Jane: We are What We "Do"?

The other day Sky said to me, “I can’t do anything anymore.” Of course, that isn’t true — there are lots of things he can still do. What he meant is “I can’t do many things that I used to be able to do easily and well,” like carpentry, gardening, reading, writing, crossword puzzles, board and card games.

We all learn how to do many different things in our lives. I remember vividly learning to read, learning to swim, learning to downhill ski, learning to ride a two-wheeled bike — none of them easy to learn, but oh so satisfying once I got the hang of it. My horizons opened up — so many books to read, lakes to swim in, mountains to glide down, and roads to ride. Life was full of endless possibilities.

Jane: Expect the Unexpected

Two months ago, Sky was having one of his recurring nocturnal fights against a bad thing, a monster of some sort. Except instead of attacking me, as he usually did, he attacked the air off the side of the bed, and fell out. Gashed his forehead on the bedside table, needed five stitches. Then refused to sleep in that bed again.

Sky: How's It Goin'?

“Hey, Sky. How’s it goin’?"

“You want the long, medium, or short answer? Long and Medium: you get the latest hallucination reports. Short: requires no listening skills, and minimal time commitment.”

“Hey, I got time. Lay it on me, man!! Oh, wait, unless it’s gonna get disturbing. What do you think?"

Sky and Jane: The Incident

Sky:

Well, it finally happened..a surprise, intense visit from Dr. Dementor, himself… Yes, the Dementor-in-Chief paid me a personal visit just so I don’t forget who who is in charge.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, I suppose, the stage was all set for some chaos…

…. I was tired, at the end of an exhausting day…

…. maybe even running a fever….

…. I was far from home. Over a thousand miles, doing volunteer work at the Texas/ Mexico border….

I was scared.

Jane: Being in Charge

The washing machine has been making a funny noise. It’s working fine, but when the water pumps out it sounds like an airplane taking off. That’s not how it usually sounds. I look around the machine when the noise escalates. I can’t see anything wrong. The water leaves, the cycle continues, the laundry comes out clean and spun. I ignore it.

Then I can’t any longer. I look in the manual, consult the troubleshooting page. No weird sounds listed. I call the company, talk to the very nice woman who answers the phone, and describe the problem. She very efficiently tells me how to make a further diagnosis — remove the front panel, check for loose belts, observe the inner workings when the noise happens, and call her back with more info.

I don’t do it.

Truth be told, I don’t want to do it.