Rorschach Test

My aide and friend, Wyndie, erased the chalkboard yesterday, leaving this smudge. At the end of the day I glanced over and was surprised to see the art she had unintentionally created there.
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I see a young black boy's profile in silhouette. His neck is at bottom left; at right are his chin, lips, nose, brow, and hairline.

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What do you see in this chalk-smudge? I'd love to hear about other images!

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On the homefront, I'm happy to report that Dylan is making progress. He has missed 2 days of school and will probably miss tomorrow, as well, but his temperature is remaining below 100 degrees now. As long as we can keep him resting (a real challenge), I'm confident he will make a full recovery.

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As for me, I received the results of all my cardiology tests this afternoon. The good news: my heart is in pretty good shape. I have a slightly leaky valve, which so far isn't a problem and can be reversed, and my heart's pumping action runs about 50-55% capacity whereas a perfectly healthy heart runs at about 55-60%. All good for my age!

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The bad news: when they took my blood pressure, it was in "stroke" range: 189/104.

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During the past 10 years my blood pressure has been strongly affected by stress, and the past month has been incredibly stressful. Even so, my most highly stressed readings rarely surpass 140/90.

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Now Dr. Meman wants to treat my hypertension aggressively by adding a new drug to control the blood pressure while quelling the arrhythmia.

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Unfortunately, the combination of medications I'll be taking are potentially dangerous, so I'll be doing it on a trial basis for 10 days. After that I'll wear a Holter Monitor for 24 hours to see if it's helping or hurting my heart. Will the good times never end?

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Meanwhile--no surprise--I was lectured about the need to get more exercise and lose weight. He dropped the word-bomb "morbidly obese" at least 3 times during our visit. I am definitely too sedentary, but if he's imagining me gorging on sweets and other decadent foods, he's wrong. I eat regular-sized meals and choose healthy foods 99% of the time. I've been knocking myself out trying to lose weight since New Years. The doctor has no idea how frustrating this is. He did admit that peri-menopause and my medications are making it near-impossible to lose weight, but he told me I MUST keep at it or my heart will not stay as healthy as it is.

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And so I got a little kick in the pants today. He is absolutely right. Even if I never lose another pound, exercise and a healthy diet can only benefit my heart and lower my blood pressure, hopefully decreasing my need for drugs.

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All in all, I feel the news was positive. There are issues, but they can be dealt with and mended. I fully expect to be around to enjoy my beautiful grandchildren someday!