Ode to My BFF

From the day we met in our Sophomore year of college we were finishing each other's sentences.  Even when distance and laziness kept us out of touch, when we reconnected it was like we had never been apart.  The death of our beautiful friend Karen brought us together in a new way.  For the first time, we realized there was no getting out of here alive.

So when my mammogram came back suspicious, she was the first person I told.  And when it turned out I had cancer, she was there.  Not with thoughts and prayers, but with real support.  She bought a one-way ticket a few days before my bilateral mastectomy and vowed to stay as long as I needed her.

Anyone who knows me well knows that my talents don't lie in housekeeping skills.  My priorities are elsewhere; my cats and chickens, cooking delicious food, politics.  Anything but vacuuming, mopping, or laundry.  My BFF went to work immediately getting my house and yard in order.  The mountain of laundry dwindled to nothing, and those chores I kept putting off got done.  She finds joy in cleaning; who knew? 

She accompanied me to the hospital and waited hours for me to be out of surgery.  When my surgical drains leaked, she changed my bed and my bandages.  She looked unflinchingly at my flat chest with incisions from armpit to armpit.  She played endless games of Gin Rummy, learned the names and personalities of 11 cats and 6 chickens, tried every kitchen gadget I own. 

Her name is Denise, and she is my family.

Miracle Morning

After a nasty cold all week, a 24-hour migraine, and a cough starting last night, I woke up (late!) feeling pretty good.  My poor chickens were anxious to get outside to start their day, so I opened their coop door and headed back inside to make the coffee and feed the cats. 

Even with all the windows closed (it's gonna be a hot day), I heard the noise, like hundreds of screaming hawks.  Looking out the sliding glass door, I could see a couple of my chickens by the house, not moving and looking to the sky.  Intrigued, I stepped outside and heard the racket up close.  Whatever was making it was circling my house - now it was in the front with a few stragglers in the back near me.  Hearing them on the move again, I moved to the side of the house and saw a hawk, followed by hundreds of smaller birds.  Blue Jays, and they were chasing that hawk away from my house!

My chickens were huddled together in fear, and Rhoda, my Rhode Island Red, was making a noise like a rumble rumble rumble, repeated low and constant. 

I stood there until the racket subsided, then noticed that several of the Jays had perched quite close to me.  I silently thanked them for watching out for my friends, and looked around at the rest of the yard.  A dragonfly had flown into the coop run and couldn't find it's way out, so I gently picked him up and got him to freedom.  A Monarch butterfly was nearby perched on a yellow dandelion, and a gorgeous black and white butterfly or moth flew nearby.  A hummingbird buzzed me, reminding me that I needed to fill his feeders, and the woods sighed in contentment.  Summer is here, the air is warm, and all is as it should be. 

And I am exactly where I am supposed to be.