Full of Life

I celebrate myself;
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.

The smoke of my own breath;
Echoes, ripples, buzz'd whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine;
My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing of blood and air through my lungs;
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore, and dark- color'd sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn;
The sound of the belch'd words of my voice, words loos'd to the eddies of the wind;
A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms;
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag;
The delight alone, or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields and hill-sides;
The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song of me rising from bed and meeting the sun.

....from "Song of Myself", Walt Whitman

I have the day off today to attend to results of my procedure and from this beginning some lifestyle changes. Even though I know restrictions and changes are coming, I feel more full of life then I have felt in months. After chasing to get a diagnosis (I kept being told it was asthma, allergies and the area where I'm living), it's a relief to know that there is something that is there and it can be worked with instead of just going on having the problems I've been experiencing.

I hope it's a good day for my friend Gail. She is off on a day long interview in NYC that could bring major changes for the better to her life. I'm hoping the universe gives her this gift. She deserves it.

I started the day off with a long walk with Bella. We met several children who were walking through the park, swinging backpacks on their way to school. They stopped to pet her, ask questions about her paw (she has a paw that never totally formed on her left front leg) and receive a slurp in return. We came back and I'm now on the patio having a cup of tea, an English muffin with fruit compote and some yogurt. It feels very luxuriant and a gift as the sun shines, birds sing and the sounds of life embrace me.

Paula Cole, "Me":