Sigh of Relief

This weekend I was supposed to be in Chemo class again. It's hard to believe it's been nearly 2 years since I first very timidly set foot into the world of oncology. I am still by no means an expert on the subject. So I was going to retake the original chemo class to bolster my knowledge. Hopefully, it would have made more sense this time around. However, the lady who teaches the class had a family emergency and had to cancel yesterday. (Sniff, sniff, can you hear my heart break? ;D) Now I wouldn't wish hard times on anyone, but I gotta say that I am very glad I don't have to look at working for the next 12 days in a row without a break. In truth, it has only postponed the inevitable, they are going to reschedule for December. But for now, I have the weekend off!

...a long time...

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted anything. Not much new is really happening, and I guess I just can't see the point in saying the same things over and over. Life has been good, hectic, etc. I woke up this morning thinking, "It's Friady again." Seems like the week just started. Seems like the month just started. How about the year? It's the middle of September already. It is being brought home to me that while the weeks go by in Sunday to Saturday fashion, there will never be another Friday, September 18, 2009 again. This day, once spent, is gone forever. Another day in my life put to rest--permanently.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not being morbid. I just think I take time too much for granted. Life is precious. I want to spend it in the way that it will make the most impact on the world around me. Impact for good. Will this little corner of the world be a better place because I was here? I pray so.

Recovering Nicely

Surgery went well last Thursday. They found a chip in the joint (I don't know if bone or cartilage.) One of my friends prayed that there would be no pain, and that prayer has been answered. I have taken a total of 3 pain pills--2 on Thursday and 1 on Friday morning, "just because." Even went grocery shopping on Saturday, was able to stand for praise and worship yesterday in both services. I am very grateful that this has been so easy to deal with.

New Stuff

My how time slips by! I just looked at my last posting date. Not a whole lot new happening, but it has happened in a whirl. Tomorrow I will be on the other side of the fence at work. I get to be the patient. About a month ago I injured my knee while out playing with the dog. (I guess I forgot my knees are not 25 anymore, but they didn't.) Two doctor's visits and an MRI later, I now face an arthroscopy and debridement of my R knee for some torn cartilege. I will be off work for about 3 weeks. It hasn't hurt much until this week. I had almost talked myself into cancelling the surgery, but I guess that is not to be. My church family has gathered round and will be helping out. That has already started; I walked into my house last night and found some wonderful soul had cleaned my kitchen and living room. It just sparkled! I was ready to cry, because I had not been able to find time with my work schedule to really give it the going over it needed, and now I won't be fretting over it as I try to recuperate. Bless You, Rhonda! May the Lord see your good work and reward you richly!

I went to Granbury over the weekend to see my grandbaby. She is growing so fast! I will post pics later. I haven't even had time to upload them to the computer to see what I have. Maybe that will be a project for the time off. Got to see other family as well. It was a good trip, albeit a short visit, going there and back the same day. I seem to do that a lot.

A friend of mine at work has a day-by-day calendar called "You Might Be A Redneck If..." You can imagine what sorts of things are on it. I have one to add: You Might Be A Redneck If you go to the drag races on a Saturday evening and watch trucks drag. Ummm...

big trucks...

like...

18 wheelers.

Yep, just might be. Especially when two of the trucks were bull-haulers who dragged with their trailers in tow. It was a hoot! I've done a lot of things, and seen a lot of things in my time, but that was a first! I'd go again.

Life's Changes

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything. It's hard sometimes to find something besides the "same ole same ole" to talk about. There have been a couple of changes in the last 6 weeks:

1) I am birdless

2) I remained animal-free for all of 24 hours. I now have a dog. It's been a few years since the last 4-footed friend, and I think the Lord had this one in mind especially for me. He is a Black Lab/Border Collie mix (I think) and is just as cute as he can be. A friend named him Andy. I liked it, so I kept it.

3) I finally gave up on L, after he moved to Tucson without a call or a stop here, and filed for divorce on Apr. 13. Don't know when all that will be completed yet. We've been divorced for all intents and purposes for the last year anyway, so I am just making it legal.

Work continues the same. I like my job. I hate the new computer system. But I guess I will get used to it, as they are not likely to give us a new one any time soon.

I think I will be going to see a grandbaby in the next couple of weekends. I haven't been there since she was born, and it is time. They haven't managed to come this way because of my son's work schedule. He works a lot of weekends, and I work weekdays. So I guess I will be doing the traveling for awhile. That's ok, now that I don't have birds to worry about. It's a lot easier to find a dogsitter than a birdsitter!

What a Great Day!

Church this morning was absolutely wonderful! Praise and worship turned into an intense altar time, and Pastor only preached about 1o min. Now, that's not what made it wonderful. The Lord was there in such a sweeping way, and we had one get saved, several pray for problems and illnesses or recommittment. People just really entered into seeking His face. And He met us!

This evening we kind of walked in the overflow of the AM service, and Pastor did get to preach. One little girl had a headache and nausea when she got to church, so we prayed for her and the Lord touched her. One little girl got a small piece of kleenex stuck up her nose, and I got to go fishing with a pair of hemostats. (Never leave home without one!)

We truly acted like a Pentecostal church today. Even with folks there who had not attended before. WooHoo! I want it to be like this all the time! (Except for Pastor not getting to preach!)

Nearly Done (In)

We had a computer program change-over this week and it was every bit the bear we thought it would be. Fortunately, this was spring break, and the patient load wasn't too bad until today. Actually, even today wasn't too bad, but I was the late nurse this afternoon, and checked charts for tomorrow--we have 32 patients tomorrow. And a completely new way of charting. And a completely new way to look things up and enter orders. And a brain that is on the downhill side of the 5th decade. My brain hurts. I will do one screen and in the process forget how to do the screen I did just before it. I know, I know...this too, shall pass. But at this point, it could pass right on out of existence, and I would be first in line cheering! Because we have a couple of nurses out sick, I worked a double shift today as well. Guess that's why I am so grumpy tonight. 14 hours of chaos will do that to you. I think it's time to find my bed. Maybe things will look better in the morning.

Looking from the other side

They are gone. All but 5. The lofts look so empty. So closes a chapter in my life. The man who bought them came yesterday at noon, we loaded them up and by 12:45 they were on the way to their new home. Am I sad? A little. Am I glad? Yes, they will have a good home with the care they need and deserve. But mostly, I am just relieved. L says he is looking for a place to keep the remaining birds, so I will eventually be completely devoid of critters. I won't have to worry about being gone too long, or something happening while I am not around. So, it is a good thing all around. And I didn't cry.

I received the following in an email today from someone who doesn't know the birds would be leaving soon: "Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue." I can't begin to count the number of times I have literally been the statue! But it all washes off, in both contexts.

It's Finally Happening

Tomorrow at about 1 pm, I will officially be (almost) birdless. L put them on the auction 2 weeks ago, and they sold last Sunday. The buyer is coming to pick them up in person. He lives about 5 hours from here just over the OK border. So I am sitting in my chair, pouring over pedigrees and copying the ones belonging to the birds we sold so we have a record of their lineage, and proof of one-time ownership. Fortunately, there aren't too many to do that with. The rest are birds we raised and all I have to do is print them from the database program.

I am not sure yet how I really feel about this. I am at present very glad to know I don't have to feed, water, watch for illness/injury, etc., on an ongoing basis. I will still have 4 birds after tomorrow, ones that L just didn't want to part with. He is supposedly making arrangements to place them somewhere else so I will be completely free of them at some point in the future. Still, 4 birds is even better than a cake-walk considering that at the height of our business, when we were raising and racing in earnest, we had about 350 birds. That was just 3+ years ago. I am SO glad we don't have that many now!

Knowing the rather unexpected reaction I had the last time I mailed birds out, I'm thinking maybe having an otherwise also kinda busy day planned may be a good thing. No time to dwell on things. Just have to wait and see, I guess.

And for all of you who have heard the tale...

...I really wasn't exaggerating!

As Promised

Very tired, very proud parents. They are still trying to figure out what to do with her now that she's here. A said he couldn't take his eyes off her for the first 3-4 hours after she was born.

Grandma and Grandpa had to have their turns as well.

Miss Rylee gave Mama a rough night last night, then curled up on the couch and slept for 4 hours.

Oh My...

I feel stretched in a hundred different directions. It was a long trip there, and a long trip back, and worth every inch of it! She is beautiful. She is peacful. Mama is really tired. So is Daddy. They are so cute to watch as they take in this new little life. I had to keep telling myself, "This one is ours." I have worked in L&D and nursery for so long, holding so many other newborns that it was kind of surreal, especially while they were still in the hospital room. It was just like I've done hundreds of times before. But this time, I could kiss her. I could cuddle her just because I wanted to and not because I was trying to get her to be quiet so she wouldn't wake the other babies in the nursery.

When I began to handle her after we got home, it finally snapped into place. I got to give the first at-home bath. Having Suzanne (Cliff's wife-3rd grandma) watch me and help hold her was pretty neat. It's been a couple of years since I have bathed a newborn, but it is still so ingrained that I had her done in about 6-7 minutes, hair and all. And like every other newborn I've ever bathed, she was NOT appreciatve! At least not until I reswaddled her and snuggled her up close. Then she went to sleep.

I will post pics later tonight, hopefully. I am going to try to make evening service, so have to get moving. See you all in a bit!

Oh well...

Today has been a tail-kicker day, and I didn't leave work until about 7:20. I am sooo tired. I called and asked if they would hang me if I waited until the morning. They won't, so I will leave around 6:30 and drive in the daylight. Pictures will be forthcoming.

It's Official!!

She's here! She arrived at 8:50 pm, screaming and "with attitude" according to A. T. was induced this morning and has had a day of it. A. said he was going to go get fries from Burger King and Sweet Tea from McDonalds "because that's what the woman wanted, and that's what I'm gonna get her!" My granddaughter's name is Rylee.

Yes, indeed! I am headed up the road tomorrow evening as soon as I leave work!

She's Almost Here!

I got a phone call from A on Saturday saying that their OB had offered T an induction on Thursday. She will be 39 weeks on that date. She of course jumped at the chance. So...labor starts Thursday morning. Don't know exactly how long this will take, but if she arrives while it is still Thursday, I will be thanking my Lord.

And I will be headed to Granbury on Saturday! (Or maybe Friday night!)

Faces From the Past

After reading about how Dewey Hafta joined facebook and was finding folks from her past and renewing acquaintances, I decided to see what all the excitement was about. So last week I set up an account. Invite friends? Well, most of the people I have in my address book are current contacts, so why would I want to add them to a facebook account? Made no sense to me. But the account is now there, and last night I received an email from Facebook stating that someone had requested to be my friend. This person is someone I knew in Iceland about 20 years ago. (My gosh, has it really been that long?!) After answering that email and adding that friend, they have started to come out of the woodwork! I now have 6 friends (and counting, apparently, since I have been informed that there are many folks from Iceland, both native and military on Facebook.) I'm hooked! It will be fun to see where life has taken these people.

Well, I've Finally Decided to Bite the Bullet...

...and tackle Spanish. If I'm gonna sing in Spanish, I really would like to know what I am singing about, rathere than just a broad-stroke overview. Two weeks ago, I accompanied one of our church members to a Spanish service and sang one (very simple) song. I guess I didn't do too bad, because one lady came up to my after service and started to converse in Spanish. It didn't take her too long to realized I had no clue what she was saying. I grew up on the East Coast, and so took French rather than Spanish as my second language. Didn't do too bad with it, and can still read a little of it, and that may be more of a hindrance than a help. Several months ago, Dewey Hafta loaned me the curriculum they used for Spanish I, and I am just now getting brave enough to try to decipher it. I also found several useful sites on the net, so with all the different approaches, I will either learn to speak Spanish, or be hopelessly lost. They say keeping your brain active with puzzles, new vocabulary, etc. keeps you young. We'll see. And don't start spouting Spanish at me, unless you also provide the translation! ;D

Out of Touch with Reality (Thank Heaven!)

We have several patients that come through Day Surgery with some regularity for various procedures or treatments. I have gotten to know some of them on a somewhat more than a "Hi, I'm your nurse today" basis, learning about some of their likes/dislikes, families, etc. Yesterday one of those patients came in for treatment. I went into the room and began visiting as I worked. Then I noticed the TV program that was playing. Oh My!!! I haven't had a TV in my home for about 15 years now, and so am pretty out of touch with the flow of available programming. I do see snippets of shows as I am in and out of rooms on a daily basis, and often shake my head at the fare offered. But this was beyond anything I have run across to date. This was just plain pornographic. On an easily accessible cable channel. In the middle of the day. It was a reality show. Not actors. I was shocked. I was embarrassed. I tried not to let my distaste show, but when the patient commented on the content, also saying, "I don't usually watch this kind of stuff", I was pretty sure I had not succeeded in hiding my dismay. I gingerly voiced my concern and choice. Yet the TV continued to play. Where is the church, that Satan has been so successful in filling the minds of people with this trash? Why do we wonder and shake our heads at the violence and lack of respect for those around us when no stop had been put to this kind of "entertainment." Made me run to the Lord in prayer. I hope I don't forget and slide back into "blissful ignorance." I've asked the Lord to allow me to pray effectively on this issue. Maybe that's why He allowed me to be exposed to that program. It was awful.

Ok, off my soapbox now.

I Survived

Well, it is now Wednesday, and I have survived the hurricane. I am going back to work today, actually feeling like I might get through the day in one piece. Yesterday was so long I scarcely knew what to do with myself. I was tired of laying down, and too weak yet to do much in the way of moving around. But 2 quarts of Gatorade did help quite a lot. On the bright(er) side, I have lost 7.5 lbs. Too bad it won't stay gone! Sure hope Kitten is feeling better. Poor kid seems to have had 2 rounds of the stuff.

What A Way to Spend a Weekend

Saturday: Surprise birthday party. It was great!

Sunday (AM): Phone call at about 7AM, stating that both our pastor and piano player (his wife) were sick and would not be at church. So we had canned music and a fill-in preacher from within our own ranks. (She did a wonderful job, btw.)

Sunday (Early PM): Went to a friend's house for lunch, then accompanied them to another church to sing at their 3 PM service (in Spanish; I do know a couple of songs well enough to pull that off.)

Sunday (6 PM): Back to church for our evening service, doing basically the same as in the AM, but it worked out ok.

Sunday (8 PM): I think I am not feeling very well. Came home and tried to go to bed, thinking maybe I'll feel better in the morning. NOT! Starting at 9 PM, I joined the ranks of the Pastor's family. I have no idea who I was exposed to, but guess that is just a moot point now. I stayed home yesterday, only leaving the house long enough to run to our local market for some Gatorade. Haven't decieded if I am going to try work today, since I haven't eaten anything since Sunday, and the thought of food still kind of makes me green around the edges.

Sneaky Sisters

Well, I just got back from the "ladies luncheon" aka Birthday Party. I took a casserole, not thinking that the real reason for the get-together was my birthday. I thought it had just fallen on the same day, and that they would wish me a happy birthday during the meeting. I am so blessed to have wonderful like-minded believers as friends; truly brothers and sister in the Lord. So, thank you ladies. You're the best!

A Busy Week

This has been one of the busier weeks of my life; what with work being back to 5 days, and things going on in the evenings as well. I haven't been home before 9 PM all week long (until last night.) Not that that is a bad thing, but I am kinda tired. Most of it centered around events at church.

We started a new Women's Bible Study a couple of weeks ago, and that is going very well. It is nice to listen to the ladies discuss the things they thought about as they worked through the chapter, and there have been some interesting topics discussed. I appreciate the time they spend in the Word completing the assignments. It's also a way for us to become better acquainted with each other.

Thursday night we hosted our Sectional Fellowship, and I got to visit with some folks that I don't get to see very often, even though they aren't that far away physically. Toward the end of the evening I was standing talking with Pastor and Bud was standing with us making noise through a whistle he had pulled out of a pair of fake lips and had put in his mouth. Suddenly, he choked and started to gag, but only part of the whistle came out of his mouth. The thing had come apart during one of his inhalations, and had wedged in his throat. He moved over to the trash can and started to retch in earnest, and in a few seconds the part that was caught came up. He was not injured, and was able to clear it himself. But it gave all of us a good scare, including Bud.

Today is our monthly ladies' luncheon, so I am out the door again at about noon. I love meeting with the folks at church, getting to know them better and growing the relationships. Since I am more or less here by myself, they have become my family, and like I said, you never meet a stranger in Texas, even if several of our ladies aren't native Texans. The only other time I can remember having such close ties was when we lived in Iceland on the NATO base for 2+ years. But everyone was away from home there, so the relationships formed fast and became very intense. I am so thankful to the Lord for the brothers and sisters He has provided.

So now it's time to get busy and fix something to take to said luncheon, and I will see you all later!

Spring is in the air...

...or at least several of the bloggers think so. I have to agree. I was driving home last night at my usual time...in the waning daylight! Yea!!!!! Beautiful sunrises and sunsets are on the way back. (They really have still been there, I just haven't been at the right place to see them since we went back to Standard Time in October.) Speaking of the switch back, I was looking at a calendar today that has that date marked: March 8. March?! I can remember when it didn't start until nearly the end of April. Not that I'm complaining, you understand. I much prefer the extra light in the evening. But that is nearly 2 weeks before spring officially begins on the 20th. I wonder if we will eventually get to the point that we just don't switch back at all...just leave it on DST and be done with it. Don't know what the couple of states that don't do any switching at all will do, but I guess they deal with it now for part of the year, so no big deal.

Our unit manager told us to be ready for a slow January after our frantic December, but so far that hasn't happened. Not that we have been run ragged, but the slowdown has not really happened either, except for Jan 2. The hospital is poised (we are told) to buy the other surgery center across the parking lot from us, and that will likely increase business on our unit because it will free the doctors to schedule more surgeries with us. The procedures like eye surgeries and colonoscopies, etc. will be done at the other site, allowing them to utilize a 4th operating room at the hospital. We apparently only use 3 right now with any regularity. So there may not be a slowdown at all. That's ok, it keeps the bills paid.

I will soon be a real grandma. T's due date is quickly approaching, and I find myself anticipating arms full of baby again. That may sound a little unusual, but I used to work Labor and Delivery and Postpartum (Mother/Baby), so have never really experienced a lack of little bundles of joy. I was always able to cuddle some cute little newborn at my discretion. But this is a bit different; she is, after all, my own flesh and blood. So, in about 4 weeks, give or take, she should be here. I can't wait!

You Just Gotta Laugh

After the frantic pace of the last 2 weeks of December, and coming home every night with my tongue hanging out, so to speak; yesterday, the first workday of the new year was the sublime after the ridiculous. We had a whole six patients. Six. I walked in and the early nurse said, "Oh good! You're here. I'm going home." And she did. I had two patients the whole shift--which was not a full one for me, either. I sent one of them home after being back on the unit a couple of hours. When the late nurse came in, she said, "I can take your chemo patient if you want to go home." So I finished my charting and left at about 3:30 pm. It was still daylight. I needed to do some grocery shopping. It is a real struggle to convince myself that my pantry needs some attention when it is dark outside and all I want to do is go home. Yesterday, I didn't mind stopping at the store on the way home. Interesting how a bit of daylight will change your whole perspective on things. This leisurely pace won't last. Most of the physicians were still out for the holiday, and the ones who had office hours only had half-days. Monday it is back to normal. I am glad. Normal is good.