Sunny sunflowers remind me of my mom

The middle of the night is an excellent time to stress about things like: “Will I ever book a great gig again?” or “Am I destined to remain an Uber driver for the remainder of my life?”  Tuesday night provides me with a double whammy worry as I notice an odd looking bump on my neck. My insomniatic issues are compounded as I google “red bumps on necks” and can’t decide if I have a bacterial or fungal infection, skin cancer, or if I’ve just been bitten by a Zika-carrying-mosquito.

Volunteering in the ER —

Hours later during my early morning ER shift, I happen to catch the eye of Dr. A on a never-ending call with a former ER patient stressing about a medication she’s been taking.  He tries and tries to reassure her in the nicest and most calming way, not getting anywhere till —

Dr. A: “Then STOP GOOGLING!”

She must laugh, because he grins at me as the call finally ends.  I flash him my best “everyone-has-a-degree-from-Google-smile” just as —

PA Announcement: Volunteer to Triage STAT!

Within moments I’m alone in an elevator with an OB patient  —

Moaning Mom-to-be : I feel like I have to push!

Me: Nooooooooo. Don’t push, don’t push.

Moaning Mom-to-be : I have to push.

Me: Don’t push, don’t push!

Elevator doors swing open — I propel the wheelchair toward the L&D desk where a Volunteer is all alone and looking like a deer-in-headlights as I squeal —

Me:  SHE’S PUSHING, OPEN THE DOOR!

The door flies open. We fly through till I reach the Nurse’s Station and shriek —

Me: HELP! This ER Patient is PUSHING!

Three nurses dash out. The fastest nurse wheels Moaning Mom-to-be into a labor room but the closing door can’t muffle M-T-B’s earth-shattering-horror-film-SCREAM!!
Phew!
Imagine me delivering a baby!
Yikes!

A Beautiful Day in L.A. —

After my shift, I catch an Uber fare to Santa Monica and happen upon the Promenade Farmers Market. Good. I multi-task and buy fresh veggies for a big yummy salad I’ll make later.

Farmers Market at the Prom

I cross Ocean Avenue to breathe in ocean air and revitalize. Gazing at the sand and sea, I’m reminded of my Dad’s story about holding a rock up to your eye. Close to the eye, it looks big. Holding it out at arms-length it gets smaller.  Throwing it as far as possible, it just becomes another grain in the sand.

The sea helps me see

I catch another fare east before a table read at my agency for an aging A-lister who likes to hear the script before deciding (yeah, must be nice…) Donating a little time to an agency table read is always an easy “yes” for me — anything to remind my agent Josh that I’m still alive and up for acting.

The view from the umpteenth floor is pretty amazing on this 80 degree February day in L.A. and I’m reminded again of my Dad’s perspective story about the “pebble” aka “problems.”

A view from the umpteenth floor

That night after my healthy salad, I look at my neck and am relieved that the red bump is almost gone. Even though I have no major revelations about my future, I feel pretty peaceful inside because of my pretty good day. I mean who can complain about hanging around hot doctors and cute babies — and living in L.A. on a February day when it’s 80 degrees?  Not me.

I’m lucky to live in a city where there’s lots of sand and sea plus a big blue sky helping me to breathe, find the sunny–  and put it all into perspective.