Whether your home is very cluttered, very tidy, or very in-between, almost everyone has some routines for keeping their living space livable and presentable.  Washing, sweeping, clearing away what doesn’t belong – all are important for a clean and healthy home.

In the same way, we all have habits and routines to take care of our bodies to keep them healthy.  Washing, brushing, shaving – all are important for a clean and healthy self.

When you have a spill on the floor, you clean it up using the safest and surest products you can find or create.  When you have a spill on your clothing, you clean it up, again using the safest and surest products you can find or create, and the same goes for your skin.

When you have a ding in the drywall, you take care of the hole by using the appropriate spackle, paint and tools to re-create the smooth, protective surface of the wall.  When you get cut or scraped, you use the appropriate ointments and bandages to help heal the smooth protective surface of your skin.

Sometimes, though, the problem goes deeper.  Then we have to take out the trash.

When a leaky pipe occurs, you have to call on a professional to cut through the ceiling or wall to get at the problem and make a repair.  When a rodent makes your kitchen wall its final resting place, you have to do some damage to get rid of the rot and stink, and then fix the damaged area.

This happens to us, too.  A bone is broken when you fall out of a tree.  A professional must make the repair which sometimes involves cutting and pain.  A gall bladder or a uterus ceases to function properly or malfunctions in a painful way.  It is then time for a professional to come in and remove the offending organ.

Tomorrow, I am having a small place on my scalp removed.  My physician said several times, “I don’t think it’s melanoma.”  This was not comforting to me.  I was a nervous wreck for the first few days after he set up a surgery date for me.  Then I (kind of) accepted the fact that whatever happens and whatever the results are, I will make the best of it.  The last few days, I have again been anxious and questioning, even to the point of asking my husband if he would still think I am pretty even with a bald spot (there is a chance that my hair will not grow back where the procedure is performed).  I may just have to rock the hat and headband looks!

Whatever the results, I will continue to be the best person I can be, sharing my life with my family, friends, and with my readers.  Maybe my journey will be a positive impact on someone else who is searching.  Maybe this little spot will just be a blip on the radar, and the little jolt I need to get some of the cluttered areas of my life in order, remembering to take out the trash!