Umbrellas & Butt Wipes

Here's the current lay of the land:

• Fistula repair definitively failed; another surgery needed.
• Must choose between a muscle graft (MAJOR surgery) and a permanent ileo (major surgery).
• Being sent to an IBD surgical specialist for his opinion on which procedure would be better; referral letter was lost (grrrrr!!!!!!) so appointment isn't until April 15.
• Which means surgery won't be until May. With, depending upon the procedure, a 3 to 12 month recovery period.
• And we're moving in July.
• In the meantime, the fistula is acting up more than it has in about a year, causing much discomfort, some pain, and a blasted evil yeast infection. (@#$!@%)
• The stoma is now tipped flush with my abdominal wall, which means I resemble raw hamburger where it empties. If the surgery isn't until May, I will need a surgical stoma revision in the next few weeks.
• Abdominal & stoma pain have been plaguing me for a week; the symptoms are beginning to look like adhesions... Which also require a surgical fix.

So yesterday was one of "those" days. Tears, frustration, hopelessness. I sent a whiny missive to a friend who also fights with a chronic illness and used a particularly colourful phrase to describe what I felt like I was dealing with. She responded by saying, "I'll bring the umbrella and butt wipes."

I prefer unscented flushables, but chamomile or aloe will also work!

This, my friends, is what is needed on "those" days: a friend who doesn't roll their eyes, get grossed out, tell you to "just deal with it", or smile tightly. Instead, what is needed is someone with a bit of sass, who understands, is empathetic, but doesn't let you wallow in self-pity either. It's a gift, this ability. And these friends are a HUGE blessing.

Today I feel much better, physically and mentally. Here's what I'm doing to continue to fight:

• Writing this.
• Doing laundry (love the fresh smell).
• Making garlic knots. Because I want to.
• Sitting in the sun at some point for 10-15 minutes.
• Plowing ahead with some things I need/want to get done around the house.
• Counting each little bit I get done as a success.
• Writing a letter to a friend who really needs a pick-me-up.
• Praying for those who are in so much more need than me.
• Goofing around with Boo & Little Toot.
• Right now, after I post this, I think I might have another cup of tea and a scone.

And maybe, just maybe, I won't need the umbrella today. (I always need the butt wipes!)

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President:

It is a gorgeous day here in the Netherlands where I live.  Absolutely clear blue sky, moderate temperature, nice breeze.  That doesn't actually happen too very often here, so I am glorying in it while I can.  I hope that you, too, have time to simply relish the beauty of a nice day sometimes.

Which brings me to my point: I have a suggestion for you which, although quite a small change, could, I think, make a big difference in various policies around the nation and certainly in perception.  My hope is that it could also prompt a huge change in practice.

My suggestion is simply this: hang out your laundry to line-dry.

Now, I know at first glance this might seem to be a trivial, even silly suggestion.  But I assure it is not meant to be at all.

Although I am sure we could find several issues to disagree on, we have quite a bit in common as well.  For one thing, we are both parents of two girls.  For another, we both own dogs.  We both have amazing spouses.  We both have a faith background which teaches us that God's good creation is to be lovingly stewarded.  Different people, of course, have different ideas on exactly how that stewardship should be carried out, but I am hoping that we can quickly agree on at least one basic principle: conserving energy (particularly by cutting down on electricity and gas usage) is a good thing.

Hanging out the laundry on a line to dry is an excellent means of doing just that, in addition to utilizing solar power, sanitizing one's clothes and linens (the sun's UV rays kill bacteria), saving money, and encouraging better sleep.  It honors tradition, makes practical use of materials at hand, and serves as an equalizer.  What could be more American?

I am sure you are aware of the several "planned communities" across the country -- several of them within a 25-mile radius of where you currently live.  Many, if not the vast majority, do not allow line-drying of laundry; it is "unsightly" which is just a slightly more polite way of saying "tacky".  I used to be a homeowner in one (Reston, VA) and used to follow all the rules about paint colors and light fixtures.  I obsessed about mulch and edge trimming and decried gutters which needed cleaning.

But then I moved and while I have continued to care for the various properties I have lived in, I am no longer a perfectionist about my landscaping.  Parts of my back yard are helpfully landscaped for me by my dog. Other parts boast incredible peonies, iris, strawberries, beans, honeysuckle, raspberries, and herbs.  And I hang out my laundry.  I am friendly with my neighbors, keep track of my children's homework, volunteer in the community, and laugh a lot.  I have discovered that there is a lot more to life -- a whole lot more -- than meeting some preset standard of beauty for my home and yard, especially when that standard is unhelpfully contributing to the destruction of other beautiful things.  While I might not be as posh as some may like, I certainly don't think my life can be described as "tacky" and surely the sight of clean laundry blowing in the breeze cannot be so incredibly horrible as to justify the amount of energy use and noxious emissions caused by electric/gas dryers.

It's just a little thing, line-drying laundry.  But it could make a difference, and a pretty big one, if it really gets people thinking about things like quality of life, stewardship, and dependency on fossil fuels.  So I encourage you to hang out the White House's laundry to dry.  To set an example of easy, do-able creation stewardship; to show people that concerns about "tacky" laundry lines are needless.  To set an example the same way your wife has done with her garden.

Perhaps hanging out the Presidential skivvies is not in the best interests of the dignity of the office of President (although there are ways to cleverly hang unmentionables on the inner lines with larger items on outer lines, hiding said unmentionables), but surely linens could be hung out quite easily?

And Mr. President, I assure you that there is no other luxury quite like that of falling into soft, breeze-freshened, sun-dried sheets at the end of a particularly stressful day -- of which I presume you have a few.

Respectfully,
Feisty