Be Forewarned

On my first visit to the cardiac unit, a notice on the wall tickled my funny bone and interfered with any anxiety I had about my coming appointment. I had been referred after my primary care physician became nervous with my report of chest discomfort after exercise accompanied by my father’s heart attack heritage.   

The notice read, “DUE TO THE HIGH VOLUME OF PATIENTS TODAY, PLEASE EXPECT A LONGER THAN USUAL WAIT TIME.” It wasn’t that the forewarning was amusing, but the paper curled at the bottom in a way that indicated it had been on the wall for some time. “Today,” indeed.  

I saw the cardiologist within five minutes of my appointed time so the warning was unnecessary. Chest pain and my father’s heart attack brought a similar set of the first doctor’s nerves to the cardiologist who scheduled me for a catheterization with the possibility of stents if needed. He gave me assurance that he knew how to do this with some large number in the thousands that he had done. 

The surgery came and went (3 stents) with caring professional medical staff all the way. I returned to the cardiac unit for my follow-up check a couple of weeks later. Wouldn’t you know the sign warning of a long wait “today” remained in place with its curled edges still in place.  

I confess that I’m not all that thankful for the heart history Daddy passed along to me, but in all this, I have been very grateful that he also passed along the habit of seeing the humor in whatever situation he found himself in.

Eight Years

Eight years ago today, I began posting a twice weekly blog, not knowing whether my interest or commitment would hold up for the long run. I didn’t know if I would last eight weeks or eight months, much less eight years. (I knew I would make eight days since I followed the advice I got before I began to have that many written ahead of time.)

There have been some surprises. The blogs with the most reactions haven’t always been the ones I would have expected. Within the same week, I had one blog reader tell me she liked the personal blogs more than the book reviews and another who said he really liked the book reviews more than the personal blogs. Since it’s my space and I enjoy doing both, I plan to stay with about an even count. 

As for the book reviews, I have loved the opportunity that Net Galley gives bloggers to get advance reading copies. I especially like it when a book I have reviewed gets good reviews from the noted reviewers or makes it big when it goes on sale. (Examples: Educated, Just Mercy, The Yellow House, Mistress of the Ritz, and Caldecott winner Merci Suarez Changes Gears). It’s worth reiterating that I will only review books that I really like. I want to be fair to writers who work really hard and not give a bad word to a book that someone else may love even if it doesn’t appeal to me, and I want to be fair to my readers and not steer them toward a book that I didn’t even like myself – and I do find a few. 

Perhaps one of the most enjoyable things with this blog has been the friendships I’ve made. Some are new ones when a friend of a friend either in real life or from Facebook joins my readers. Special times have brought a friend from the past that I had lost touch with but who has found the blog. Then there are all the book lovers who share the love of reading and maybe even writing.

So I celebrate the eighth anniversary with its traditional pottery or modern lace and linen before beginning a new year of “Readin’, Ritin’, but Not Much ‘Rithmetic.”