Equanimity

It seems to me that it would be desirable to arrive for a major surgery in as much of a state of equanimity as possible.  Although I have had five abdominal surgeries, they were all routine. I cannot recall trying to prepare myself mentally for any of them. 

Today was calm. I slept late. We had lunch and dinner at superb restaurants with friends, as planned. (A special treat was a ride to and from dinner in a Maybach.) I read Saturday newspapers, and I went to the gym for two hours. In telephone conversations with Nicolas Clement in Chantilly and Christophe Clement in New York I learned that on Thursday there is a race at Longchamps for Sacred Music and a race for W.C. Jones at Belmont. I am about to watch a favorite old movie, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold.

I was heartened by conversations with my children and my parents, as well as with friends. The letters and emails that arrived during the day were also balm for my spirits.