Permanent

Seven days since I posted my last blog entry.  It’s not that the the days haven’t been eventful.  It’s that I have allowed the events to fill the time I had been using to write blog entries. 

I have been making jelly.  I have several reasons for doing this.  Functionally, I needed to make room in our freezer.   To accomplish that I removed all of the containers of boysenberry, raspberry, blackberry, and quince juice that I had accumulated over the summer.  I mixed much of the boysenberry, raspberry, and blackberry juice together to make Brambleberry Jelly.  I had enough raspberry juice gathered from this banner raspberry year to make several batches of Raspberry Jelly.  Then there was the quince juice extracted from a large basket of quince I picked last week.  From it I made Quince Jelly, and two large batches of membrillo, a quince paste popular in Spain and delicious with a sharp cheddar cheese.  There are no new blog entries, but there are now six cases of jelly as well as more room in our freezer, which is to say I can now close the door.

Another reason has to do with taking care of our garden and the wonders it produces.  Our garden in a generative act that Sherry and I share.  The liturgy of season is marked by sharing events such as the Spring showing of the magenta rhubarb shoots, or celebrating the first ripe tomato.  Picking the berries and the quince are in there, too.  Fully utilizing  the produce completes the circle and honors our cogeneration, and it is a way of sustaining the goodness of the garden.

Probably the best reason is that I can.  Today was the second day Sherry didn’t wear her gait belt--the one that snugs around her waist that I hold onto while she is on her feet to prevent falls.  She is getting around the house independently.  I still don’t think it would be a good idea for me to leave her alone, but I am more free to focus on other household tasks without interruption.  So, I stirred my bubbling jelly with abandon.

The other change, as predicted, is that Sherry is beginning to lose her hair.  She leaves silver strands behind her like the tail of a comet.  I put a glass container with a lid on it in the bathroom to store the hair I pull out of the bristle brush Sherry uses every morning.  We  plan to put the hair out for the birds in the Spring so they can use it in making their nests.  

Word among the radiation veterans is that hair loss happens around the  thirteenth session.  Sherry completed session twelve on Friday, and thirteen is scheduled for tomorrow.  She appears to be right on schedule.  Her radiologist on Thursday told Sherry that her hair loss would be permanent.  We got real excited about that.  Wow!  Permanent!  That sounds like a long time--just what we have been hoping for!  Celebrate!  On every count collateral hair loss while bombarding tumors is the better choice.  As for me, I love Sherry’s hair, but I don’t love her for her hair. 

Cheryll, my sister, sent me the following Wendell Berry words last week:

“Whatever happens

Those who have learned to love one another

Have made their way to a lasting world

   and will not leave

Whatever happens”

I believe this is the kind of permanent we are seeking...