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
Reconciling Two Worlds
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
Happy Nurses’ Week!
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
Don’t Waste Your Circumstances
Circumstances - Everyone's got some. Those situations in life when you feel like no one else quite understands how difficult things are (for you). And when you find someone with similar circumstances, you actually believe you will find comfort in discussing them over coffee (ad nauseam) until you are even further convinced not only how wrong you've been done and how much more difficult your situation is than anyone else's. Oh! But also how no one who hasn't been through the very same set of circumstances would ever, ever understand the extent to which you've suffered. Am I right? My circumstances included being a single Mama, and all of the challenges that came along with that role. I'd love to admit here (and have often verbalized) that I was NOT a whiner, and that I NEVER ... View Post
Valuing My Time
Pulling the handle down on the old-fashioned paper cutter, I laughed out loud as the little recipe card fell into the stack of others just like it. I was visiting my old friend and roommate of two years while stationed in Korea in the Army. Here we were at her kitchen table in Dallas, preparing the recipe cards to be stuffed into the envelopes containing bridal shower invitations for her daughter. I laughed because there was no way 32 years prior to that, I could have seen this day coming. I don't think either of us ever really gave any thought to the possibility that we would go from the young 20-something-year-old girls we were - to the mothers, mothers-in-law, and grandmothers we would become! Or that when we did, we would still be friends! I hadn't seen Donna since I left Korea in ... View Post
Breakfast Crouton Casserole
12-14 eggs, slightly beaten 1 pound sausage, cooked, drained, crumbled 2 cups milk 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1 (5 ounce) box of seasoned croutons Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and pour into a sprayed 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, and let stand about 10 minutes before serving. ... View Post
Nanny’s Corn Casserole
Saute 1/2 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup green & 1/2 cup red pepper in butter in a frying pain. Add 1 can of creamed corn, and 1 can of corn (drained). Remove from stove. Add 1 package of Jiffy cornbread. Pour in a 13x9 pan. Mix 1 cup of sour cream & 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, and dollop it all over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. ... View Post
The Greatest Christmas Gift
It's 6 a.m., and there's really no reason for me to be up this crazy early on Christmas day anymore, but my friend forgot her work shoes last night when she joined my family and friends for some food and games, and stopped to get them this morning on her way back to another 12-hour shift at the hospital. I'm reminded that sometimes, God puts new friends in our lives at just the right time. So this morning, I'm thankful for my friendship with Hillary, who shared Nishelle with me! God is good! I'm sitting in the dim light of my laptop and the Christmas tree, surrounded by a peaceful silence except for the sound of my small coffee maker brewing a fresh cup of Brazilian coffee. This moment has me reflecting on the gift of friendship, particularly my gratitude for Emily. Not ... View Post