Yesterday was one of those days you might feel that you did that were worthwhile, but you'd have been just as glad if you'd been somewhere else, doing another activity entirely.

I spent the morning commiserating with a friend who has to return to San Salvador to visit her mother. Her sister says that their mother is losing her memory and orientation, please come. She is, obviously, very upset, and financially this is nearly impossible for her.

We spent the morning on the computer finding the cheapest air fare for her, contacting the appropriate authorities for authorization to visit the country, and finally I convinced her to take some money. She knows she won't be able to pay it back (she works for minimum wage), and I had a hard time explaining that I don't expect her to pay it back. It's a gift.

Finally I assuaged her pride and embarrassment by working out a deal in which she can help me when I get my heart surgery (if that ever happens). I'll need somebody to clean, cook, tote and fetch for a few days, and she can feel that she has had a way to pay me back.

Then, skipping lunch and my midday nap, (a really bad idea), I jumped in the car to take another elderly friend to her eye doctor appointment in Van Nuys.

We sat in the waiting room from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at which point I noticed that people who came in after us had been seen by the doctor and departed. Something was amiss, and when I checked with the desk, her paperwork had been set in the wrong pile.

After a 15 minute appointment with the doctor, we were on our way home. I got back to my house shaky with low blood sugar and totally wiped out, emotionally and physically.

However, a good dinner and a sound sleep took care of everything and this morning I'm back to semi-normal. Thank goodness for sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care.