse.
When I was in college, I had the same job every summer and during Christmas vacations. I worked in the Hyannis post office. The money was good, and I was usually busy so the time went quickly. Mostly I sorted first class mail. On weekends I sometimes worked parcel post. I got to toss packages into huge canvas bags. That was my favorite part. I also sorted newspapers and magazines. If it got slow, I’d stop and read the magazines until I got noticed. I actually liked working in the post office. I was even offered a full time job just before my senior year in college. I declined.
I saw a new flower in the garden. It is another yellow daffodil. I also noticed several hyacinths peeking out of their greenery. I can see the tops of their bumpy buds. The day lilies are above ground. Every morning brings something new in the front garden. Despite the cold, the flowers are preparing for their spring debuts. That brings a bit of elation, a bit of joy.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 9, 2018 at 11:04 am
Kat, so somewhere across the ocean I was doing the exact same job at Christmas. For two years I worked at the Post Office in Epsom, rolling in around 4 am to deal with the mail bulked for my route and out on to a bike by 7 am to deliver cards and such to those who were anxiously waiting.
Back in the day we delivered mail twice a day and there was a large canteen waiting to refill us with a full breakfast before we hit the pavement for a second time. I enjoyed the work and really liked the people. It was 3 weeks of work leading up to Christmas Eve and then money was welcomed.
On the naughty side, one person in a row house yelled at me for not walking up and down the pathway but crossing 5 feet of lawn and sadly, she got no further Christmas cards before the big day. Unbelievably, anything addressed to the household ended up back in the “don’t know where it is supposed to go bag”. Oh well a few cards would have shown up after I returned to college.
I blew the tires out on a few bikes which didn’t really raise my popularity down the depot
April 9, 2018 at 11:37 am
My Dear Hedley,
They never hired carriers for summer temp. I would have liked that. Instead, I sorted tray after tray of mail. The worst were the postcards as many skipped through the cancel machine and couldn’t be sorted.
I remember that here too they delivered twice during Christmas time, but I doubt there was a breakfast waiting. I think the carriers just went to the boxes for storage and loaded the new mail.
Money was also welcome to me as I used it to buy presents. My temp time was the two weeks before Christmas.
My sister has a carrier that is rude and grumpy. She swears he doesn’t deliver some days. Perhaps he uses the Hedley method.
I like the idea of bike delivery, but the houses are too close together.
It was a fun job!
April 9, 2018 at 12:57 pm
No sun here today and less warm but rather nice anyway because there has been no wind. I’m happy as long as it doesn’t snow 🙂 🙂
I worked in a grocery store and I did enjoy it a lot but the money was anything but good 🙂
I guess Henry has eaten something, dogs always do 🙂 as long as they don’t vomit after eating it’s usually nothing to worry about.
Have a great day!
Christer.
April 9, 2018 at 4:32 pm
Christer,
We may have sun, but it is still cold. I’d love one day in the high 50’s or low 60’s.
I made good money and 20% more after 6 o’clock, and I always worked until nine every day.
He seems okay now except he is back to hiding upstairs. I had to go out, and he did come down to greet me but went right back upstairs. I’m wondering if the groans I make when I walk scare him.
Have a great evening!
April 9, 2018 at 2:47 pm
Hi Kat,
Poor Henry. I hope his stomach settles down quickly. The emergency vet is not the pleasantest place to be sometimes but it’s particularly not pleasant in the wee hours of the night.
I remember New England San. It’s about the only place that I ever saw a candy striper except on TV.
My day lilies are above ground, too, as are the peonies. The day lilies never flower. Not enough light back there.
It’s mostly sunny here with some grouchy clouds and the wind is rather cold. The front door was open for awhile to let the heat in from the porch. The dogs and I sat out on the top step and got some sun. It wasn’t too cold out of the wind.
Enjoy the day.
April 9, 2018 at 4:37 pm
Hi Caryn,
Henry seems okay today except he is acting apprehensive and is hiding upstairs. I told Christer that I do moan and groan when I get up because of my leg. That could be the reason.
My day lilies are all in the front. I had them moved to the edge of the trees on the front side pf the house. They are all in a row and look great when they blossom.
It is cold here too. I didn’t get any sun. It was strongest in the morning. We have some clouds which rolled in making the light look hazy.
Have a great evening!!
April 10, 2018 at 2:20 am
Hi Kat!
I too, was a candy striper at Monmouth Medical Center. Loved it. Got a pin for 500 hours. Delivered mail, flowers, and drugs from the hospital pharmacy (not all at the same time!).
My Mom and I had a sneaky way to let her know when to pick me up at the end of my shift. I’d go down to the visitor’s lobby where the public phones were and “drop a dime”. As a pre-arranged signal, the phone at my house rang three times and I’d hang up. Mom knew it was me. Plus I got the dime back!
Hope Henry is better…a friend of mine is adopting a dog this week. His name is…Henry! No, really, it’s true!
Waving!
Coleen
April 10, 2018 at 12:00 pm
Hi Coleen,
I didn’t last anywhere as long as you did. I am impressed. 500 hours of service is amazing.
We had a similar way to contact home. I liked getting my dime back. A dime had worth back then.
Henry is scared today because of the blowers cleaning umps yard. When he first went out, he peed right outside the door so he could hurry inside the house.
I think Henry is a great name for a dog.
Waving back!