Although I am usually awake before the sun rises, I continue to doze, depending on my sleep that night, or start reading one of the books on my table. My book of the moment is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It is an incredibly researched story of a Black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Science knows her as HeLa. She was a poor tobacco farmer whose cells were taken without her or her family’s consent. They were the first living cells and one of the most important medical tools, then and still today. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remained virtually unknown. Because of Rebecca and Henriette’s family, a person’s cells can no longer be bought and sold without permission. I highly recommend this book. It is a reminder that every individual matters.
The sunshine coming through my living window lights up the yellow flowers on my table. They were a gift from a friend when I was first sick over three weeks ago. Another reminder that people are important.
While walking Henry the other morning, I watched the slight wind blowing through the trees, the top edges of the branches glowing, and a bunch of squirrels running and jumping in two or three trees. I counted at least twenty of them frolicking along the sunlit branches. It was a beautiful moment in the frigid air. This brings me to another book I recently re-read, Catalyntje Trico, about the first Dutch woman to arrive in the New World in 1624. With her husband, she cleared land, built a home, raised eleven children, and wore layers and layers of clothes and blankets to stay warm. I think to myself, how dare I complain about the cold! There are many more wonderful, carefully researched details in this historical novel, brought to life by the author, Lana W. Holden’s creative dialogue. It is worth the read.
Today was a beautiful day. Everywhere I went, I made contact with wonderful people. While walking Henry, I talked with my sister in England and was enthusiastically greeted by a large black dog with a big grin. Then, I went to my local indie bookstore to collect my book credit, bought another book, still had a little change, and had a lovely conversation with a woman from Ireland.
I spent an hour stapling a protective rubber barrier to my client’s planters—it was so warm in the sun that I had to take my coat off. The Cheiranthus or wallflowers were blooming under a window. Afterward, I went to the hardware store to buy more rubber. I bought twice as much as the first time but, remarkably, it was just over half the initial cost! Someone’s math was off, but I didn’t know whose, but I was happy. I still had time to make a quick trip to Home Depot for a few patio pavers and gravel to hopefully finish my project.
The cashier was surprised that I remembered him telling me just before Christmas that he was going home to Boise for the first time in eight years. I told him my son lived there and I liked the city very much. Today, he said he had a wonderful reunion with his friends and then gave me a discount on my purchases. I rushed home after shopping to eat a quick lunch before taking Henry to the groomer. I had three hours to hang out, so I went to my friend Karin, and we went on a casual shopping trip and then had tea in her apartment. As I turned the engine off in the parking lot for the store, the phone rang, and Henry was ready.
All in all, I was very pleased with that day.