Tag Archives: waiting rooms

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Time for contemplation

coal-hole-2

Jeanette Winterson, in her fantastic memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, writes:

“The one good thing about being shut in a coal hole is that it prompts reflection.”

She goes on to meditate on life, happiness and normalcy; results of the reflection that occurred during the many hours she was locked in the coal hole by her mother.

Now I don’t mean to suggest that a hospital waiting room is like a coal hole, but there is a similarity of ‘in-betweenness’ in the situations. In both cases, the job we have is to wait for the next phase, whether it be freedom from the coal hole or the opportunity to go in to an appointment. How we use that time is up to us, of course.

The waiting room does have more distractions than the coal hole, which is why, perhaps, Jeanette’s in-between time was more productive and profound than mine generally is. I have returned to my old ways of reading, writing and checking email in the time before I am called in. I have lost some of my capacity to just sit and ‘be’ during this time.

I would like to reactivate that part of me that knows how to wait. That will be my goal for tomorrow’s visit. Who knows what deep thoughts might appear. I’ll keep you posted.

Sam

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Tuesdays from the chemo unit, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I know I’ve been slacking on Tuesdays since I discovered the nirvana of waiting, but there were two moving events for me in the waiting room this past Tuesday that I wanted to share.

One involved the ringing of the bell. I’ve mentioned before the bell at the chemo unit. When someone is finished their last treatment, they are encouraged to ring the bell. (I have looked longingly at that bell I must admit.) Today there was a man about my age who posed for pictures while ringing the bell. Upon walking out of the unit, him and his family all stopped and cried with happiness and hugged each other over and over again. It was such a moment of joy, optimism and accomplishment. I felt like a bit of an intruder, but also felt happy to be witnessing this celebration.

A little while later a nurse came out to speak to the woman who had been sitting waiting near me. I thought she, too, was waiting for her treatment and we both were in our own worlds. When the nurse sat down with her she said “You’re Mr. Brown’s mother? We just finished giving him his treatment and he started to shake and now has a fever. We need to send him up for blood work and it looks like we’ll need to keep him overnight.”

The mother just looked crushed. Again, I felt like an intruder into a very private moment, but I couldn’t move. The nurse was extremely kind and tried very hard to make it easier for the mother. But the man looked very young on the gurney as he passed me by and I just felt the mother’s heart ache.

This is the waiting room at the chemo unit. I bounce in every week for my treatment pretty happy most of the time, confident that this treatment is keeping me healthy and stable. But for many people, being at the chemo unit is an intense experience, full of anxiety and then, potentially, more positive feelings when the intensity is over. I’m just an observer, but I feel as if I have a window into some deep humanity by witnessing the experience of others.

It’s definitely more than just a waiting room.

 

Sam

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Waiting room dreams

Since mentioning the possibilities of creative expression about waiting rooms, I have been reflecting on the topic. Here are my musings in the form of two lists Note how many things on the first list are solitary. Note how many on the second list involve interaction with others, or at least the potential for interaction.

10 THINGS PEOPLE DO IN WAITING ROOMS:
1. Read
2. Do puzzles
3. Knit
4. Play games on their phones
5. Talk on their phones
6. Eat
7.Work
8. Watch the blaring TV
9. Text on their phones
10. Send emails on their phones.

10 THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO IN WAITING ROOMS:
1. Learn a new language
2. Play board games
3. Work on a jigsaw puzzle.
4. Walk around a beautiful courtyard
5. Buy a yummy bowl of coffee and sit in a comfy chair to drink it
6. Look at some beautiful fish
7. Nose around a used book table
8. Play a game of pool
9. Play a game of ping pong
10. Learn a new skill like knitting or making websites

Who knows, maybe this will be my next project after the book is completed: Creating community in the waiting room. Watch for it!

Until next time

Sam