Setting my alarm in order to give myself only enough time to brush my teeth, wash my face, get dressed and out the door, I scrambled to make it on time to my appointment. But before I did, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and had a good laugh at myself. My hair stood straight up on the right side, and was flat as a pancake on the left. Some spritzes of water and a hair brush cured that, but I was not looking real attractive this morning. As I sat down to put some make-up on, I thought about my friend who called me last night, the one who had facebooked me, and about my other couple of friends who sent me text messages. And just as I was thanking God for them, I received a text from yet another. And the string of text messages that ensued after that was so insightful, ... View Post
Stop Opening Doors!
Do you ever feel "stuck" in your circumstances? I do. I wonder when God will reveal my ultimate "life's call" to me. I wonder when He will place me in that "dream job." I wonder when the next, more exciting serving opportunity will come along. I wonder when, when, when, when, and yes, of course, I get VERY impatient while I'm waiting on Him for all of the answers. It seems as though despite many examples of Him moving in HIS way and in HIS timing over the course of my very own life, oh, I trust Him - I'm just lacking in patience.... Yes, I am majorly lacking in the patience department. And in that fleshly impatience of mine I search (a lot). I look for serving opportunities, and job opportunities, and relationship opportunities, and, and, and, and.............. (fill in ... View Post
A Season of Friendship
Remembering so many of Dad's gardening tips he shared over the years, I pulled up every weed from around the patio this morning. Here in Michigan, it's that time of year again when we spend hundreds of dollars for flowers that live only a few short months. Careful not to pull up the perennials I planted last year, I yanked every tall, short, wide, and skinny weed I could. I dug up the soil and prepared it for new flowers that would last only for a few months, but would provide for a gorgeous patio to sit on while reflecting on my day. "Shake the bottom of the weeds real hard" Dad would say. "Get all of that good, rich soil back into the ground that you can." He was a perfectionist when it came to his lawn and flowers, and he passed his skills on to me. Not a spring passes that I ... View Post
In The Shadows of A Nurse (Celebrating Our Nursing Assistants)
Next week across the country, will begin a week-long celebration of Registered Nurses. What does this mean? Well, where I am employed, it means that local colleges will set up attractive tables to recruit us to their institutions to further our education through a nursing program, handing out gifts of new ink pens, note pads, and cute little hand sanitizers for our purses. Posters highlighting different areas of nursing expertise will be showcased throughout hospitals. Crispy Kreme will have a sharp increase in sales, as hospital staff stops to pick up last-minute donuts for hungry, eating-on-the-go nurses. We will, no doubt, all be semi-comatose each day from a diet of excessive carbohydrates after the everyday gifts of bagels, donuts, and chocolate "nibbled on" throughout our ... View Post
Go Home, Al Sharpton!
What in the WORLD is going on ???!!! I am a nurse. I have been spit on, kicked, slapped, had nails dug into my arms, and been called every name under the sun. But I am not afraid to go to work. And I am not afraid to park my car in the nurses' parking garage and walk into the hospital, or to stop at the grocery store on my way home from work while wearing my scrubs, or to run into a convenience store wearing what obviously is the uniform of a nurse. I am not frightened that because I wear a nursing uniform, people will want to kill me. I am not afraid that someone will destroy my car or my home because I am a nurse. And I am not afraid for my life because some gang will put a hit out on me because I am a white nurse. My biggest fear is that my knees and my back will ache after a ... View Post
My “Stupid” Phone
It was just a half mile to the grocery store, and I only needed a few things. Surely I could leave my almost-dead "smart" phone plugged in to charge at home. I mean, what could happen in 30 minutes that I would absolutely have to have my phone for? By the time I got to the end of the street, I was automatically reaching into my purse to find my phone to pick the song I wanted to listen to. "Oh, shoot! That's right! It's at home charging!" I remembered. Pulling out onto Metro Parkway, a Mercedes came around the turn just a few hundred feet ahead, obviously not having seen me, and I had to emergently slam on my brakes. "For the love of God! What is WRONG with people on the road these days? If he would have hit me, I could not have even CALLED anyone! I don't have my "smart" ... View Post
The Alzheimer Waltz
Albert didn't talk much. He leaned quietly forward as his daughter kissed him on the cheek, reassuring him she would be back to get him after work. "Don't go. Please. I want to go with you." His daughter's eyes welled up with tears as she gave him one more kiss, one more hug, and turned and walked out the door. Someone took Albert's arm. "Are you hungry, Albert? Your friends are having breakfast!" And within a few minutes, Albert was sitting at the table with 3 other men living with Alzheimer's. Sam talked endlessly about the war, forever fixing his shirt and pants, making sure his "gig line" was straight. He saluted everyone - all smiles. But Albert continued to look around, seemingly frightened, every few minutes asking if someone could please call his ... View Post
Confessions of An Empty Nester
It is AMAZING to me, in the short span of only 7 months, how much I've learned about myself since becoming an "empty nester." (Please, do not get having learned much about myself, mixed up with the notion that I have somehow "grown." I have not. Not yet, anyways). Being bored for a few hours today, I googled "empty nester" and the most bizarre things came up, from suggesting I study Buddhism, to taking tennis lessons, all the way to taking a sabbatical in India. Um, NO thanks, NO thanks, and NO THANKS! I left home at 18, traveled the world, lived in 4 different countries outside of the United States before the age of 30, raised two kids by myself for 21 years, and graduated from college a second time while they were still teenagers............. So, I'm pretty confident I'll ... View Post