Did you look at the moon tonight? It is just huge, shining in the night like it knows that it is something special. Well, it is. This is the Blue Supermoon of 2023, my friends. Not to be seen again for 14 years. Just the sight of it makes me feel happy.
This is also the anniversary of the day that I was told that I had systemic sclerosis and Sjogren’s Disease. Actually, it is 9 years and one day since I drove to my first rheumatologist appointment; I was a little emotional that morning as I passed fields of beautiful sunflowers, their faces glowing in the light of the morning sun rising behind me. You’d think that the date would be kind of a bummer, but nope. As it turns out, there are lots of things that are making me feel happy at the moment.
That’s right, after languishing for 18 months on the waiting list, my name came up for the portable oxygen concentrator that I have been desperately needing. Look at that baby!!! It only weighs 5 pounds, it works great, I can adjust the level of flow on the fly, it can charge in the car, and it is exactly what I need. Yay!!! I got it yesterday on the exact 9-year anniversary of my diagnosis.
So happy, feeling absolutely empowered, I headed to the yarn store after picking up the concentrator. Time to take this baby for a spin, right? I have been struggling for months to make a decision about the yarn for the La Prairie cardigan that I want to knit next. I bought a kit of yarn to make the cardigan, but I’m not happy with it. I needed a new skein to go into the mix…
The yarn picture on the left is the original kit. The one on the right is the new variation that I’m not completely happy with. Feeling hopeful and more than a little determined, I sat on the floor in front of the most likely candidate yarns and, rocking my new O2 concentrator, holding up my phone with the yarns on the screen, I kept looking at different ideas for the fade…
Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I suddenly realized that the Stitch Together yarn (second from the top) was exactly what I was looking for. There it is. I asked others in the store what they thought, and the consensus was that I had nailed down my fade. Yay!!! Finding that yarn made me happy.
I’m going to make that Barbie pink yarn into hats for the community knitting group that I knit for because… wait for it… the color makes me happy!! I had one of the original Barbie dolls, and just the thought of Barbie makes me… happy!
On the way home from the yarn store, still sucking down oxygen in the car and feeling pretty good, I stopped at the grocery store to buy some tiramisu because I was absolutely having a tiramisu kind of day, and there at the front of the store were sunflowers. You know, it is the end of August, and it is sunflower time. Shine like a sunflower!!
By the time I got home I was tallying up all of the things that made me happy. The leaves are starting to change on the trees in town, and the ornamental grasses are covered with rich golden plumes atop bright green stems. That makes me happy. Pumpkin spice is back at Starbucks. The kittens loved the new toys that I bought them. I ordered new clothes this week that fit great even though they are a smaller size than usual. I found new shoes to wear that are really helping a lot. Happy. I am happy.
The shoes are shaped like walking boots on the bottom, but inside there is great arch support and a cushy insole. I am walking now with much less pain. Did you notice the purple detailing and the silver loops for the laces? Happy. These are happy shoes.
Once home, I headed outside to the catio with my yarn, the tiramisu, and a cup of coffee from my new Keurig machine (yep… happy), and as I set the plate and coffee cup on the table, a pair of adult cottontail rabbits raced around the corner of the deck and zoomed under my side gate. Looks like I will be having baby bunnies again. I am happy.
Nine years ago, I asked that first rheumatologist what my life would be like in five years time. He refused to answer, and it was my first clue that I might be in some trouble here. 18 months ago, my pulmonologist told me it was okay to cry when the first lung scans showed serious interstitial lung disease. One year ago, my pulmonologist told me that they were very worried about me after my lung biopsy… nothing was working, and he wasn’t sure I’d make it. Last month, the technician who did my latest pulmonary function test told me that I was too bad to walk any longer without portable oxygen. I came home, looked at the bottles that are too heavy for me to carry, and cried.
Tonight, under the blue supermoon, with sunflowers on my table, I am happy. One month later, I have my portable oxygen. 18 months later, my lung disease appears to be stable. 9 years later, I’m still here, rolling with the punches of new complications, facing down the monster, and finding ways to shine.
I am happy.
Shine on supermoon, shine on.
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Even for you, positive creature that you are, this is a supremely delightful post, Marilyn: it makes me happy to feel your happy vibes.
(Was that just me ? – or all of down here ? [grin])
Thank you so much! I was trying to capture my joy at the moment.
What an uplifting and inspirational post. Yes we saw the moon too. I’m glad it was a clear night.
It was perfectly clear here, too. It really shined in the night, huh. It was just a perfect ending for a wonderful (happy) day.
Such good news, Marilyn. “Nailed down my fade” sent me to Google. I’m happy to say I guessed correctly
I’ve been watching BritBox and I have to do some googling too. 🙂 I used to tell my boss that we needed more nails for the coffin when I was working on a rheumatoid arthritis project (which meant, we needed more data before we published) and I now wonder if there is a connection to the idiom I used. The fade part is referring to the colors in the shawl.
Thanks for the confirmation 🙂
Seeing the glimmers in your day and how it has all come together is lovely! I’m glad you’ve got that portable oxygen too! I hope it makes everything easier for you! The yarns are lovely too – I look forward to seeing what you create!
The portable oxygen is just huge for me. I’ve been house bound for weeks during the heat of the day, and this will let that end. Plus, there are just a lot of things that are making me happy at the moment. I should be able to start that new sweater next week. Yay!
I smiled the entire time I read this. I’m so glad for you that you found so many things that made you happy today (the moon was definitely one of them for me too!) Brilliant design for your new oxygen buddy. That will make a world of difference, I suspect, in how you feel about getting out and about.
So glad you smiled! Regaining my freedom has made the whole world look wonderful again. Then, of course, there was that moon!
You are such an inspiration to me! I love how you’re so positive! You’re my hero! The moon was gorgeous as it was coming up over the trees!
You probably also like the color of the newly planned sweater, too. I’m a pretty wobbly hero, but I keep trying…
❤
Hooray for happy! And those shoes look great!
The shoes are working out so well that I may write a letter to the company. Scleroderma patients lose all the fat on the bottom of their feet, so basically we are walking on the bones, and then my tendons came under attack. Over the last week all of the pain has been receding and I’m walking much better. Best shoes ever!
Oh, that’s incredible!
What a splendiferous day you had! Love the fade you nailed, the sunflowers, the shoes, the oxygen thingy. Couldn’t see the moon from my place, but it sounded spectacular.
It has just been a big cluster of me saying “that makes me happy” for several days now. Sorry you couldn’t see the moon; it really was something. The best ending to a good day ever.
The super moon was so beautiful last night 🙂
So glad you had such a good day on an anniversary that wasn’t a happy one! Yay for your new portable oxygen! Yay for your beautiful new fad – you had some great picks in that set! Yay for your happy new shoes, sunflowers, pumpkin spice, and new baby bunnies on the way 🙂
It was just a big, happy day. The moon was the perfect cherry on top!
🙂
I’m so happy you were able to get your portable oxygen concentrator. I’m concerned that you had to wait for 18 months to be okayed for it, however. That’s a lot of time in which your quality of life was compromised. If it’s not too rude to ask, why does a person have to be on a waiting list and not automatically be able to get it if the physician prescribes it?
The short answer is…Covid. The demand is now much higher due to people who now need oxygen support, and the availability of the portable concentrators is limited. It may be like what happened with getting new cars. I did spend my tax return on a portable machine that can travel with me, but it was the kind that needs to be plugged into the wall. I kept thinking that I should just buy one of the little ones, but the salespeople were so shady (like car salesmen of old, they won’t tell you the price up front), and I was hearing so much feedback online about problems with machines that I opted to wait for the service provider to get to me on the waiting list. I did get some bottles to carry with me, but they were too heavy for me to manage with my cane, and I struggled pulling them after me. I got smaller bottles, but they were only good for less than 2 hours, and they were still too heavy. So glad that I made it. I’ve been pretty homebound for most of this year.
Really infuriating, huh. It’s one of those things that doesn’t make the news, but the impacts of Covid go on.
What a difficult situation. Out of curiosity, I looked up the concentrators. They range in price, but some are about what you’d pay for a low-end used mini-motorcycle. Not a casual purchase by any means. I hope the unit you have works well for many years.
You can see why I was a little hesitant to buy one, especially when I was getting online feedback of problems with the units; the one I got costs about $2,500. This way, if the unit misbehaves it will be immediately replaced by the oxygen provider, and my insurance will cover it. I am going to buy myself a backback!
There’s a lot to be said for not having the headache of dealing with a malfunctioning concentrator, if it were to happen. Thank heaven for good insurance.
Aw yay, I’m so happy that you’re happy! Portable oxygen seems to have come a long way since my Gramps had to cart round a bottle on a trolley everywhere he went, hooray for freedom!
I’d never be able to handle the large tanks! Yikes!