Healing

Every day Jordan says to me, “You look so much better today.” It’s affirming to have her say that, and maybe her positive attitude does speed up my healing. This picture is me two weeks after my great face-plant on the bathroom floor. What looked bad enough that morning two weeks ago got worse as the bruises migrated around my face, following facial planes or the lymphatic system. I only landed on one side of my face, and we were surprised that the bruising jumped my nose to give me another black eye and then, a couple of days later, made slight line across the bridge of my nose. One friend looked at me and exclaimed, “You’re bilateral now.”

I’ve kind of stuck close to home so as not to raise curiosity, but I have gone out to eat a few times. Sometimes no one notices, but at Carshon’s deli the other day I got lots of attention, first and foremost from the staff who know me well. But then a woman across the room smiled at me in such a friendly way I had a moment of panic, thinking do I know her and not remember? No worries. She came over and said, so kindly, “You’ve had a bad fall, and I’m so sorry.” We chatted for a bit, with details of my fall and how lucky I am, and she ended with a story that made me hoot. A woman sprayed hair spray into the toilet (I’m not sure why—odor control?). Her husband came along, sat on the toilet, and threw his cigarette into it. The whole thing exploded, leaving him I’m sure with unmentionable injuries. That lady really brightened my day.

But a few minutes later I looked up and saw a table of four men, their heads all turned to stare at me. My friend Carol said they were probably imagining some lurid tale of a jealous lover who beat me. I think I’m a little old for that.

Today, when I realized I do look better, I tried to take selfies to show that. I absolutely give up. I look awful in any selfie I’ve ever taken—old, saggy flesh, gray stringy hair. I even went and powdered my face, but there was no improvement. Jordan came along and took the picture above, and while I’m no raving beauty I look a hundred times better than the selfies I took.

I had a friend once who commiserated with me about the fact that I am anything but photogenic. Bobbie, now passed on and much missed by me and my family, was half mother figure half friend, a real soulmate. My kids used to say, “Bobbie tells it like it is.” In this case, she said something to the effect of  “Bless your heart, you don’t look nearly that bad in real life.” Thanks a lot. My children, on the other hand, are all terrifically photogenic. Makes me want to slap them upside the head.