Speaking of Anniversaries...

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/speedbump

In a sense, an anniversary is a pretty arbitrary thing. In and of itself, it has no intrinsic value, but it serves as an occasion for looking back, for remembering. Sometimes it is an objective remembrance, but often it is a time of reflection, of seeing a past event in a larger context, less restricted by the passions and limitations of its moment. Thinking the why, not just the what, of an event.

Last Tuesday was the 8th week anniversary of my liver transplant. Tomorrow will be the 2 month anniversary. It’s a big difference talking months instead of weeks. It seems more a part of the past. Yesterday I drove to UPMC for my bi-weekly checkup. Yes, that’s right, I drove myself to the clinic, just short of a 2 hour one way trip. Previously, someone had driven me. After 6 weeks I was medically cleared to drive, and was making some short trips, but didn’t trust my energy to make the round trip to Pittsburgh. In an emergency, I would have, but didn’t have to so didn’t. It was liberating to be able to go by myself, and not tie up someone else. I may not be contributing much yet, but at least I can minimize being a negative drag on those around me.

Met a guy who was 3 years out in for a yearly checkup. I met a little girl about Gracie’s age, 2 and ½, who was in for her 1-year checkup, after getting a part of her dad’s liver. There was another conversation about contacting a cadaveric donor’s family, and how emotionally complex that is. It was academic to me, having had a living donor, but interesting to hear. Meet a woman whose daughter died in April from a chronic disease. She thought she was also losing her husband until his transplant the end of May. He lived, the daughter died; it is all in Krishna’s hands.

After I posted my one year anniversary blurb for my blog, I noticed that Sitapati had his 2 year blog anniversary the same day. Since he was the original inspiration to start mine, I thought that was serendipitous. (Disclaimer: Such inspiration was unknown to him, so he has no karmic debt incurred for any mistakes or nonsense I write.) Of course, that is based on the sun calendar of 52 weeks, not the Vedic moon based calendar. I am not up enough to know if we would have hit the same day on a moon calendar, but it might not. You can never find a Vedic astronomer when you need one. It does serve as an example of the arbitrariness of anniversaries – it is a different day if you use the moon calendar or the sun calendar of the ugrkarmis.