good days

 

Sculptures on display at Community College

Six weeks have passed since the oncologist told me that no treatment is recommended at this time (for more about that, scroll to June 4th on this page of my cancer journal). Six weeks is a lot of good days. 

Six weeks of meditative aquatic exercises while listening to healing music (my playlist). 

Six weeks of walking around the neighborhood, gazing up at the beautiful blue sky and palm trees waving in the breeze. 

These photos are the most interesting thing I saw this week.

I think about the interesting things I see. Contemplation happens when you walk alone quietly for a chunk of time. Young students are attending art classes in this building. Young people, planning their lives, navigating situations, discovering who they are, what they like and what they love, what they hate and what they fear. 

I am at the end of my life. I have enjoyed six weeks as a retiree. The stress of having to be at a certain place by a certain time almost every day--nobody misses that. Having many people depend on your ability to multi-task quickly--I do not miss having to do what is important to others. 

What have I been doing? Writing a lot. Writing about my Chinese stepdad, aiming to do a great piece of biographical work about someone who deserves my very best. The world needs to hear this story. Nobody is illegal. Sometimes there are more important factors than documents. Where you were born is not a crime. How you came to America is not necessarily the most important thing to know. His is a very interesting story. More so because of what he did with the privilege when he made it to America. I intend to do my absolute best storytelling from this day forth. 

I love writing. 

I love the peacefulness of doing what I was born to do. 

I love the quiet hours in deep trance-like thought. I love the detective work it requires. I love the imaginative effort it requires. I love the empathy it requires. I love the sound of clicking keys, accompanied by the soft hiss of cool air blowing into our desert home. At times like this, I love being me. 

As far as I am concerned, I have five good years to do my best work as a writer. 

I will add a bit here weekly on Wednesdays. This gives me a place to dump my personal whims while working in-depth on a much bigger project. 

Occasionally I post on Instagram @herzenity.