Saturday, October 24, 2009

Toes 'n Things

The really big and most important news in my life is that I have what I guess is an ingrown toenail. It is excruciating. And yes, I am going to a doctor, in Seminary City because I have more more potential free time there than I do at home, but the appointment is still 10 days away. Lots of soaking and Neosporin.

In my googling around to figure out my pathetic state and what to do about it, I found a youtube ~ a young (I presume) woman's video of her messed-up toe with her voiceover saying "Look at my toe -- owie, owie ~ it's so sore ~ owie, owie." Just how I feel! She comments that she can't believe it's her most viewed video. Misery loves company, I guess.

Toe nothwithstanding, The Lovely Daughter's Americorps colleagues came for breakfast this morning en route to Children's Hospital Down The Hill where they are hosting a Halloween party. They are all doing college counseling in Big City's Less Than Stellar School System and today's is a required service project but, required or not, they are a terrific group of young people. They left here after pancakes et al. as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, a vampire, a fairy princess, a witch, Harry and Hermione, and I guess a couple of characters I can't remember.

I spent the rest of the morning at the local Jesuit retreat house with a woman I met when I co-led a retreat there last spring. Like me, she is without one of her adult children; in her case the mother of three of her young grandsons. We talked, not surprisingly, for two hours. There was a retreat going on at the center and we had planned a fall walk, but her hip and my toe (owie, owie) kept us inside and we found a tiny chapel in which to sit, undisturbed and undisturbing.

Nap time, I do believe.

4 comments:

Michelle said...

I'm glad there was space to sit -- and sacred space, too.

Last summer I broke a toe slipping on rocks in the river. Just about the time it was healed, I was at the beach. My nephew tried to help his "elderly" aunt onto a float, we got tipped by a wave and .... he stepped on my foot and broke the toe AGAIN.

My toes are remembering you tonight.

Anonymous said...

My toes... my son's toes... we are all abiding with you in deep sympathy. We know well what an ingrown toenail feels like... and frankly... I wouldn't wish it on anybody (well... maybe a couple of really... really mean people). Hope it gets better soon!!!!!

verification: aughhe (yep.. that's what it feels like)

Lori said...

Yes, we know about ingrown toenails at our house. I have a constant supply of betadine, hydrogen peroxide and aquaphor (the aquaphor is to protect the eczema stricken flesh from the drying betadine and h.p.).

Healing blessings on your toe!!

Dr. Laura Marie Grimes said...

Oh, hope the toe is better soon. My broken one two and a half years ago was an integral part of the surfacing of the episcopal call and first consecration, which happened on crutches (talk about the wounded healer model of ministry). But not fun. And may have actually involved less pain overall than you are facing as it got 1) immediate treatment and 2) good drugs.

Also glad for the conversation.