Sick a la Shel Silverstein

“I cannot go to school today,

said little Peggy Ann Mackay,

I have the measles and the mumps,

a gash, a rash, and purple bumps.”

This may have been the first poem I ever had to memorize in school, for Mrs. Grimshaw’s 4th grade class. Shel Silverstein was a big name in kid poetry back then, and I loved his collection of poems, _A Light in the Attic_, that he illustrated himself. The drawings are as whimsical and fun as the poetry. Even as an unsophisticated nine year old, I could recognize high caliber talent.

Committed to memory lo so many years ago, it is now in my long-term memory, or at least the first four lines of it. In “Sick,” after little Peggy lists her litany of symptoms and disorders, she realizes

“…what, you say to day is Saturday? Then I’m going out to play!” Love it. Three cheers for Shel Silverstein.

Last night’s lentil soup was delish but didn’t keep the sore throat and fatigue at bay. Husband went out to the farmer’s market without me, only to discover to his chagrin (such a fun turn of phrase!) that it was cancelled today, ostensibly for the holiday week. This is the first year in five that we are not in NY this Christmas week, so we didn’t know that’s how the farmer’s market schedule does.

For all we knew, our neighbors built an enormous bonfire in the middle of the block every Christmas Eve that burned right on through New Year’s Eve.

I weighed myself today, the first time in a while. Certainly the first time after all the butter-rich Christmas cookies, shortbread, homemade Russian tea cakes, blueberry cheesecake, Russian chocolates my sister’s patients gave to her as presents, Lindt dark chocolate truffles, See’s chocolate, Tully’s venti-v soy- mocha-no & a generous helping ofbuttery-streuselicious crumb cake and post-funeral banana bread with Scharffen Berger 70% chocolate, El Pollo Loco’s rotisserie pollo, Kung Pao Comedy’s veggie eggrolls and pre-Kung Pao Comedy’s barbecue pork buns and bamboo-leaf wrapped rice pyramids from a hole-in-the-wall on Stockton Street in SF Chinatown, and I had lost two pounds.

No kidding.

I have founded a new diet: rice (brown) & beans (black) for breakfast. The high-fiber, high-protein combo keeps my appetite in check until late enough in the day that I only eat two meals a day now.

No kidding.

It’s also the post-pet death diet, where I’m not that interested in food. Maybe it’s all the meditation I’ve been doing, also.

Whatever it is, it’s working, I’m not asking questions, and I’ve got more to lose before we fly to Kona in March, a scant 8 weeks away. -******************************* (That was Miss Thang adding her two cents, after jumping onto my desk).

Will have to expand on our Jewish-for-Christmas 2007 theme later.