Women Relieve Me

Sometimes I get befuddled with the blogging. There are important things going on and I feel I ought to say something but that something eludes me. Which is how you wake up on International Women's Day and have only the vaguest notion to write something about women who own businesses where you shop.

Yesterday, after a phone conversation with the ENT doc it was decided that I should get a pulmonary work up to figure out my breathing. Got a rec and called the doc today. The receptionist was, frankly, a little scary. Finally she said I could have an appointment on March 19, nearly two weeks from now. Discouraged, I told the internet and right about then was when my International Women's Day post started to write itself.

Meg suggested that I call and ask if I could be put on a list for cancellations for an earlier appointment. After some procrastination I called and the receptionist was much nicer and when I laid out Meg's suggestion she said, "Can you come now?" So I did!

I arrived at a little Park Slope office in the bottom of a residential building and there were 4 women working. I spoke to the receptionist while an older woman talked to a young one with a cool swath of pink hair about their computer system. A woman about my age appeared and took me to a small room with a glass box with a chair in it and a bunch of tubes. She was like the world's weirdest sports coach as she took me through a comprehensive breathing study. I huffed and puffed but I did not blow anyone's house down. I kept thinking that, if the results were good, I wanted a copy to bring to Elynn to show her that I am a good breather!

After a few moments wait I went back to an exam room and the older lady came to meet me, she turned out to be the doc. Before she turned to me she finished a conversation with one of the other women by shouting down the hall, "Thank you! You make my life easier!" We talked and she took some vitals and we talked some more and she said, "Your breath study looks good. This is good news. You have mild asthma. I don't know why. This will go away." At which point I vowed to love her forever and always. I didn't really. But I thought it.

We talked about my allergies and how it would be important to control those to get the asthma under control and she gave me an inhaler and prescribed two other things and gave me dosage instructions and I was so high on "This will go away." that I barely heard her. When I asked her to repeat the instructions she wrote them down for me.

Later, as I was paying, there was a problem with the credit card machine. You know who trouble shoots that? The doctor! While she was doing it she gave me a pretty deep discount, too.

Now we can't lump all women into one category. We're all wildly different and that's what's cool about the human race. Often there are similarities in sensibility, though. This doctor's office has a lot of the things that I find in women's businesses. There's a team and that team is appreciated. The physical surroundings are designed to make you feel comfortable, not necessarily highly designed but just sort of nicely homey. You are made to feel that your humanity is as important as your numbers and you are comforted in some way.

It was a great way to spend part of International Women's Day.

Some of the other women-owned business I thought about writing on today are:


Who's Your Doggy, my neighborhood's first all-sizes, down home regular pet food and accessory store. Owned and operated by the irrepressible Tracy. There is now a second location in Bed-Stuy.

Green in Brooklyn, my go to gift store and refuge on cold dog walks because Elissa is a dog lover and fun to chat with.

Greenlight Bookstore, our neighborhood's first bookstore. It is also dog friendly and generally awesome.

Last but certainly not least are the enterprises of my good friend Michelle, Scooter Snacks and Spoonable Caramel Sauces. She feeds the souls and bellies of both the human and canine among us and we are grateful.

Photos are of famous women I think are cool. I thought about writing about some of them, too. Maybe later in Women's History Month.

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We've got new entries into the WOMEN photo challenge. Plenty of room for more if you're so inclined. $10 per entered photographer will go to the American Lung Association.