SPARK

Morgan Fox
“Business as Usual”
Response

Urmilla Khanna
A Senior Moment
Inspiration Piece

When I first wake up, I do one or two of the following: go for a walk, sit for twenty minutes in meditation or do some sort of yoga stretches. This has been engrained into my inner soul since childhood.

After the sketchy exercises, my routine brings me to my favorite chair in the living room, all four lamps lit for the benefit of my aging eyes. The newspaper head-lines are as mundane as my routine, so I turn to my calendar and look for something more exciting. I tally the date on the square of my calendar with the date on the newspaper, just to make sure. I read my scribbled handwriting, often undecipherable. “Let’s see what’s interesting in my life today,” I say aloud.

Today is Thursday: PT appointment at 10:30; senior citizen’s day at Harris Teeter after that. I look forward to my planned day. It is a senior citizen’s day, not a senior moment’s day, I laugh aloud though there is no one around to share my dusty humor.

As I make my breakfast of warm oatmeal and fresh fruit, I also slap a slice of cheese between two pieces of stale bread. “Day to buy fresh bread. Keep this with you anyway, in case you get hungry. They say you must not shop on a hungry stomach. You will end up with too many boxes of cookies in the cart with great regrets later.”

The phone rings. I tell my friend that I cannot be with her for too long because I have an early PT appointment, errands to run after that and I haven’t yet taken a shower. She hangs up politely.

Most of my writing energy tweaks while I am in shower. I get dressed and come down to the computer. I look at the time. The clock on the right lower corner of the laptop reads 10:00 AM.

“Let it all out. Thump non-stop. No revisions. You have exactly one hour, or may be 45 minutes to be on the safe side.”  I thump away.

The phone rings again. The clock reads 11:00 AM. I almost do not wish to answer it lest it is another friend in need of “talking”. Thanks to technology I am able to see the caller. My first instinct is that of disappointment. Someone has just called the Orthopedic Physical of Northern Virginia seeking urgent help. Patsy, the secretary, is calling to see if I could give my spot to her. “Not a problem,” I rehearse in my head as I grab the receiver. Much as I am looking forward to discussing my progress with my therapist, I can do this, I can let the needy person take my spot.

“You are not here,” Patsy says.

“I am on my way, just in very few I will be there,” I say in a cheerful voice and wait for Patsy’s response. I am willing to give up my spot.

I learn that I had missed my 10:30 appointment.

How could that be? I had checked the date in the newspaper, circled my purchases in the HT-flyer and then checked the penciled markings on my calendar. I had also done away with a chat with my friend, telling her about my early appointment.

They say you can’t appreciate something unless you experience it. I have now experienced it.

I apologize to Patsy profusely.