"PEDESTRIAN!" That's what Private Smith wanted stamped into his dog tags when I asked him what his religious preference was. "PEDESTRIAN!" He proudly chuckled! "That's what I'll be!" "Not catholic? Not Protestant? Christian? Baptist?........ Are you SURE, Private Smith?" I asked, (with a perplexed look on my face I'm sure!) "I know that I am none of those. So, I'll just be a ......... PEDESTRIAN!" He laughed as he answered me. So I typed the letters into his dog tags. P-E-D-E-S-T-R-I-A-N. That was in 1982. I still remember, and often wonder if Private Smith ever became anything other than a "pedestrian." Just a few years ago, someone asked ME, "Are you catholic?" I answered, "No." "Well, are you Jewish?" they asked. "No." I answered once again. ... View Post
Dear Younger Me, (An Encouragement to Younger Moms)
Recently, I've become hooked on a song called, "Dear Younger Me." On my 30- to 40-minute drive into work, it sometimes plays over and over. I'm not tired of it yet. The words of that song, specifically, "If I could tell you everything that I have learned so far........" have left me on a daily basis, not only finding it difficult to fall asleep with the song stuck in my head, but with all of my very own "THINGS that I have learned so far," and "what I would tell MY younger self" running through my mind!" Daily, it seemed for about a week, I added to the list more things I would tell myself. It became a list of my own mistakes and it left me looking back with regret and condemnation at all of the poor decisions I had made, all of the people who had hurt me, AS WELL AS those that I was ... View Post
Please! STOP Abusing the Nurse!
A nurse smiled sweetly and returned a wink to my Dad. That smile and that wink took away Dad's fear. Finally, he was able to rest. And even after NEVER having given a first thought to becoming a nurse - That wink changed the course of my life. And that's why "The Wink" was the very first chapter, in my very first published book. I wanted to take people's fear away. I wanted to comfort those who were sick, maybe even going to die. I wanted to hold the hands of frightened patients. I wanted to do what she did for Dad - A kind, simple, loving gesture that brought him peace, and for me a new career. A year later, my very first patient in nursing school was an elderly African-American man. I gave him a bath with a classmate, and he passed away just a few minutes following that. I ... View Post
At the Kitchen Sink
Just a short story that I hope my sons always remember........... Uncle Al and Aunt Jean never had a dish washer. We stood at the sink after dinners washing dishes in hot water, taking turns drying them and putting them away. "The hotter the water, the faster they dry," said cousin Scott - and I so often remember him saying that...... But while drying the dessert dishes after devouring an entire lemon meringue pie (Aunt Jean's is THEE best) - Uncle Al said something to me that I have NEVER forgotten, will not soon forget, and pray my kids never forget either. "Rita, some of the most meaningful conversations you will ever have with your family, will be at the kitchen sink while washing and drying dishes." The other night as I jumped in to start washing dishes after my very first ... View Post
Oh! So, You are “Just” a Stay-At-Home Mom?
Okay, STOP IT! Stop saying "JUST" before thee single most important "job" you'll EVER have! Try saying it again. Just Do it! But take OUT the "just!" "I AM A STAY-AT-HOME MOM!" (And hold your head up when you say that!) Sheeesh!!! I talk to a LOT of people - Not only because I am a registered nurse and spend a lot of time with my patients and their family members, but also because I just happen to have inherited the "Gift of Gab" gene from my Father's side.......... Wait a minute. Let me RE-PHRASE that. I didn't "just happen to"........ No. I DID inherit that gene! I'm HAPPY to have that gene! (See? I took out the "just!") And I am appauled...... Yes, appauled, at how many stay-at-home moms (or housewives) insert that little "just" word before our title. (I ... View Post
Just GET To The Cross!
God has beautiful things for ALL of us - ALL of us! He does! But those things cannot be found in our credentials, our careers, our families, our relationships, our bank accounts, or in our homes. The things that God has for us are found only in one place, and that place is at the Cross. When you seek HIM, you find those things........ That was precisely what I told someone during my son and his bride's wedding reception. I explained that because Holly and Rory were both pursuing a relationship with Jesus (at the Cross), they found each other - there where the Lord had each of them planned for the other. And I truly believe this! "But from there you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him." Deuteronomy ... View Post
It Was So Much More Than A Wedding, Ya’ll !
What happened at Rory and Holly's wedding, wasn't what I had always imagined, at all....... And all of my unexpected "moments" began the evening of the rehearsal dinner. We wish and dream so many things for our children, don't we? And some of those wishes and dreams are just that, and we pray about them sometimes, but most often, they are just constant, daily desires. Some days, those hopes are just so much a part of our thoughts, that they never make it into an official "on-your-knees, hands folded" official prayer. But from the very start of the rehearsal, right to the very end of the evening on the day my son married his bride, God showed me over and over and over and over again - that he really DOES know the desires of our hearts. He loves when we get on our knees, fold our ... View Post
To Rory & Holly
Thank you, Holly, for making my son so happy all of these years. The rainy evening he finally got to ask you to be his wife will forever be etched in my heart as one of my most cherished memories. Thank you for saying yes. Thank you, for loving my son. You’ve been like a daughter to me for so many years, and now that I FINALLY get to call you my daughter-in-law, you can stop calling me “Miss” Rita. ;) I’ve dreamed of many things for my son – growing up, finishing school, going to college, and some day getting married. I’ve dreamed of THIS day for him, and prayed for a GOOD girl - like you. And God was faithful! I bet you never knew you were an answer to a Mama’s prayer, did you? Well, you are. You are the answer to my prayer. I love you, Holly MacDonald. Thank you, Rory, for ... View Post