I have one word of advice. Swimming. I have been to see my regular doctor this morning for a pre-op checkup. Then I went to my arthritis swim class at the "Y". My daughter, Amy, joined me there. Usually I go at 11:00, but today I went at 10:15. There's this ongoing complaint that the water isn't warm enough for the seniors doing the classes. Today I had to agree with them. Usually on Thursday it is warmer but today it wasn't. I got cold by 11:00. My class starts at 11:00. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stay for the hour class but I'm stubborn and I made it through. At the end of class, I got right out. I don't ever do that. I stay and swim a lap or two and go out in the deep end and bicycle while talking with any of the ladies that usually stay after class. None of the After Class ladies were there today but I couldn't have stayed anyway because I was shivering cold. The hot shower afterwards was orgasmic.

One of the ladies stopped me. She handed me a packet and a card. In the packet was a bracelet that she had made from beads. It is simple and beautiful. It features white beads with a pink ribbon. Then there are three silver beads that are silver and have Faith, Hope, and Courage on them. In between are these pretty pink beads. Again, I was very touched by someone's thoughtfulness. She was worried that it might not fit but it fit perfectly.

But what I'm going to say is that extra time I spent in the pool today has probably helped my mood immensely. Maybe the visit with my doctor was comforting, too. After swimming, my daughter, grandkids and I went out to lunch at Applebee's. I had an appetite today so lunch sounded great. When I got home, I was tired and spent the afternoon in my usual position watching TV. All I can say is I'm feeling pretty mellow right now at 6:30. Dozing off briefly probably helped, too. I started my day today at 4:30 a.m. That's when I woke up and felt my gut rumbling again and my heart palpitating mildly. After going to the bathroom, I laid in bed for an hour and realized that I just wasn't going to go back to sleep. I was tired of feeling my heart thumping offbeat. So up I got which is unusual for me.

I told the doctor that today was probably going to be a Xanax day. She let me have a prescription for some a couple of weeks ago and I hadn't used any yet. She said, yes, to definitely take one today if I felt like I did yesterday. So far, I haven't had to use it. I shy away from having to use those kind of drugs.

And now I have to get ready. My CPAP machine has to go and I want my slippers. Outside of that, I don't need anything else. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to feel like getting up to brush my teeth tomorrow night so I'm not going to pack my toothbrush. Won't need pajamas, either. I'll be bringing the bear that I use on my bed. It will give Bill something to rest his head on while he's waiting the surgery out. Then I'll have Leon (the bear) to rest my legs on in the bed or to lean against while I sleep. They make for great comfort like that. Oh, and I'm taking the little MP3 player Bill got me for my birthday. Gotta load the healing rhythms CD on it. I have also written "Bye Bye" on my left breast just to make sure they get the right one to lop off. I wonder how many times they see something like that in surgery, :-).