Happy New Year! It's been at least a decade & a half since I wrote a holiday letter updating family & friends on all my biz, but that's certainly not because there's been a lack of any significant biz to report. The truth is, I don't really know why I haven't written a holiday update in so long. Perhaps I haven't written one because everyone seems to know everything that's going on now-a-days anyways. My generation does do a pretty good job of keeping the whole world updated, right down to a photo of what we ate for breakfast this morning. It could be because someone actually told me years ago my letters were so annoying that they actually made her angry. (They probably really were annoying, and I think she might have been right). Maybe I avoided writing it because my ... View Post
Gong (Gone)!
Recently I had a day off and the opportunity to sit at the kitchen table of my friend Edna. That's always a treat, and I never walk away without having gleaned some little nugget of wisdom. This particular day was no different. Edna and I frequently exchange emails, updating one another on our families, our prayer requests, what's happening in our worlds, we discuss books we're reading, and when we'll see each other again. Every TIME either of us type the word "time," in our emails, or handwrite it in a greeting card, we highlight it, underline it, capitalize it... It seems as though we've had hundreds of conversations about TIME over the years that we've enjoyed our friendship. And learning how to be a good steward of my TIME is something I have Edna to thank for. (I'm still a ... View Post
Hospice Stories
Throughout the course of my week as a hospice nurse, I have more conversations than I could have ever possibly imagined I would, when I began this job. I call families of patients in one place, while driving to another location to see someone else's loved one, and then update that family on the way to the next stop. I can't even tell you the last time I was able to listen to the radio, or even remembered to turn it on when I'm not working! Some conversations are short. Some conversations are... well, not so short. There are some conversations that are just really, really hard to have, and there are other weekly calls for updates that I look forward to. One call in particular I always enjoyed comes to mind tonight because my patient's son was in the same season of life as me. He ... View Post
Rory
It's Apple Cider Mill season in Michigan, and yesterday Rory & Holly invited me to accompany them, Lyla, & Owen to Blakes Cider Mill. We took a hay ride on the back of a tractor, with Lyla and Owen dangling their feet and pointing out all of the props for the haunted hay ride at night. We walked through wet grass, trying not to trip on all of the apples that had already fallen to the ground, filled a bag with Pink Lady apples, and then hopped on the tractor to head back. After that, we petted goats, ponies, and rabbits, laughed at polka-dotted chickens, and helped the kids climb to the top of the haystack. Then we watched as the kids rode these (I'm not even sure what to call them), bike things - kind of like a tractor crossed with a tricycle kind of bike... and then I ... View Post
Hair Appointments & The Cross
When I find myself telling a story over and over, I figure - it must be one worth sharing, and this is one I seem to tell frequently, so here goes... It was probably about five years ago. I was working my normal 12-hour shift in ICU, and this particular day my patient was a 94-year-old woman who'd had a stroke that morning. (We'll call her Norma, because I like that name ;) Norma's grandson had found her slumped over in a chair, and she was unable to move the right side of her body, her face drooped, and the words she attempted to mumble really didn't make much sense. He called 911, and that's when she came to me. Norma's family members stood vigilant in the hospital ICU room throughout the day as I whisked her out for medical procedures, and interrupted them over and over for ... View Post
Pull Up A Chair – It’s Soup Season!
My slightly scratched up solid oak clawfoot table came from the side of the road - probably about 15 years ago or so. I found it sitting on the cement next to our neighborhood dumpster. A neighbor helped me to carry it home, and it became the centerpiece in the kitchen at my home. Many plates of Mama Mac meatballs were served on that table over the years, and quite a few tears shed there as well. Hours and hours of homework assignments were completed at the table too, evidenced by some of it accidentally etched in the wood when my son pressed too hard with his pencil. Stories were shared, and laughter could always be heard, especially when someone received the "half" cup of coffee, or the extra-long fork, or during one of the infamous exchanges of indoor snowball fights. I ... View Post
Welcome to the Neighborhood?
Seven months. That's how long I've lived here at my new home. I go to work every day before most of my neighbors are probably awake, and I return after most of them have even eaten their dinner. I drive into my garage, wave at those in my immediate court who have made me feel welcome, check my mail, chat with them a few minutes, and head into the house just minding my own business. I eat my dinner, and then may or may not do a load of laundry, unload my backpack, and prepare it for the next day's work. Before I go to bed, usually I make my lunch for the next day, pack my car back up for morning, and always make a point to sit on my porch and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's so much more peaceful here than my old home. On Friday some friends came over for dinner. I'd been looking ... View Post
Stuffed Green Pepper Soup
Stuffed Green Pepper Soup Ingredients: 2 pounds ground sirloin 5 cups of water 1 can of tomato sauce (28 oz) 1 can of spiced tomatoes (do not drain) (28 oz) 2-1/2 cups of green peppers 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp beef boullion 2 cups of rice Directions: Cook and stir ground sirloin over medium heat until no longer pink. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for rice), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Cook rice separately and then add to soup. If you don't like a lot of rice, reduce to 1 or 1-1/2 cups of rice. This is one of my favorites! Goes really well with corn bread ;) ... View Post