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wayfaringwordhackThis has been a crazy month. I thought to have some downtime between the end of my drawing time and the start of my painting class, time I could spend continuing with my drawing practice, improving and cementing what I learned. But life had other plans. I got exactly one drawing in.
With the two Easters celebrated here in Lebanon and Ramadan, the school attended by our kids' friends was out for three weeks. So, we were inundated with invitations and activities. We went to a big Easter egg hunt in a park in the mountains, fossil hunting, lots of informal playdates, dinner with friends, and on and on. And our kids worked several times on the fort they have built with friends at a nearby creek. We also loaned (and are still loaning) our car to J's Lebanese cousin, G, because her son is using hers to attend his internship. I periodically have to borrow our car back and that weirdly makes me feel like I can't because I don't want to put G out.
I also had crowns put on my top two front teeth by the most unprofessional dentist I have ever visited in my life. It was a process so long and painful as to become almost comedic in its sheer badness. What should have taken a week, maybe two, ended up taking a month. The dentist said, "See you in 20 years," but I fear we will have to see him sooner. Not for dentistry--that will never happen again--but because he is a spearfisher and J is a spearfisher, and the two of them plan on spearfishing together. And the dentist would like to invite us out to dinner at a good fish restaurant he knows. Maybe I can ask J to get himself invited in the family's stead while the rest of us are in France for the summer.
If it isn't enough to have to fix my teeth, I have to get new glasses, after only a year of having these. Progressive lenses are expensive! And the fact that I have to wear the glasses all the time now means that I am getting to where I can't stand the weight of my current frames. My nose is constantly sensitive, and I feel my nasal passages are being pinched, meaning it isn't so easy to breathe. So, I sprung for some reallllllly light frames. Only I didn't ask the price first. OUCH. But I really think they will be better--and I am stuck with glasses for the rest of my life--so I went ahead and got them. They should be ready next week.
In the past month, our Internet went out twice, a week each time. And of course, my online painting class started just when I really needed access to the Internet.
So, I lay all that groundwork to bring up the thing that was really hard.
Amidst all that bustle, not one but two families in our circle of friends here had their kids (one seven and the other four) diagnosed with brain tumors. The 7-yo ( a little Lebanese girl) is reacting well to medication. She'll have another MRI on the 3rd to find out what the next steps are. But the 4-yo (an American boy) had to have emergency surgery. It went amazingly well, and I was able to donate blood for him.* They are still waiting on the pathology report.
This is such a hard, terrifying thing for the families to go through. I cannot begin to imagine the fear that gripped (and still grips) them. It seems silly and self-centered to say how we have been affected, too, but yes, it *has* affected us and our kids. It makes it hard to be in a good state to get things done.
We are going back to France for the summer in less than a month now (eep). I need to get myself together so I can prepare for that and take care of some remaining logistics. It is going to be a quieter, more relaxed time there, but we already have two birthdays lined up--one a camping trip--plus visits to the south to J's family. Also, I know from experience, there are going to be other things to either do or field, which for my personality is exhausting. Still, I am looking forward to being a bit of a hermit when permitted. Also, we travel before my painting class ends, so I will have a week of that to do in France. One of the logistics is figuring out the Internet situation. Do we get a router for 3 months and then resign or try to do everything off a mobile phone data subscription?
________________
* I don't know if I already blogged about this--what stays in my head as something I would like to blog about and what actually makes it into pixels is hard to keep track of--but giving blood in Lebanon is a nightmare. I tried to give before, only to be told I didn't have enough blood. When I asked what I could do about that, the answer was nothing. I then, a week later during a personal blood test, asked a lab tech (a young 20s something woman) why I couldn't donate, she told me, "Women are not desirable donors." Ugh.
Since then, I have also heard about people being turned away because the hospital didn't want European blood, another didn't want American blood. Just turn around and go home if you have ever been to Africa...
With the two Easters celebrated here in Lebanon and Ramadan, the school attended by our kids' friends was out for three weeks. So, we were inundated with invitations and activities. We went to a big Easter egg hunt in a park in the mountains, fossil hunting, lots of informal playdates, dinner with friends, and on and on. And our kids worked several times on the fort they have built with friends at a nearby creek. We also loaned (and are still loaning) our car to J's Lebanese cousin, G, because her son is using hers to attend his internship. I periodically have to borrow our car back and that weirdly makes me feel like I can't because I don't want to put G out.
I also had crowns put on my top two front teeth by the most unprofessional dentist I have ever visited in my life. It was a process so long and painful as to become almost comedic in its sheer badness. What should have taken a week, maybe two, ended up taking a month. The dentist said, "See you in 20 years," but I fear we will have to see him sooner. Not for dentistry--that will never happen again--but because he is a spearfisher and J is a spearfisher, and the two of them plan on spearfishing together. And the dentist would like to invite us out to dinner at a good fish restaurant he knows. Maybe I can ask J to get himself invited in the family's stead while the rest of us are in France for the summer.
If it isn't enough to have to fix my teeth, I have to get new glasses, after only a year of having these. Progressive lenses are expensive! And the fact that I have to wear the glasses all the time now means that I am getting to where I can't stand the weight of my current frames. My nose is constantly sensitive, and I feel my nasal passages are being pinched, meaning it isn't so easy to breathe. So, I sprung for some reallllllly light frames. Only I didn't ask the price first. OUCH. But I really think they will be better--and I am stuck with glasses for the rest of my life--so I went ahead and got them. They should be ready next week.
In the past month, our Internet went out twice, a week each time. And of course, my online painting class started just when I really needed access to the Internet.
So, I lay all that groundwork to bring up the thing that was really hard.
Amidst all that bustle, not one but two families in our circle of friends here had their kids (one seven and the other four) diagnosed with brain tumors. The 7-yo ( a little Lebanese girl) is reacting well to medication. She'll have another MRI on the 3rd to find out what the next steps are. But the 4-yo (an American boy) had to have emergency surgery. It went amazingly well, and I was able to donate blood for him.* They are still waiting on the pathology report.
This is such a hard, terrifying thing for the families to go through. I cannot begin to imagine the fear that gripped (and still grips) them. It seems silly and self-centered to say how we have been affected, too, but yes, it *has* affected us and our kids. It makes it hard to be in a good state to get things done.
We are going back to France for the summer in less than a month now (eep). I need to get myself together so I can prepare for that and take care of some remaining logistics. It is going to be a quieter, more relaxed time there, but we already have two birthdays lined up--one a camping trip--plus visits to the south to J's family. Also, I know from experience, there are going to be other things to either do or field, which for my personality is exhausting. Still, I am looking forward to being a bit of a hermit when permitted. Also, we travel before my painting class ends, so I will have a week of that to do in France. One of the logistics is figuring out the Internet situation. Do we get a router for 3 months and then resign or try to do everything off a mobile phone data subscription?
________________
* I don't know if I already blogged about this--what stays in my head as something I would like to blog about and what actually makes it into pixels is hard to keep track of--but giving blood in Lebanon is a nightmare. I tried to give before, only to be told I didn't have enough blood. When I asked what I could do about that, the answer was nothing. I then, a week later during a personal blood test, asked a lab tech (a young 20s something woman) why I couldn't donate, she told me, "Women are not desirable donors." Ugh.
Since then, I have also heard about people being turned away because the hospital didn't want European blood, another didn't want American blood. Just turn around and go home if you have ever been to Africa...
no subject
Date: 29 Apr 2023 12:07 pm (UTC)It's good to hear about. 😀
no subject
Date: 29 Apr 2023 12:37 pm (UTC)I think I caught up on all your Guatemala entries. Once again, you had some lovely photos and such interesting things to share about the culture/festivals.
no subject
Date: 29 Apr 2023 01:16 pm (UTC)I know what you mean about the weight of glasses. I feel that way about my glasses. I have to wear them pretty much all the time, and I'm always taking them off. I should get some of those superlight frames--but like you said, ouch! the price.
I hope you get some rejuvenation in France, some time not filled up with obligations.
no subject
Date: 29 Apr 2023 02:53 pm (UTC)I totally got out of the Africa thing by turning the conversation and telling the truth without telling all of it. It is handy that Egypt is geographically in Africa and yet not considered Africa by Middle Eastern countries. I just kept repeating that, yes, I had been to Africa; I had lived in Egypt almost 5 years.
no subject
Date: 30 Apr 2023 01:41 am (UTC)LOL, the gradations of prejudices around the world! Glad you managed the blood donation <3
no subject
Date: 30 Apr 2023 05:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 30 Apr 2023 05:49 am (UTC)I am glad there were fun activities in there too.
no subject
Date: 1 May 2023 10:27 am (UTC)When it rains, it pours. I think it's amazing you go any artwork done. Let me know if you go to Cyprus. The current family dentist we have there is good, I'll give you his info.
Springing for lightweight glasses is a valid investment, I think. Last time I got glasses, I opted for the intermediate price class (and weight), but I've already decided to pay more and get the lighter ones next time.
And I think it's natural to be affected by situations that hit close to home. When I found out a not-so-close friend, whom I had many things in common with, had passed away young, it absolutely made me aware of my own mortality.
As for the blood donation... wow. I don't know about Lebanon, but I believe most countries have a lack of donors. Talk about choosing beggars.