unrelated thoughts*

My weekend was very inspiring. But although I did take good care of myself, I am exhausted (a combination of all the activity and the lateness of my arrival last night). Coherence eludes me, so here is some random content from my brain:

First stray thought:

We have lost our digital camera. I'm pretty sure it must be somewhere in our tip of a house but its disappearance means that not only did I not have a camera on my trip but we couldn't take any pictures on Hallowe'en! We are relying on the kindness of friends to transmit, so I can share.

If I had a camera, I could also embarrass myself by posting photos of my ill-groomed, excessively hairy dog.

Second stray thought:

One of the speakers at the conference addressed the inequities in the American health care system. He mentioned that social workers, who help patients navigate the system, are always the first to get cut when cutbacks occur.

Cancer care is extremely complicated (so many ways of treating and so many different health care professionals and staff to deal with). As a cancer patient, I have to advocate for myself on a regular basis at every stage of care (I was reminded of this today, as I followed up on the fact that I haven't received confirmation of my next chemo appointment. Turns out it was never booked and now I have to chase down my oncologist to make sure that happens). I am educated, middle class and pretty enfranchised. I can't imagine how challenging treatment would be if I were unable to understand the system, communicate my needs or were affected by a mental illness.

Third stray thought:

Homeland security left a little note in my bag to tell me they had opened it and rifled through my underwear (OK so that's not exactly what they said I did but that's the part that gives me the creeps). This has never happened to me before.

The Yarn Harlot has written that it happens to her on almost every trip. This makes me wonder if the search was provoked by knitting needles.

I usually bring only one project and carry it in my purse. I knew I was going to have some down time on Friday, I had a big suitcase that was only half-full and I couldn't make up my mind, so I packed a second project in my suitcase (socks, with lots of little pointy needles).

Fourth stray thought:

The cliche about absence making the heart grow fonder must be true. My littlest, with whom I have been locking horns of late, was extremely happy to see me. He crawled into my bed this morning with a very satisfied, "Mama!" and told me that he had missed me "very, very much."

That's it. Even my stray thoughts have escaped me...

...except to say that I feel so incredibly fortunate that Jacqueline and John came to visit me (and Jacqueline came up with a brilliant idea for the cover of my book!). This is only the second week end I have spent with them and yet I felt as comfortable as I do with old friends. And they are such smart, creative people. They really do inspire me.

* this post brought to you courtesy of NaBloPoMo.