I don't have a normal 9-5 job.  I don't sit behind a desk, put on heels, or don gorgeous jewelry to match the day's outfit.   I'm an RN, and every time I punch the clock in my most-of-the-time ironed scrubs, my day is full, sometimes with what seems like monotonous tasks, and at other times a series of unexpected emergencies - and often, both!   And there are days when I wonder why I ever left my 9-5 job!World War II veterans, teachers, policemen, grandmas, musicians, widows, homeless dads, and Holocaust survivors are just some of the people I have had the privilege to care for in some of their most vulnerable moments in life.  Once, I even cared for a woman who was an olive jar packer!  Most of my patients have more history than they do future, and I have the privilege of donning what I ... View Post

I can be just a wee bit stubborn.   (Everyone who knows me well is laughing right now). A recent change to the day shift, having a normal sleeping pattern, friends that speak the brutal truth to me (who I often stubbornly ignore), early mornings in silence alone with God, and very, very long walks in my favorite place.......   What did I expect?  Well, I expected that God would confirm for me all of the things that I wanted to believe.  I expected He would answer me about the things that I thought I wanted to do, and give me HIS reasons why I ought to do the things that I wanted to do!  And to be honest, I figured He would show me that some of my biggest concerns were all in my imagination. It's been a month now.  I'm sleeping eight hours, my back feels amazingly much better, I'm back to ... View Post

This afternoon, I visited the cemetery with Colleen.  Her mom was my close friend of many years.  Colleen and I sat on the grass in front of Michele's grave stone and talked about some of the deep things in life, and we had a few giggles as well as recalling old times.  Very few evenings passed that her mom and I didn't have coffee together at the kitchen table. Today Colleen lives just around the corner and visits often, which I enjoy.  She sometimes curls up on my couch and wraps herself up in a blanket.  Sometimes, I catch a glance of her falling asleep when we talk. But I don't mind.  It makes me feel good that she feels at home. I am missing my friend Michele greatly tonight, but I am so grateful that her daughter is comfortable enough to plop herself on my couch and feel right ... View Post

That's what I feel like I've been doing for the past three weeks - reconciling differences between two worlds. I spent a few hours the other night writing all of my memories from a short tour in Honduras in 1984.  Not long after my return to the U.S., all of my photos were left in the glove box of a friend's car, which was then put in storage while she went to Korea for two years.  I never got those photos back, but my memory of good times, good people, hard work, and "unique" experiences are as crisp in my memory as if they took place yesterday.  Thank God for the ability to remember people and places! I have managed to save digital copies of the photos from my recent trip to Brazil - my first of hopefully a few more overseas mission trips.  I had left anticipating that I'd ... View Post

  It's that time of year again - Nurse's Week!  And each year at this particular time, I can't help but remember my Dad.  It was his cancer diagnosis, hospice admission, and a kind young African nurse with a British accent who winked at my Dad, removed his fear, and changed the course of my life. Three days after we buried Dad in July 2004, I applied to nursing school, and never again opened my court reporting machine that I had been busy studying on in pursuit of a new career.  I shut it, sold it on E-Bay a week later, and signed up for the next Anatomy & Physiology course at the local college.  I never looked back.  Three years later, I graduated from nursing school. So often, but especially during Nurse's Week, I still wish I could talk to Dad, and say, "Guess what, Dad! I'm ... View Post