NOTE: My entries are published non-linearly, offered to the world based only on courage. Today’s entry was originally penned on September 8th. Here, I’m ready to share. * Let me tell you, I’m amazed with my body. I can’t tell you if I’ve ever, across my sixty years, simply witnessed her miraculousness. After each baby pushed through, I tortured her back—however I defined back—each time.

Yesterday I pulled my stent out. The surgeon instructed this post-op, though I barely remember her guidance. Blood. Warm bath. Meds. Pain. The day before, I bled-peed all day. This too, expected. Still, when you witness your body pouring blood through an orifice that should not bleed. Yesterday I prepped stent-pulling with a strong dose of Tylenol. I don’t ingest pain meds.

(Substack Post Dated Sept 1st, 2026) Tomorrow brings surgery. My 17th or 19th while in this bag of skin. When I leave this world, I’ll leave lighter, fewer organs and rage than the state in which I arrived. Today. I make a list of nourishing things: cool morning breeze, cricket choruses, fire pits and poetry, slow reading and even slower writing, pausing to push mundane tasks—dishwashing, dusting, laundering—into meditative moments of restoration.

Wednesday, August 19th, my body fetaled, severe cramps spasming my lower abs and left flank. Probably a kidney stone, I thought. Maybe food poisoning. I dry heaved every ten minutes and thought, Manageable. Part of me feels like I could CLEP out of Med School after nurturing and nursing my son through 42 procedures, post-op home care, and over 60 hospitalizations.

This. My new substack title. I love my little blog, but you know as well as I know, I don't visit you very often here. It feels, well, neglect-full at best. I will still visit, post something fresh for you here. Aim for my monthly engagement because I really love my website and love the positive responses here. Lovely. But a Substack newsletter offers more.

Are writers who take years to publish better writers than those who publish frequently? I'm asking for myself because I hear this fairly often. Because I hear this often, I assume the statement is targeted at me. I might be the target because over the last four years, I've published four books. (Thank you, Moon Tide Press). By some literary standards this looks like frequent publishing.