Day 18: Going Home

For appropriate context, you will want to first read these posts: “Eleven Days Ago” , “Day 12”, and “Day 13”.

This afternoon we will be released from the hospital to go home. We just took our Covid tests for clearance. We’ll be changing the confines of a hospital for the confines of our community as the Shanghai lockdown continues, but it will be nice to have a bed again. More importantly, it means that my wife is making progress and that’s why they are comfortable to send us home.

This has been quite an ordeal and I sincerely hope that it’s a once in a lifetime experience, but it’s also come with its own gifts. This will be my focus today.

Eleven Things I’ve Learned

• I can be calm under pressure. This was by far the most intense “emergency” situation that I’ve been in and I did pretty alright.
• A well-placed bedpan is a lifesaver. I’ve come to appreciate the utilitarian beauty of this simple invention.
• My wife is a warrior. Ok, I knew this already, but she upped her rank this time.
• A reasonably good layered look can be achieved by pulling a pony tail over the head (toward the face) and then cutting straight.
• Caregivers are heroes. From the doctors and nurses to the food servers and ayi’s they do their work in the service of others. They are not perfect (just like the rest of us) but they are full of good intentions.
• A terribly broken leg would be a good model for a wonderfully nasty Halloween piñata. This is a million dollar idea, but I don’t have the entrepreneurial sprit to capitalize it myself so feel free to steal it.
• Covid started off as a human tragedy in its own right, but the way governments have responded around the world have compounded the casualties. The west’s loose approach accelerated deaths early in their countries. China’s rigid zero-tolerance policy is accelerating casualties of all kinds now. I can only hope that governments around the world reflect on this experience and learn something for next time.
• An injection in the belly (of anti-clotting medication) should be located approximately three to four finger widths away from the belly button and jabbed quickly at ninety degrees from the skin surface. It is scary but it is doable.
• Meaningfully reflecting on the gifts we receive each day is a powerful anti-depressant.
• Absence can make some of life’s simplest things the greatest pleasures, especially true for bowel movements.
• A good life-partner is a blessing to never be squandered. Enjoy the time you have together, even if its sharing a hospital room. We can’t control the future but we can certainly choose to appreciate the present.

Be well,

Monty

• A Return to Patterns
  Be well, Monty
• Quiet
  He’s been quiet lately. The voice in my head. The voice that is, quite frankly, a bit nuts. Often compelling me toward darkness. Vacillating betweenContinue reading “Quiet”
• Today
  Today’s a gorgeous weather day. Cool with a light breeze. Bright and sunny aside from my spot in the shade of the tree above me.Continue reading “Today”
• Shine On
  Shine on, shine on, shine on meShine your light on meLight me up, cast away my doubtsLift me out of these shadowsI’m ready, I’m ready,Continue reading “Shine On”
• Here I Go Again
  Here I go again. Interrupting this negative space with some generic typeface. No particular intentions. Just wanna release built-up tensions. It’s coming out in dripsContinue reading “Here I Go Again”
• A Test of the Heart
  I’m wearing a Holter heart monitor today and I can’t help but wonder if it can see past the irregular beats and witness how whollyContinue reading “A Test of the Heart”
• An Observation and a Query
  A fly walks by. S t r e t c h i n g Its legs, I guess? Be well, Monty
• A Gentle Drizzle Sets the Scene
  A gentle drizzle sets the scene;The last of the season’s persimmons hang-on,Half-concealed behind leaves shimmering underA quiet concert of pitter-patter percussion. In quick succession aContinue reading “A Gentle Drizzle Sets the Scene”
• The Birds
  The birds are watching me from the wire above. What are they thinking? Do they see my sadness?Or are they too busy balancing in theContinue reading “The Birds”
• Mired in Mud
  Mired in mud.I don’t like this feeling, but I appreciate the alliteration. Mired in mud, mud, mud.Stuck in repetition. Mired,So tired — In mudOf sinsContinue reading “Mired in Mud”
• Let Me Be (Note to Self)
  Let me be angry. Without good reason.Let me be lonelyEven if not alone.Let me be sadJust because I am.Please, Let me be. Be well, Monty
• Morning Cocktail
  Morning Cocktail 3 parts Zoloft 1 part AbilifyMix meditatively and pray for help with my unbeliefDilute to taste and swallow (along with my pride)Assume PeacefulContinue reading “Morning Cocktail”
• Rhyming Inventories
  A Rhyming Inventory of Things I’ve Not Been Doing Because They Would Make Me Feel Better (and I Don’t Deserve To)1. Prayer or meditation2. TakeContinue reading “Rhyming Inventories”
• Poetic License
  I applied for my poetic license today;It was rejected due to a grammatical error.Oh, The irony. Be well, Monty
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• This Morning’s Song
  Coffee. Bold. Fragrantly steaming — the weather’s turned cold. Expresso doubled again and again.I opened my day’s calendar — it appears never ending. Patience isContinue reading “This Morning’s Song”
• Unashamed
  Naked. Clothed only by my sins. Jealousy wrapped around my neck. Sloth draped over my shoulders. Lust sagging around my ankles. Here I am. SeeContinue reading “Unashamed”
• Cold & Salty
  I shivered through the night. We still have the summer cool bamboo mat on the bed and the light blanket wasn’t enough to hold inContinue reading “Cold & Salty”
• Free Write
  It’s been awhile since I just wrote freely. Free to say anything or nothing. No prompts or forms or intentions. I’m sitting in the garden,Continue reading “Free Write”
• The Anna: Hush
  This poem is my final contribution to the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, asContinue reading “The Anna: Hush”
• Jay’s Way: For the Birds
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Jay’s Way: For the Birds”
• Joseph’s Star: A Love Story
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Joseph’s Star: A Love Story”
• Golda: Woof!
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• Bryant: Polluted Waters
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• Coraline: 汕头 （Shantou）
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Coraline: 汕头 （Shantou）”
• Daisy Chain: Seeds of an Idea…
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Daisy Chain: Seeds of an Idea…”
• Emmett: Code Red
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• Off-Broadway (a Paint Chip Poem)
  No Love For Fatties invites us to join in on her Paint Chip Poetry by creating our own poem inspired by the paint chip colorsContinue reading “Off-Broadway (a Paint Chip Poem)”
• Laurette: A Garden Query
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Laurette: A Garden Query”
• More Thoughts from My Journal
  Saturday has arrived. It’s Mid-Autumn Festival or “moon-cake” holiday here. I slept through the moon’s rise and fall last night, but I’ve seen some beautifulContinue reading “More Thoughts from My Journal”
• Marianne: Viola’s Light
  This poem is a part of the poetic ‘scavenger hunt’ designed by @murisopsis from A Different Perspective. This time the theme is Names, as inContinue reading “Marianne: Viola’s Light”