"Johnny's in the basement, mixing up the medicine,I'm on the pavement,thinking about the government,The man in the trench coat badge out,laid off,Says he's got a bad cough,needs to get it paid off......You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows;...twenty years of schooling, and they put you on the day shift;...they want eleven dollar bills, and you only got ten.....the pump don't work, cause the vandals took the handles.: Subterranean Homesick Blues, by Bob Dylan

when my daughter was first starting her job, and had one of those cutesy " getting to know you" meetings, they asked everyone to sing one of their favorite songs. well, she "sang", rapped would be a better word, ALL ( i only included a few- my favorite phrases) of the lyrics to this song! talk about surprising everyone. my daughter is an intense,quiet person but the well runs deep, so to speak.

i was thinking about how much i have changed as a person this year. not too many people know this,though. i guess i appear to be the same, especially to my co-workers. but how could anyone go through a major "health crisis" and not be changed? i really do live in the moment, and appreciate every good thing that comes my way. i am trying to be more "myself". i used to worry too much about what people would think if i did this or that. i am starting out small,though. i sing loudly in the car ( i used to just sort of hum ) , and crank my music up as well. the other day, Tom and i were singing "Running down a dream" ( he was blissfully unaware of our duo) and i realized that my voice is getting better! i have my good voice days and unfortunately those days when my voice sounds like Rachel Ray ( sorry, rach). i had just had a few squeaky voice days, and then it cleared up a bit. it seems to still come and go, although it has been 7 months since my surgery. i really do not know how things  will end up- will i still squeak a bit at times? or will my voice continue to get better until i squeak no more? oh, well, just as long as i can sing a song or two i will be happy.

tomorrow is zumba day, hooray!! i have really benefited from this exercise class. i really do not think that i would have done it had it not been for my illness. why do we have to get really sick before we start taking care of ourselves? it has been good for my physical strength as well as my mental health .(all of those endorphins, i guess!). the simplest thing  got me to exercise class, believe it or not. i was trying to take care of my dogs-not too long after my surgery- but long enough that it was o.k. that i lifted things, and to my horror i realized that i could not lift my dogs water bowl! it is a pretty big bowl- i have two dogs- but i had always been able to lift it before. i realized right then and there that i needed to do something. exercise needs to be fun, as i have said. i love to dance, so zumba was perfect for me. if it is not fun, if you are like me, you are not going to do it. find out what you love to do, and enjoy your way to better health. ( wow, that sounds like a catch phrase for a wellness center )

anyway, i am a changed woman, like it or not, world. and by the way, "Don't follow leaders, and watch your parking meters." thanks bob.