Will went to Dialysis for his grandmother today in Duluth. I stayed home and did some watering and light clipping in the garden. Mary was on campus teaching. I left for radiation therapy around 2:00 pm.

Today, I set myself up for failure.

There is a laundry list of reasons just waiting to be aired. From the simplest: I didn’t greet the day. To the most insidious: I thought I controlled the day.

The best days come without the grind of introspection and thinking an idea to death. Open no self-help manuals…mouth no “get happy” doctrines or phrases.

The best days come when I slow down.

A good way to water the garden and to sweep pathways is to lose myself in the act. This can lead to a tidy day.

The best way to walk into the ROC for treatment is without pain and resentment. Cursing three inferior drivers that were not following the rules of my road does not help this walk.

Keep resentments at bay. Choose to remain silent.

And write my thoughts down. Take the extra thirty minutes at the ROC to sit and type the blog.

I have completed Radiation Treatment Ten of the twenty prescribed daily sessions. I am experiencing more pain upon movement as the vertebra adjusts itself. Dr. Simon understands that this is not uncommon. He has adjusted the pain medication. There is a possibility of two to three additional treatments at the end of this radiation treatment prescription. The prescription does not increase in strength; the effect is cumulative.

That’s it for now.

Statue of Saint Joseph, Patron of the Sick, presented by The Student Society, 1954