Chemo Class

Well, today I found out just how much I really don't know about nursing; or at least about oncology nursing. After sitting for 2 8-hour days in class going over about 25-30 drugs that I can barely pronounce with actions and side-effects that can be almost as bad as the disease they are meant to treat, I find myself treading water with my nose just barely above the water-line.

I guess part of it is that I have been in this profession for so long, that much of the new learing I have to do is just another layer added to what I already know. Not so with this stuff. I am starting from ground level here. My nurse manager (read: boss) told me that I didn't know what I didn't know, and she was certainly right. But I did pass the final exam for the course, and am now chemo certified. Is that a scarey thought or what? Hopefully it won't take too long to assimilate some of it. By the end of today I was beginning to be able to pick the right class of drug when she would say a particular trade name or generic name. So maybe there is hope for me yet.

They say that if you keep your mind active, learing new things, solving puzzles, etc. that you fight the effects of aging, possiblility of Alzheimer's or other types of dementia. At this rate, I should have no worries at all!

The end of the story

L came back last night just after dark and we went to the car. I was grateful for all the large piles of dirt sitting between the highway and the parking lot. (They await someone to come spread them around into more parking lot.) They were an effective camoflage. No one could see that it was even there. We could hardly see it even after pulling in--black car, dark, dirt. Perfect. He got in the car, stuck the valet key (which I finally found) in the lock, and--nothing. I could see him fiddling around with things on the dashboard and the steering wheel, and then suddenly, the brake lights came on, then the reverse lights, and the car started to back up. It took him about 2-3 minutes to get it unstuck and running. There is apparently something wrong with the switch, but at least we have the vehicle home in one piece. L plans to take it in and have it looked at in the next few days. I don't plan on driving it anytime in the near future. One snafu was more than enough. I'm just grateful it happened the way it did. I can't imagine having to deal with that at work, or a store parking lot. God is faithful.

How do you spell "frustration?" CAR!!!

Tonight, after a really good time at the last night of our revival, I went to my (L's) car, got in, and put the key in the lock, and got absolutely nothing. No the battery is not dead. The key wouldn't turn past the first set of tumblers. So, I could see, because my lights worked, I could hear, because the radio worked, but I could not GO, because my key didn't work! After I had checked everything I could think of trying to find the problem, I called L, who is in Dallas for a job interview. (With my car, as he was going to see about getting a small dent out of my rear door.) (Now, don't go jumping to conclusions! I don't need that on top of this.) He had no idea what to do because he's never had this problem before. Next step, ask the guys still at church what to do. They tried all the same things I did, plus taking the cables off the battery (once they found it--in the TRUNK!) No luck. I would just call in for tomorrow, but I traded with another nurse so she could go to a Dr.'s appt in the morning, so that puts everyone in a crimp.

So Preacher Man, bless his heart, has loaned me his car for the day so I can get to work. L will be home sometime tomorrow evening, and I asked him to check with the dealership there since we have no dealership with this particular flavor of auto in out little town. Hopefully they can come up with some kind of solution to this very perplexing problem.

Maybe it wouldn't be quite so aggravating if I had some idea why it decided to lock itself down. But all I did was park, remove the key, lock the door and go to church. There we go! That's what did it! I was at church! Silly me, did I really think I was going to get through an entire revival where we did a little stomping on Satan's head and not have a retaliatory punch? That's ok, I know Who wins the war. More on this saga later. I'm going to bed.

New Year, Fresh Slate

We had a wonderful time last night at our Watchnight Service. It has been a number of years since I have been to one of those. We talked, we ate, we sang, we prayed, the kids played board games, and we saw the New Year in with Communion. I'm still riding on the "Ahhhh" factor. You know, that sense of being fully satisfied by the presence of the Lord, and the company of folks who, for all intents and purposes are family.

I do have to confess that for me the holidays are a bit anticlimactic. All the rush and craziness distill down into a few hours of expectation, and then it's gone. I don't get really excited about either of them anymore. Not being bah, humbug, just not into all the high-energy stuff, either. I have begun looking past all the hype to the true Reason for the season, and viewing New Year's as a time of reflection on what has transpired and with a certain longing for what will be in the coming year. Kind of a "pulling toward" what lies ahead. I think of Paul's statement of pressing on toward the high calling of Christ. I want to meet it moving forward, rather than have it come to find me. This way, every day is "New Year's Day," because every day has never happened before.

I pray that each of you has a wonderful day, followed by another wonderful day, and another, and another...the string of moments that when viewed as a whole represent a lifetime. Whether the day soars or hurts, the fact that we LIVE and BREATHE is a wondrous thing, especially when we stop to remember that Jesus holds us in the palm of His hand and when we are there, nothing else really matters. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!