I'm sitting in my usual spot on the couch as I write this, and I can hear my son downstairs packing.  I have to say goodbye to him today as he heads off back to college after a busy three weeks at home.  The door of the dryer just shut, and I heard him clean out the vent.  I am laughing to myself thinking - his wife will love that he not only knows to do that, but that he actually does it. And then, I started laughing to myself. I remember a day when a friend told me that her son did not want to clean his room, and that she was having a difficult time getting him to cooperate.  He felt she was asking too much, so she explained to him that he was very lucky not to be living in my house, where my sons had to clean toilets and scrub floors.  She meant no harm, but I ... View Post

  Driving home from work in the rain today, December 23 and just 2 days before Christmas, I couldn't help but agree with everyone who is complaining about no snow.  Now, you won't hear this particular complaint from me often.  I don't like the stuff.  I don't like to be cold.  I don't like to shovel it.  I don't like to walk in it, drive in it, or dress for it.  But I do enjoy looking at it (from inside, and through a window ;).  This time of year, it ought to be snowing, but it's not. My heart began reminiscing back to all of my favorite memories.  I don't want to ever forget them, so decided to rush home and list them.  It will not mean much to anyone who isn't a part of them, but perhaps it will inspire you to share yours over the time you will spend with family and friends this ... View Post

  I own far too many movies on DVD.  So, I've been attempting to sort them out, give some to my kids, donate a few, and put the rest in some sort of order on a shelf.  This task has landed me on the couch watching an oldie-but-goodie flick more than once in the past couple of weeks.  Last night, it happened to be Saving Private Ryan, which was one of my sons' favorites.  My youngest son, Ian, always called it, "Save it, Private Ryan!"  I'd just laugh and squeeze him. If you're not familiar with the movie, its about a platoon of U.S. soldiers who go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action, and bring him home from the war.  Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, leads the platoon, and dies from gunshot wounds sustained during his rescue of ... View Post

  Have you ever run a marathon?  How about a 5K?   Did you wear two of the same shoes?   If so, I'm assuming they were running shoes.  Right?  Same size on each foot too, right? I know that seems like a stupid question, but this next one is even sillier. Do you think you would have done as well in that race, had you worn a pair of heels?  Stilettos?   And for you men - How about a pair of heavy, steel-toed construction boots?   Could you have run a marathon and done as well, and felt as good, had you worn steel-toed boots instead of a good pair of running shoes? How about if you ran the race wearing one stiletto, and one running shoe?    Or, one steel-toed construction boot, and one running shoe? Of course not! Where am I going with this?  Well, when I put my sneakers on this ... View Post

  I just ran into the husband of a patient I cared for a few years ago. She was in the hospital a long, long, long time. He was a Christian man, and was always confident that his wife would be healed of her very advanced cancer that had metastasized everywhere. My co-workers and I had found it very difficult to care for her, watching her suffer tremendously in pain as we turned her or bathed her.  Any movement caused excruciating pain, and her husband insisted that she did not need pain medication.  This not only made our days and nights difficult, but also sparked many, many conversations regarding just WHY God allows us to suffer, to be diagnosed with cancer, to die horribly painful and sometimes lonely deaths. I remember him being very angry with staff at the suggestion of ... View Post

  I am pooped out and crabby and everyone knows it.   Most of the time, I can handle being tired (for a little while).  I can work an extra-long shift, exhausted after only a nap, and even work hungry while gulping down mouthfuls of ice cubes when a break is nowhere in sight.  But when I am much too sleep-deprived, I don't seem to have much control over my reaction when that unexpected, "didn't see that coming" kind of "slap in the face" moment happens.  That always seems to happen at exactly the time when I am approaching the summit of my tolerance level - that same summit that I don't know is anywhere near until I have reached it! Over the past few days, I've grumbled and complained about how exhausted I am, probably much to my friends' very own "heard enough" summits. First, I ... View Post

  Certainly I could eat my breakfast and still have time left to call the physician's office while on a 30-minute break.  My question was simple, and would only take a minute. "Press 1 if you want to make an appointment."   No, that's not what I need to do. "Press 2 if you need to cancel an appointment."   Nope.  I don't need to do that either. "Press 3 if you need laboratory results, 4 if you know your party's extension, 5 if you want to request a prescription refill, 6 if you want to leave a message for the nurse, 7 if you have questions regarding your bill, 8 if you need to make billing arrangements, 9 if you want to speak to someone at the front desk (eventually), zero if you need to speak with an operator, and the pound sign if you want these options repeated." Goodness. ... View Post