Today I flew to Salt Lake City and back. The purpose of the trip was to get James and Melissa's little kitty, Snuggs, home. They managed to get on a Delta flight standby - on Elaina's "buddy passes". Why do Delta's passes cost less than AA's?? Anyhow it would have cost them 70 or 80 dollars for a ticket for the kitty and it only cost me about $22.50 for me to fly with the kitty - it would have cost only $5 round trip but I HAD to fly first class one way. Life is hard. So it was the time/money choice and I chose money and used the time to fly and read a book. So James, Melissa and Snuggs will be back home in Idaho for the New Year, Emma is babysitting, Sarah is working and Stephen, Bill and I are hanging out at home. This evening I cleaned up the mess in the kitchen that my kids made this morning and left all day - I didn't want to wake up to a mess on New Year's morning. At least the kitchen is controllable. The rest of the house gets me down.
Goals for the new year: Get my weight down to 135 or less; clear out some of our clutter; exercise; stop eating junk; find my life... subject to revision.
Other options: move bill and I to the upstairs bedroom, convert the master bedroom to the office/computer room, reclaim the front room, get a hearth.
The last spring that I worked for Sabre, I stopped at a place along 114 in Grapevine or Southlake to look at stone for a new hearth. That would have been spring of 2003. I even dragged Bill out there and he said he would schedule them to come to our house for an estimate. It never happened. Even back in 2003 I was tired of the wallboard material where the hearth should be. I don't know how many years it was like that prior to my failed attempt to make something happen. I hate my house.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Something Seasonal
Someone from Bill's office sent him a link to this video. I loved it and wanted to share. The group is called Straight No Chaser and the performance is their comedic version of The Twelve Days of Christmas:
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Indian Cooking
The first Indian recipe I made was Aloo Gobi from the special features of the Bend It Like Beckham DVD. At that point no one had published it, so I had to keep starting and stopping the DVD while attempting to write it down and guessing at the measurements, since she was not exact. And it took some research to figure out that fresh coriander is the same thing as cilantro. But it is good! Then I took an Indian cooking class at Kalachandji's, a local Indian restaurant. It's a lot of fun. Manjuali Devi, the teacher, demonstrates 3 or 4 recipes for each class, and then we all get to eat it! I couldn't make it one night and persuaded Bill to go in my place. He enjoyed it so much that he signed up for the remainder of the course and we went together. How's that for a fun date! Anyhow, I have a favorite recipe from the last seris of classes that I would like to share. I plan to try it with a small amount of oil instead of butter, but it's so good as is that I haven't done it yet. You will probably have to go up to an Indian food store in Richardson to get the mung (or moong) dal and masoor dal. Mung dal is dried mung beans that have been skinned and split; hence they are yellow, not green. Masoor dal is small red lentils. The other things can be bought at most grocery stores. So here goes:
First boil the dals in about 3 cups water and set aside. If you soak them first, for 3-4 hours, you should be able to mash them a little - or I put a cup of the cooked dal in my mini food processor and pulverized it, then added it back. Heat the ghee and add cumin seeds, ginger,chili powder, jalapeno, garam masala and tomatoes. When tomatoes are well cooked, add to dal and cook to soup consistency. Adjust water as needed. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.
I am not a gormet cook. This is easy and good and good for you! Try it.
Yellow Dal Fry
3/4 C mung dal 1/4 t chili powder
1/4 C masoor dal 1/2 t garam masala
1/2 T ginger, minced 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped 3 T ghee (or butter or oil)
1 t cumin seeds 1/2 C cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 t tumeric salt to taste
First boil the dals in about 3 cups water and set aside. If you soak them first, for 3-4 hours, you should be able to mash them a little - or I put a cup of the cooked dal in my mini food processor and pulverized it, then added it back. Heat the ghee and add cumin seeds, ginger,chili powder, jalapeno, garam masala and tomatoes. When tomatoes are well cooked, add to dal and cook to soup consistency. Adjust water as needed. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.
I am not a gormet cook. This is easy and good and good for you! Try it.
Broken Arms
One of my schools has had a rash of broken. The first was the Major Trauma I spoke of below. Later that same evening, a child fell at a school assembly and broke an arm. Neither nurse was there - whatever did they do??? Last week a Pre-K child just tripped and fell and broke his arm - he had to have surgery! And there was another one last week when I was not there. And other interesting incidents - One boy peed on the leg of another in the restroom. It was determined to be an accident, but it was still a big deal. We found him some clean pants, but he still had to go home and have a bath because, after all, it is someone else's body fluids. And I listened to an interesting irregular heartbeat. It seemed to be a sinus arrhythmia where the heart speeds up on inspiration, but I've never heard it speed up as much as this kid's did. He is under care - his doctor had asked us to check his BP and HR every day this week - so I'm sure he is in good hands.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
I'm still here - sort of....
I have felt totally uninspired about blogging of late. So in an effort to pull myself out of my slump, I will at least make 2 referrals today. My daughter, Sarah, has recently started a blog - Adventures in Good Medicine, and my favorite daughter-in-law, Melissa, has also joined the ranks at I'm Probably Exaggerating . So go check them out today.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Probably More Than You Wanted to Know
Catherine tagged me to post seven things no one knows about me on my blog. I am flattered. I've never been tagged for anything before. So here goes:
1. When I was in college, my dad was commanding officer of the Coast Guard base in Southwest Harbor, Maine. The first summer that I went home to Maine, I worked at the local fish factory, packing sardines. The tools of my trade were sharp scissors for cutting off the heads and tails, and adhesive tape for wrapping around the fingers of my left hand – so I wouldn’t accidentally chop them off along with the heads and tails. There was a factory bus. When a boat came in with a load of fish, the factory whistle would blow. It could be heard for a couple of miles. The whistle was the signal to get ready for the bus to pick you up. The bus was a good thing, since after packing for a few hours, you generally smelled rather strongly of fish and wouldn’t want to stink up your own car. Most of the packers were older ladies who had done it for years. The second summer, I worked as a waitress at a lobster restaurant in Bar Harbor.
2. Since I started my job with the DISD in August, I have kept a log of what I wear every day. It is a Word document titled “What I Wore”. You see I work at three different schools, and I was afraid I would wear the same thing every Friday. Since I only see the people at that school once a week, that would be weird. Of course, they’d probably think I was weird for keeping the log if they knew.
3. Our family has hosted 5 foreign exchange students. Our first was Shinya Fukumori from Osaka, Japan. He played the drums and went to the Arts Magnet with Stephen and Emma in the 01/02 school year. I actually ran into Shinya a few months ago, playing with a small jazz ensemble at Northpark Mall! The second was Barbara Klonk from Hofheim, Germany. She played the trombone at Arts and was with us for the 02/03 school year. We skipped a year and then hosted Laerke Buch from Odense, Denmark. That was Emma’s senior year at Arts – 04/05. She played the bassoon! We skipped another year during which I had a bad case of empty nest syndrome, so last year, 06/07, we hosted 2 boys who went to North Dallas HS. They were SeWon Ha from Seoul, Korea and Rene Galuba from Gera, Germany. They were all great kids! And all of their pictures, except Shinya’s are posted on this blog somewhere.
4. I once worked for Northeast Airlines in Boston. It was my first “real” job after graduating from college. What?? Never heard of them. Maybe that’s because they were bought out by Delta in 1972. In the fall of 1971, I interviewed for a stewardess job (that’s what they called it then). I didn’t get it but was called back and hired as a reservationist. An interesting aside to this story is that I really tried to dress the part for the first interview. I thought I looked pretty good – and so did a guy from my student Ward in Cambridge. I was walking toward him in Harvard Square and could see him looking me over appreciatively. When he got to my face, he became flustered and said – “Oh hi Mary, I didn’t realize it was you!”
5. Bill and I have had season tickets to the Dallas Opera for many years. We took a 2-year sabbatical while I was in nursing school, but have re-subscribed this year.
6. Rebecca Nurse is my eighth great grandmother. She was hanged for witchcraft in 1692 in Salem. I discovered this at BYU when I was simultaneously reading “The Crucible” for a class and working on my genealogy. When I read that Arthur Miller had used the real names of the people involved in the witchcraft hysteria for his play, I remembered that I had recently traced some ancestors back to Salem in the 1600’s. So I checked, and there they were – Francis Nurse married to Rebecca Towne!
7 When I was laid off from Sabre, I was walked out of the building. This was almost exactly 4 years ago. I was a programmer and my job probably went to India.
Seven other things you may already know: 1) I am a school nurse, 2) I am a lot older than my seven or so readers, 3) I served a mission in England from October of '75 to April of '77, 4) I was born in Massachusetts, 5) Bill and I are temple workers, 6) I rarely wear makeup, 7) I have 1 cat and 2 tortoises.
1. When I was in college, my dad was commanding officer of the Coast Guard base in Southwest Harbor, Maine. The first summer that I went home to Maine, I worked at the local fish factory, packing sardines. The tools of my trade were sharp scissors for cutting off the heads and tails, and adhesive tape for wrapping around the fingers of my left hand – so I wouldn’t accidentally chop them off along with the heads and tails. There was a factory bus. When a boat came in with a load of fish, the factory whistle would blow. It could be heard for a couple of miles. The whistle was the signal to get ready for the bus to pick you up. The bus was a good thing, since after packing for a few hours, you generally smelled rather strongly of fish and wouldn’t want to stink up your own car. Most of the packers were older ladies who had done it for years. The second summer, I worked as a waitress at a lobster restaurant in Bar Harbor.
2. Since I started my job with the DISD in August, I have kept a log of what I wear every day. It is a Word document titled “What I Wore”. You see I work at three different schools, and I was afraid I would wear the same thing every Friday. Since I only see the people at that school once a week, that would be weird. Of course, they’d probably think I was weird for keeping the log if they knew.
3. Our family has hosted 5 foreign exchange students. Our first was Shinya Fukumori from Osaka, Japan. He played the drums and went to the Arts Magnet with Stephen and Emma in the 01/02 school year. I actually ran into Shinya a few months ago, playing with a small jazz ensemble at Northpark Mall! The second was Barbara Klonk from Hofheim, Germany. She played the trombone at Arts and was with us for the 02/03 school year. We skipped a year and then hosted Laerke Buch from Odense, Denmark. That was Emma’s senior year at Arts – 04/05. She played the bassoon! We skipped another year during which I had a bad case of empty nest syndrome, so last year, 06/07, we hosted 2 boys who went to North Dallas HS. They were SeWon Ha from Seoul, Korea and Rene Galuba from Gera, Germany. They were all great kids! And all of their pictures, except Shinya’s are posted on this blog somewhere.
4. I once worked for Northeast Airlines in Boston. It was my first “real” job after graduating from college. What?? Never heard of them. Maybe that’s because they were bought out by Delta in 1972. In the fall of 1971, I interviewed for a stewardess job (that’s what they called it then). I didn’t get it but was called back and hired as a reservationist. An interesting aside to this story is that I really tried to dress the part for the first interview. I thought I looked pretty good – and so did a guy from my student Ward in Cambridge. I was walking toward him in Harvard Square and could see him looking me over appreciatively. When he got to my face, he became flustered and said – “Oh hi Mary, I didn’t realize it was you!”
5. Bill and I have had season tickets to the Dallas Opera for many years. We took a 2-year sabbatical while I was in nursing school, but have re-subscribed this year.
6. Rebecca Nurse is my eighth great grandmother. She was hanged for witchcraft in 1692 in Salem. I discovered this at BYU when I was simultaneously reading “The Crucible” for a class and working on my genealogy. When I read that Arthur Miller had used the real names of the people involved in the witchcraft hysteria for his play, I remembered that I had recently traced some ancestors back to Salem in the 1600’s. So I checked, and there they were – Francis Nurse married to Rebecca Towne!
7 When I was laid off from Sabre, I was walked out of the building. This was almost exactly 4 years ago. I was a programmer and my job probably went to India.
Seven other things you may already know: 1) I am a school nurse, 2) I am a lot older than my seven or so readers, 3) I served a mission in England from October of '75 to April of '77, 4) I was born in Massachusetts, 5) Bill and I are temple workers, 6) I rarely wear makeup, 7) I have 1 cat and 2 tortoises.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Major Trauma
Most clinic traffic in the elementary school falls under the headings of illness or minor trauma. Our daily report doesn't have a heading for "Teacher wanted to get rid of me" or "I wanted to visit the nurse and kill some time" or "Let's see what a good actor I am". There are usually a lot of headaches, tummy aches, scrapes and scratches. There are the "my mommy gave me Tylenol this morning so she could go to work/play but it wore off and now I have a fever" visits. Then there are the "if you look at it really hard with a magnifying glass maybe you will see something and give me a bandaid" visits. And of course there are the medication visits - for the Ridalin, blood sugar checks and such. And then there is MAJOR TRAUMA. I got to experience Major Trauma while I was on my own today. It wasn't life-threatening major but it was a broken bone major. Actually I did have help. The playground aide who brought the child to me stayed to help. Of course it happened at lunch time when clinic traffic is at its highest. The mom came within about half an hour. The child was in a lot of pain and all I could do was stabilize the arm and apply ice. He was only 5 and thought he was going to die - literally. He asked me through his tears, "Am I going to die?" So I reassured him and tried to distract him and called my sick #1 nurse at home and finally mom came to take him to the ER. What a day!!
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
On My Own
At my Wednesday/Thursday school, the nurse I work with stayed home sick on Monday and Tuesday. The principal actually had to be the nurse yesterday, because the office worker who normally fills in was also absent! R came back today and it was a fairly typical day. She left a little early and I finished up the day. She just called me at home to say that she would be staying home tomorrow. So I get to handle the clinic on my own tomorrow!!
Stories
My kids love to hear stories about themselves when they were little. So here are a few memories:
Sarah: Sarah has always been petite. As a baby, it seemed that she was the only one I knew of that wore 3 month clothes at 3 months and 6 month clothes at 6 months etc. She was also an early walker. She walked at 9 months and ran at 10. People would look at her in amazement and ask how old she was. She just seemed too little to be running around like she did.
James: When James was 3 or 4 he saw a mouse in our house. He came to me a few moments later with a long sad face and said, "Mommy, I saw a little mousie and I wanted to be his friend, but he ran away!" So sad.
Stephen did and said some pretty funny things. I don't think I can remember them all. Once, sometime after he was potty trained so he must have been 3-ish, I was standing at our front door talking with someone. Suddenly Stephen comes running down the hall to me, very excited -
Steve: "Mom can I go!? Can I go??"
Me: "Where do you want to go, Stephen?"
Steve: "To the bathroom!"
Me: "Of course you can go to the bathroom!"
Steve: {While running back down the hallway to the bathroom} "YIPEEE!!!"
Emma gets frustrated because I can't remember as many stories about her. Let me just say tonight that when I saw Ella and Brooke at choir practice on Sunday evening and remembered how Emma and I used to go to choir practice together, it made me miss her terribly.
Sarah: Sarah has always been petite. As a baby, it seemed that she was the only one I knew of that wore 3 month clothes at 3 months and 6 month clothes at 6 months etc. She was also an early walker. She walked at 9 months and ran at 10. People would look at her in amazement and ask how old she was. She just seemed too little to be running around like she did.
James: When James was 3 or 4 he saw a mouse in our house. He came to me a few moments later with a long sad face and said, "Mommy, I saw a little mousie and I wanted to be his friend, but he ran away!" So sad.
Stephen did and said some pretty funny things. I don't think I can remember them all. Once, sometime after he was potty trained so he must have been 3-ish, I was standing at our front door talking with someone. Suddenly Stephen comes running down the hall to me, very excited -
Steve: "Mom can I go!? Can I go??"
Me: "Where do you want to go, Stephen?"
Steve: "To the bathroom!"
Me: "Of course you can go to the bathroom!"
Steve: {While running back down the hallway to the bathroom} "YIPEEE!!!"
Emma gets frustrated because I can't remember as many stories about her. Let me just say tonight that when I saw Ella and Brooke at choir practice on Sunday evening and remembered how Emma and I used to go to choir practice together, it made me miss her terribly.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Friday, November 02, 2007
Another Day, Another Target
My route to my Friday school takes me by yet another Target. I stopped and found a few more bargains. Their dollar stuff was at 75% off so I got six packs of playing cards shaped like lions and tigers, 2 glasses cleaning kits, a set of 4 cheater chopsticks and a few other items, all for 25 cents each! I didn't have time to search for any other bargains...
I tried to convince the guy at Subway today that my veggie sandwich was a tuna sandwich without the tuna and he should charge me the price for the daily special. I have no shame! He was a grinch and I ended up paying the extra 30 cents.
And Stephen finally got on a plane to SLC today. He caught a shuttle to Rexburg and arrived in time to go to the campus Japanese club with Emma this evening. He will be staying overnight in Idaho Falls with James and Melissa for a few days. I think he will enjoy hanging out with his brother and sister and friends after such a long stretch of hanging out at home with his 50-something parents and Polo (the cat).
I tried to convince the guy at Subway today that my veggie sandwich was a tuna sandwich without the tuna and he should charge me the price for the daily special. I have no shame! He was a grinch and I ended up paying the extra 30 cents.
And Stephen finally got on a plane to SLC today. He caught a shuttle to Rexburg and arrived in time to go to the campus Japanese club with Emma this evening. He will be staying overnight in Idaho Falls with James and Melissa for a few days. I think he will enjoy hanging out with his brother and sister and friends after such a long stretch of hanging out at home with his 50-something parents and Polo (the cat).
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Going Gray... or White?
I have wanted to grow out my hair for years. I was an older mother and thought I needed to dye my hair so I wouldn't look like the grandma instead of the mother. You get into a rut. I told myself that I'd let it grow out when Emma graduated from high school. Then I postponed it until I graduated from nursing school. Then I decided to wait a few more months until I got a job. So now I have the empty nest, the degree and the job and it is time. It has been about 2 1/2 months and I have a little over an inch of natural color. I am beginning to see that I still have some streaks of brown mingled with white rather than gray. And it looks like I have more white at my center part line than lower down. I am getting anxious to cut it, but I have never liked to wear my hair short.. and I don't like the two toned look, but what can I do?? I found a link to this article that I thought was good. So please don't look at me and wonder why I am letting myself go. It's an ongoing project to uncover the real me!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Such a Deal
Today I stopped at Target on my way home. In fact I stopped at 2 different Targets, both of which are different from the Target I stopped at yesterday. Yesterday I discovered that "my" Target had their dollar stuff at 50% off. They didn't have much that I was interested in but I got a couple of stocking stuffer type things. And I found two 18 ounce jars of Skippy PB for 44 cents each! Today I had to check out the other 2 in case they had different stuff on sale, but I didn't find much in the dollar section. I did buy a nice little table reduced from $20 to $5. About a month ago, Target had their dollar stuff at 75% off and I bought a bunch of Brio compatible wooden train tracks... and that was a good deal. I love Brio. I can't wait to have grandkids to build train tracks with. Bill says if I had as good an instinct for stocks as I do for mundane household items on sale, we'd be rich. But I don't. Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention my other bargin. I bought a package of 20 "Happy 60th Birthday" napkins for 48 cents. I'll need those in about a month - for me!! And they're not even black!!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Boston to Dallas by way of San Francisco!
Ahhh, the joys of flying standby! To begin - I did finally make it to New Hampshire. It was way too short a trip, but I am so happy that I was able to be there, if only for a day and a half. On Friday, a week ago, I packed my bag and went to school. I drove straight to the airport from school, parked in long-term parking and stood by for the last three flights to Boston. Of course, I got on the last flight and it got in at 1 AM. But my wonderful brother Steve picked me up and drove me to NH in his Miata, in the wee hours of the morning, in the pouring rain. We got there at about 330 AM. My sister, Susan, had arrived Friday evening. The next morning Susan and I went out in the canoe. We paddled down to the museum and back. In the afternoon we drove to The Old Print Barn, an art gallery near Meredith. The drive was beautiful. I think the leaves were about at peak. Then that evening our mother took us out to eat at the Woodshed and it was lovely. Susan left Saturday evening. She had a rehersal for the orchestra for Rigoletto on Sunday and she needed to practice the cello solo. Steve and I watched the Red Sox game at camp Saturday evening. It's fun to watch baseball with a real fan - especially when your team wins! So having gotten into the mode, I have actually watched the first 2 World Series games. GO Red Sox!!! But I digress. On Sunday morning I just hung out at camp with Steve. He worked on the Young Lady (the boat) which was having mechanical problems so we couldn't take it out. They took the Four Winns out of the water after I no-showed 2 weeks ago. But at least I got out in the canoe. Too cold for swimming! We had lunch at my mom's and drove back to Boston that afternoon, getting to Logan in time for me to stand by for the 4 o'clock flight. Which I did not get on. Nor did I get on the 5:25 flight; nor did any of the 20 plus standbys, of which I was number 16. The last flight was at 8:20 and was sold out. I was checking out the obvious alternatives, like going via Chicago, New York or Washington, but they all looked just as bad for standing by. So, here is where we get to the title of my post. I walked by a gate and noticed only one name on the standby screen so I looked at where it was going - San Francisco. I called and checked the schedules and availability from SFO to DFW and found there was a 12:45 AM flight that actually had open seats. So I asked to be transferred to the standby list for the SFO flight, got on it, made the connection and arrived at DFW at 6 AM monday morning! By the time I got to my car and got on the road, it was too late to go home, so I went straight to school (and changed clothes there). I was glad not to miss a day of work, since I will be asking for time off in January. Anyhow, I was glad to make it to New Hampshire and glad for the chance to see my mother, sister and brother. Too bad my brother Rollin didn't fly in from Alaska. Then all four siblings would have been there!
I really need to get a camera, so I can post more pictures... but here are some photos of camp, taken last June by Rene. The first is the view out the front door and the second is the view of the side as you drive up to the camp.
I really need to get a camera, so I can post more pictures... but here are some photos of camp, taken last June by Rene. The first is the view out the front door and the second is the view of the side as you drive up to the camp.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
My Boring Life
So there is nothing exciting to blog about. Friday I thought about trying to get to New England again, but it didn't happen. I realized that we had signed up to feed the Elders, so I stayed home and we fed them pizza and a salad with ice cream for dessert - how creative. Afterwards Bill and I went shopping - for a shower curtain - how exciting. Saturday I slept in. That felt good. Then I went out to Seconds and Surplus and bought a bathroom cabinet for our downstairs bathroom. We'll see how long it takes Bill to put it together and install it. Saturday evening we did our usual temple shift. I was glad I didn't bail out on that as they were somewhat short handed. And today I went to church, came home and made dinner, took a nap and watched Mystery! So yes, this is my boring life. I will try again to get to NE on Friday next. I made a reservation for a car. We'll see how standby goes.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Emergency Contacts
Nearly every week there is a sick child in the clinic who needs to go home but for whom we have no current contact. Today was heartbreaking. A small boy cried in the clinic for an hour. He was in pain and his fever crept up to over 103 degrees. We called his dad but he was at work and "on the road" and said he was unable to come. We could not reach the mother. It could have been appendicitis so we called 911. Another child came to us with a temperature of 99.9. Same story except that he was not in acute pain. No one would or could come to get him and we couldn't reach the mom. At the end of the day we sent him home with a fever of 102.9. We are not allowed to give any medication that is not prescribed by a doctor, so all we could do is try to make the children as comfortable as possible.
Monday, October 08, 2007
I am trying to figure out attachments...
The following is an essay I wrote for an English class about 4 years ago. We were supposed to write about a person who influenced our life. It's rather long for a blog entry and I wanted to do it as an attachment, but I couldn't figure out how. So here it is:
What I learned From Joseph
Although I never knew him, I learned a lot from Joseph. I thought I was invincible; I learned that I am not. I had taken credit for and pride in some things that were really beyond my control. I learned humility. I had felt far removed from the troubles of others. Other people’s babies might die, but not mine, never mine. I learned to empathize. I learned that search as you may, sometimes there are just no answers. Sometimes faith and acceptance, though difficult, are required. I learned how peaceful a cemetery can be.
I was forty-three years old and pregnant. When I got married at 30, I knew I wanted children. Bill did too, so we didn’t wait. Sarah was born 9 ½ months after our wedding. She was followed by James, Stephen and Emma, all bright healthy children. I was used to having relatively uneventful pregnancies. I always gained a lot of weight and all of my babies had been late. Labor and delivery were always hard but there were never complications. This pregnancy did not seem different. I went to the hospital in labor, six days after my due date, one day after my last visit to the doctor. There was no heartbeat.
The next few hours were a nightmare. It is difficult to describe how I felt. I don’t think I fully understood that my baby was dead. It hardly seemed real. I was still pregnant; I still had to go through labor and delivery. Joseph was born in the morning. I looked into his perfect, still white face with eyes that would never open. I think that is when I realized that my son and all the hopes and dreams we had for him were gone.
That afternoon my mother called from Massachusetts. I really don’t remember what she said. I remember what I said. “Don’t come,” I sobbed. “There’s nothing to come for. There’s no baby. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Of course she came. My father came too. They knew that I needed them more to support me in my grief than I ever had needed them to share in my joy.
Afterwards, I wanted to know why. I wanted to second-guess the past. “What if” and “Why” became my favorite questions. Why was the baby so big? Why didn’t the doctor know I was carrying nearly 12 pounds of baby? What were all of those silly tummy measurements for if he didn’t know? Sonograms were fairly common at the time. Why did I never have one? I was 43 years old. Why was this not treated as a high-risk pregnancy? How on earth can there be knots in the umbilical cord? Would they have shown on a sonogram? When did the knot form? Why did it have to pull tight when it did? What if he had been alive? Would I have survived or would he have survived a natural delivery? He was so big. Would there have been complications? Perhaps an emergency C-section? So many questions.
I found myself haunting bookstores and libraries. Many times I wound up sitting on the floor reading from one book, then another. Pregnancy, Complications of Childbirth, High Birth Weight and Stillbirth, are some of the topics I looked for. I learned that high birth weight is associated with gestational diabetes. Mothers with gestational diabetes have a higher instance of stillbirths. Did I have that? Maybe. I found that I matched on three or four of the risk factors. I also found that the symptoms go away after birth. So I will never know for sure.
Sometimes I thought I would go mad. One day I was standing in line at the grocery store. I had just a few items. I looked around and saw people going about their lives as if everything were normal. Didn’t they know that the whole world was different now? How could they just buy their groceries as if everything was the same? I felt like walls were closing in on me. I was fighting tears. I did not want to break down in public. I abandoned my groceries and fled to my car where I could grieve in private.
“Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the woods… you are not alone. No one is alone.”
Quote from Into the Woods
Knowing that you are not alone is helpful. I went to support groups a few times, but they seemed somewhat structured and artificial. It seemed to me that you were expected to grieve according to formula and express yourself according to an unspoken standard. There were three things that helped me more than support groups. The first was the one on one, volunteered support from women who had also lost children. Several friends and acquaintances came forth with their own stories of loss. I never knew… it is not something that is talked about often. I never even knew that my own mother had had a miscarriage until I lost Joseph. I found a book on neonatal death at the library. It was written by a psychologist and had case histories of many different women from many walks of life who had lost babies both before and after birth. Their stories also helped me to realize that I am not alone. The third thing was and is the cemetery. Joseph is buried in “Babyland 5,” a section of Restland Cemetery where babies and children are buried. There are hundreds of little graves with inscriptions like “Our Little Angel” or “Playing in God’s Garden.” Some have flowers or little teddy bears. You can tell which ones were stillborn; they have only one date. When I visit Joseph’s grave, I think of all the other mothers who have stood in this place and grieved for their children. I know I am not alone.
My whole attitude toward pregnancy and childbirth changed. I think every woman who has ever born a child knows what it is like to be in a group of mothers and mothers-to-be and compare experiences. The chatter is lively and happy. Some seem to exaggerate their hardships and there always seems to be a bit of one-upmanship. But if you have a healthy baby to show for your efforts, the hardship is secondary. Now I am reluctant to join in. I know that things can go terribly wrong. I am afraid I might say something to put a damper on their high spirits.
On the other hand, I am more sensitive to those who have experienced the loss of a child. Before, I might have held back, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Now I know that it is better to say something than nothing at all. It is better to offer support, to reminisce, to listen. I learned that tragedy and death touches everyone. I think I took my first four children for granted. I gave myself all the credit for being a good mother. I realize now how blessed I am.
Joseph was the son I never knew. I have four bright, healthy children who have taught me many things. I learned a lot from Joseph, too.
What I learned From Joseph
Although I never knew him, I learned a lot from Joseph. I thought I was invincible; I learned that I am not. I had taken credit for and pride in some things that were really beyond my control. I learned humility. I had felt far removed from the troubles of others. Other people’s babies might die, but not mine, never mine. I learned to empathize. I learned that search as you may, sometimes there are just no answers. Sometimes faith and acceptance, though difficult, are required. I learned how peaceful a cemetery can be.
I was forty-three years old and pregnant. When I got married at 30, I knew I wanted children. Bill did too, so we didn’t wait. Sarah was born 9 ½ months after our wedding. She was followed by James, Stephen and Emma, all bright healthy children. I was used to having relatively uneventful pregnancies. I always gained a lot of weight and all of my babies had been late. Labor and delivery were always hard but there were never complications. This pregnancy did not seem different. I went to the hospital in labor, six days after my due date, one day after my last visit to the doctor. There was no heartbeat.
The next few hours were a nightmare. It is difficult to describe how I felt. I don’t think I fully understood that my baby was dead. It hardly seemed real. I was still pregnant; I still had to go through labor and delivery. Joseph was born in the morning. I looked into his perfect, still white face with eyes that would never open. I think that is when I realized that my son and all the hopes and dreams we had for him were gone.
That afternoon my mother called from Massachusetts. I really don’t remember what she said. I remember what I said. “Don’t come,” I sobbed. “There’s nothing to come for. There’s no baby. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Of course she came. My father came too. They knew that I needed them more to support me in my grief than I ever had needed them to share in my joy.
Afterwards, I wanted to know why. I wanted to second-guess the past. “What if” and “Why” became my favorite questions. Why was the baby so big? Why didn’t the doctor know I was carrying nearly 12 pounds of baby? What were all of those silly tummy measurements for if he didn’t know? Sonograms were fairly common at the time. Why did I never have one? I was 43 years old. Why was this not treated as a high-risk pregnancy? How on earth can there be knots in the umbilical cord? Would they have shown on a sonogram? When did the knot form? Why did it have to pull tight when it did? What if he had been alive? Would I have survived or would he have survived a natural delivery? He was so big. Would there have been complications? Perhaps an emergency C-section? So many questions.
I found myself haunting bookstores and libraries. Many times I wound up sitting on the floor reading from one book, then another. Pregnancy, Complications of Childbirth, High Birth Weight and Stillbirth, are some of the topics I looked for. I learned that high birth weight is associated with gestational diabetes. Mothers with gestational diabetes have a higher instance of stillbirths. Did I have that? Maybe. I found that I matched on three or four of the risk factors. I also found that the symptoms go away after birth. So I will never know for sure.
Sometimes I thought I would go mad. One day I was standing in line at the grocery store. I had just a few items. I looked around and saw people going about their lives as if everything were normal. Didn’t they know that the whole world was different now? How could they just buy their groceries as if everything was the same? I felt like walls were closing in on me. I was fighting tears. I did not want to break down in public. I abandoned my groceries and fled to my car where I could grieve in private.
“Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the woods… you are not alone. No one is alone.”
Quote from Into the Woods
Knowing that you are not alone is helpful. I went to support groups a few times, but they seemed somewhat structured and artificial. It seemed to me that you were expected to grieve according to formula and express yourself according to an unspoken standard. There were three things that helped me more than support groups. The first was the one on one, volunteered support from women who had also lost children. Several friends and acquaintances came forth with their own stories of loss. I never knew… it is not something that is talked about often. I never even knew that my own mother had had a miscarriage until I lost Joseph. I found a book on neonatal death at the library. It was written by a psychologist and had case histories of many different women from many walks of life who had lost babies both before and after birth. Their stories also helped me to realize that I am not alone. The third thing was and is the cemetery. Joseph is buried in “Babyland 5,” a section of Restland Cemetery where babies and children are buried. There are hundreds of little graves with inscriptions like “Our Little Angel” or “Playing in God’s Garden.” Some have flowers or little teddy bears. You can tell which ones were stillborn; they have only one date. When I visit Joseph’s grave, I think of all the other mothers who have stood in this place and grieved for their children. I know I am not alone.
My whole attitude toward pregnancy and childbirth changed. I think every woman who has ever born a child knows what it is like to be in a group of mothers and mothers-to-be and compare experiences. The chatter is lively and happy. Some seem to exaggerate their hardships and there always seems to be a bit of one-upmanship. But if you have a healthy baby to show for your efforts, the hardship is secondary. Now I am reluctant to join in. I know that things can go terribly wrong. I am afraid I might say something to put a damper on their high spirits.
On the other hand, I am more sensitive to those who have experienced the loss of a child. Before, I might have held back, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Now I know that it is better to say something than nothing at all. It is better to offer support, to reminisce, to listen. I learned that tragedy and death touches everyone. I think I took my first four children for granted. I gave myself all the credit for being a good mother. I realize now how blessed I am.
Joseph was the son I never knew. I have four bright, healthy children who have taught me many things. I learned a lot from Joseph, too.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
I am still in Dallas
And that just about says it all. We were at the airport yesterday from 5:50 AM until nearly 2 PM and were not able to get on a flight, even as D-1 standbys. At 2 we were rolled over to the 6:35 PM flight and came home, but did not go back for it because we could not get another rental car - and we might not have been able to get on that flight either. I did not know it was Columbus Day weekend or that there was a big Red Sox game. Besides that, there were revenue standbys from misconnects on Thursday and a cancellation to NYC early Friday. I guess that's what standby is all about, but I cannot express how disappointed I am. My brother and sister are both there - because they thought I would be. And my mother was going to take us to the Woodshed - a very nice restaurant - tonight. She made blueberry pie. I was supposed to pick one of the two afgans she just finished for a houswarming present for Sarah. Susan brought some slacks she thought Sarah might like. And so on. And to add to my misery, a mosquito has been buzzing around my ankles as I type and has bitten me 4 or 5 times. - - - I just looked down to assess the damage and I have 7 bites on my left leg and 6 on my right.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Home Remedies 2
I am finally feeling better. Maybe it was the lemon juice and honey tea with cayenne pepper and vinegar. Maybe it was the raw garlic. Or maybe it was time. I got it from Bill and now Stephen is starting to get a sore throat. I hope his doesn't get as bad as mine. He is taking vitamin C. In case anyone wants to try the curative tea, I made it like so:
1/4 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
1 T honey
2 t apple cider vinegar
1/8 - 1/4 t cayenne pepper
I heated the water and lemon juice in the microwave, added everything else and sipped it slowly. I did this eight times over 2 days; that's how many lemons I had. It did seem to make my throat feel better.
I also ate a few cloves of raw garlic. I felt like the characters from the comic strip Rose is Rose with skulls hovering over my head. Garlic is strong stuff!!! It burned my mouth and throat going down, but the burning sensation didn't last long... and maybe it burned off some of the bad stuff in the process.
About 10 years ago Bill and I saw the play "Having Our Say" about the 100 year old Delany sisters at the Dallas Theater Center. Later I read their book. They were remarkable women. One thing I remember is that they attributed their long life and good health to eating garlic every day. I was never sick enough or brave enough to try that until this week. And I have survived to tell the tale!!
1/4 cup water
juice of 1 lemon
1 T honey
2 t apple cider vinegar
1/8 - 1/4 t cayenne pepper
I heated the water and lemon juice in the microwave, added everything else and sipped it slowly. I did this eight times over 2 days; that's how many lemons I had. It did seem to make my throat feel better.
I also ate a few cloves of raw garlic. I felt like the characters from the comic strip Rose is Rose with skulls hovering over my head. Garlic is strong stuff!!! It burned my mouth and throat going down, but the burning sensation didn't last long... and maybe it burned off some of the bad stuff in the process.
About 10 years ago Bill and I saw the play "Having Our Say" about the 100 year old Delany sisters at the Dallas Theater Center. Later I read their book. They were remarkable women. One thing I remember is that they attributed their long life and good health to eating garlic every day. I was never sick enough or brave enough to try that until this week. And I have survived to tell the tale!!
Things that haven't happened and things that are about to:
I never made it to New Hampshire in August. They called me about my job that week and it seemed more important to start getting a paycheck. Steve never made it to Utah in September. He is dragging his feet. BUT. This coming weekend is a 3 day weekend for me and Bill and I will fly to NH on Friday. I considered leaving Thursday evening, but I would miss both my Spanish class and my Indian cooking class, so we'll leave early Friday. Besides, then we can drive from Boston in the daylight and stop at the LL Bean Store in Concord. I hope we will see some fall color. My sister Susan and my brother Steve will be there as well as my mother. And I will finally meet my brother's girlfriend. I'll be the last in the family to meet her. As for Stephen, he is a self-described swivel chair potato. He is slowly making progress on tying up his "loose ends" when he isn’t website and blog browsing and watching videos online. I hope to see him off to Utah in the next week or two.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
"The most civilized countries are the coldest ones," he told us many times. "too much heat addles the brain."
It's a quote from a book I read once because it was on a 10th grade summer reading list for Stephen. It was called "Dreaming in Cuban" and I enjoyed most of it, but there were parts that I thought inappropriate for a 14 year old boy. So I suggested that he choose something else from the list. This came to mind when I discovered that this week is banned books week. I subtly censored Stephen’s reading back then. While freedom of expression is essential, discretion in what you consume is also important. Steve will probably read this blog entry and go check it out of the library now. That’s ok – he’s 22. The kids were always supposed to choose quotes from the books to discuss later. This one would have been mine. I am still waiting for fall to come to Dallas.
But back to books. When my kids were in high school, I read many of the books that they were assigned to read, especially if they were unfamiliar to me. I wanted to know what they were being taught and to be able to discuss the books with them. I discovered some new favorites this way, like “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. I had a look at the list of 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 here and discovered that I have read at least 30-35 of them. Some of them are among the books I read aloud to my kids when they were younger. I always enjoyed reading to my kids. Sometimes I wish they were small again – those were some good times. My husband usually falls asleep when I try to read to him. I was in London once and bought a copy of Little Black Sambo. I remembered it from my long ago childhood and I knew I would never be able to find it here! If I can manage the time, I’ll stop by my library to see whether they are celebrating banned books. Maybe I’ll even pick one up to read.
But back to books. When my kids were in high school, I read many of the books that they were assigned to read, especially if they were unfamiliar to me. I wanted to know what they were being taught and to be able to discuss the books with them. I discovered some new favorites this way, like “The Mists of Avalon” by Marion Zimmer Bradley, “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury and “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. I had a look at the list of 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000 here and discovered that I have read at least 30-35 of them. Some of them are among the books I read aloud to my kids when they were younger. I always enjoyed reading to my kids. Sometimes I wish they were small again – those were some good times. My husband usually falls asleep when I try to read to him. I was in London once and bought a copy of Little Black Sambo. I remembered it from my long ago childhood and I knew I would never be able to find it here! If I can manage the time, I’ll stop by my library to see whether they are celebrating banned books. Maybe I’ll even pick one up to read.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Home Remedies
I am such an unlikely nurse. I haven’t had a checkup in 8-10 years. That’s not counting the cursory exam I had to get into nursing school – you know the type - like a sports or camp physical for a school kid. So I have had this horrible sore throat since Thursday and yesterday (Saturday) I drug myself out of the house at 5:15 PM and went to the walk-in clinic that closes at 6 PM. I wanted to rule out strep. Well they did the strep test and it was negative, but they gave me a prescription for an antibiotic anyhow. And a steroid and a nasal spray for my nonexistent allergies. So I went home with these three prescriptions, determined not to take them, and looked up home Remedies on the internet. Last night, every time I woke up, which was often, I gargled with water infused with cayenne pepper. This morning I read a little farther down the page and have been making this concoction of water, lemon juice, honey and cayenne and slowly sipping it. I have done this five times. My throat feels a little better but it still looks just as red and raw. We’ll see how I feel in the morning. I don't want to take an antibiotic if it’s really a viral infection. On the plus side, I have lost a few - that is three - pounds.
The Dream
This is the story of how Sarah got her name. It requires a little background information.
I met Bill in the summer of 1974 in the Dallas First Ward building on Turtle Creek. I was working in Dallas for the summer and when I went back to Massachusetts in the fall, we maintained a long distance relationship. I made the trip to Dallas once or twice a month since I had airline benefits through my job with Delta. In the Spring of 1975, Bill came to visit me in New England. We took a trip into Maine to visit some of my relatives and to do some genealogical research on one of Bill’s family lines. In Augusta we had no luck. They wanted to charge us for each name search and would not allow us direct access to the records. So we proceeded to the small town of Garland, Maine where the Haskells had lived in the mid 1800’s. There we found Bill’s 4th great grandparents’ graves and made gravestone rubbings of them. Their names were John and Sarah Haskell. After the cemetery experience, we asked a passer-by where we could find the old town records and were directed to the home of the town clerk. She invited us into her kitchen and cleared the table. Then she pulled the old handwritten records from a high shelf in a closet and spread them out for us to search. We found quite a lot of information, had a nice visit with the clerk and got to play with the kittens that were scampering around the kitchen. All in all a most satisfying family history trip!
Fast forward to May of 1979. Bill and I were married in July of 1978 and Sarah was due on May 6th. We had placed the gravestone rubbings on the wall of our bedroom, just across from our bed. We didn’t know whether we were having a boy or a girl, so we had made a list of 6 girl’s names and 4 boy’s names. One of the girl’s names was Elizabeth Sarah. One morning, a few days before our baby was born, Bill told me about a very vivid dream he had had. In it we were in the delivery room and the baby had just been born. It was a girl! The doctor turned to Bill and asked what her name would be. At that point in his dream, he opened his eyes and saw the gravestone rubbing of Sarah Haskell, closed his eyes and told the doctor, her name is Sarah. So when she was born a few days later, we named our baby girl Sarah Elizabeth. So essentially Sarah is named after her 5th great grandmother, Sarah Haskell!
I met Bill in the summer of 1974 in the Dallas First Ward building on Turtle Creek. I was working in Dallas for the summer and when I went back to Massachusetts in the fall, we maintained a long distance relationship. I made the trip to Dallas once or twice a month since I had airline benefits through my job with Delta. In the Spring of 1975, Bill came to visit me in New England. We took a trip into Maine to visit some of my relatives and to do some genealogical research on one of Bill’s family lines. In Augusta we had no luck. They wanted to charge us for each name search and would not allow us direct access to the records. So we proceeded to the small town of Garland, Maine where the Haskells had lived in the mid 1800’s. There we found Bill’s 4th great grandparents’ graves and made gravestone rubbings of them. Their names were John and Sarah Haskell. After the cemetery experience, we asked a passer-by where we could find the old town records and were directed to the home of the town clerk. She invited us into her kitchen and cleared the table. Then she pulled the old handwritten records from a high shelf in a closet and spread them out for us to search. We found quite a lot of information, had a nice visit with the clerk and got to play with the kittens that were scampering around the kitchen. All in all a most satisfying family history trip!
Fast forward to May of 1979. Bill and I were married in July of 1978 and Sarah was due on May 6th. We had placed the gravestone rubbings on the wall of our bedroom, just across from our bed. We didn’t know whether we were having a boy or a girl, so we had made a list of 6 girl’s names and 4 boy’s names. One of the girl’s names was Elizabeth Sarah. One morning, a few days before our baby was born, Bill told me about a very vivid dream he had had. In it we were in the delivery room and the baby had just been born. It was a girl! The doctor turned to Bill and asked what her name would be. At that point in his dream, he opened his eyes and saw the gravestone rubbing of Sarah Haskell, closed his eyes and told the doctor, her name is Sarah. So when she was born a few days later, we named our baby girl Sarah Elizabeth. So essentially Sarah is named after her 5th great grandmother, Sarah Haskell!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Notes From The Front Line
Monday was an exciting day at the high school clinic. In the morning, before classes started, C and I were called to the cafeteria. A worker had gone into premature labor (NOT Braxton Hicks!) and we ended up calling 911 for her. A 16 year old had a miscarriage in progress and was with us in the clinic all day. We did not have any emergency contacts for her that we could reach and she wasn't bad enough for 911. It’s a good thing C is a former labor and delivery nurse! The girl wanted to go back to class, but C was afraid she would faint and fall down the stairs or something. So she hung out with us. She didn't even have any homework to do or books to read. I think I may take some books to the clinic for cases like this. After all, we are supposed to be supporting the academic environment. Then at the end of the day we got a call from a teacher out in a portable. A student was asleep and she couldn't wake him up. C's first question was is he warm or cold? The teacher didn't know - she was afraid to touch him! By the time we got back there he was awake and able to walk to the clinic under his own power. (We had taken our wheelchair with us just in case) We did a neuro assessment and sent him on his way, but by that time of course, he had missed the bus. Two weeks ago five band kids were discovered in possession of "Cheese" on the band bus,,, so all the teachers are paranoid now of kids in their classes showing signs of use or even putting their heads on their desks. If they can't see their noses they might be snorting. It's sad. So it was an exciting day in the clinic. And that stuff was in addition to all the usual Monday traffic!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Accountability
If you were to look at my facebook account right now, this is what you would see at the top:
Mary Arnquist
is now going to 1) clean the cat box, 2) wash hands, 3) wash dishes, 4) clean kitchen, 5) sweep and vacuum the floor....."I go, I go, look how I go!!"
Updated 22 hours ago
So what did I actually do?? I cleaned the cat box, I washed my hands, I started to boil water for rice, I washed the dishes, dried them and put them away, I finished the rice and put it in the fridge for dinner today, I decluttered and cleaned my kitchen counters and I swept the floor. Everything that was on my list and more ... except the vacuuming. I happen to be allergic to my vacuum - sort of like how I'm allergic to the post office.
I think I was motivated because I was afraid that someone in my virtually nonexistent blogger/facebook audience would call me to task, since I put it up for all the world to see. Do you think this approach will work on my extra 20 pounds? I'll save that experiment for another day.
On another note, Melissa belongs to a Facebook group called "Why Yes, I Do Frequently Burst Out in Song". It has over 200,000 members - how cool is that!? I'm thinking I should start a copycat group called "Why Yes, I Do Frequently Quote Shakespeare Out of the Blue." I don't think it could compete with the singing group, but I have a few lines that I like to insert into conversation now and then. The quote above: "I go, I go, look how I go!" is from Midsummer Night's Dream. I thought it was "see how I go" until I looked it up last night. The problem is that I am not a Shakespearian scholar. I've just seen a lot of free Shakespeare in the Park - so I do not have a large repertoire of quotes. But I do love the plays. I was impressed with a book I recently read – The Eyre Affair. In it, 2 of the characters go to a regular Friday night performance of Richard the Third. Audience members play all the parts and have the whole thing memorized. It was Shakespeare with a cult following, sort of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I would love to see a production like that. And I love Richard III. The 1995 movie version, set in a mythical fascist London of the 1930s is great, as is “Looking for Richard” (1996).
Mary Arnquist
is now going to 1) clean the cat box, 2) wash hands, 3) wash dishes, 4) clean kitchen, 5) sweep and vacuum the floor....."I go, I go, look how I go!!"
Updated 22 hours ago
So what did I actually do?? I cleaned the cat box, I washed my hands, I started to boil water for rice, I washed the dishes, dried them and put them away, I finished the rice and put it in the fridge for dinner today, I decluttered and cleaned my kitchen counters and I swept the floor. Everything that was on my list and more ... except the vacuuming. I happen to be allergic to my vacuum - sort of like how I'm allergic to the post office.
I think I was motivated because I was afraid that someone in my virtually nonexistent blogger/facebook audience would call me to task, since I put it up for all the world to see. Do you think this approach will work on my extra 20 pounds? I'll save that experiment for another day.
On another note, Melissa belongs to a Facebook group called "Why Yes, I Do Frequently Burst Out in Song". It has over 200,000 members - how cool is that!? I'm thinking I should start a copycat group called "Why Yes, I Do Frequently Quote Shakespeare Out of the Blue." I don't think it could compete with the singing group, but I have a few lines that I like to insert into conversation now and then. The quote above: "I go, I go, look how I go!" is from Midsummer Night's Dream. I thought it was "see how I go" until I looked it up last night. The problem is that I am not a Shakespearian scholar. I've just seen a lot of free Shakespeare in the Park - so I do not have a large repertoire of quotes. But I do love the plays. I was impressed with a book I recently read – The Eyre Affair. In it, 2 of the characters go to a regular Friday night performance of Richard the Third. Audience members play all the parts and have the whole thing memorized. It was Shakespeare with a cult following, sort of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I would love to see a production like that. And I love Richard III. The 1995 movie version, set in a mythical fascist London of the 1930s is great, as is “Looking for Richard” (1996).
20 22 24 26 28 30
20 . Emma
22 . Stephen
24 . James
26 . Melissa
28 . Sarah
30 . Loren
So my sons and daughters are all even ages for the next 3 months with Melissa and Loren kindly filling in the gaps. That is until James turns 25 on December 22nd. James... my odd child born in an even year.
22 . Stephen
24 . James
26 . Melissa
28 . Sarah
30 . Loren
So my sons and daughters are all even ages for the next 3 months with Melissa and Loren kindly filling in the gaps. That is until James turns 25 on December 22nd. James... my odd child born in an even year.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
TV or not TV
I am not in the habit of watching TV. I often feel like a popular culture outcast when people talk about their favorite shows. As often as not, I've never even seen whatever it is they are talking about. Or if I have, I probably got bored and went on to something else before it was over. Part of it is that I can't abide watching ads; that's when I bail out. We have never had cable. I decided against it when they first wired our neighborhood for it many years ago, so we are not even set up for it. Sometimes I wish I had it for specific programs, but I would never watch enough to make it worth the fee. So Bill and I watch mostly an occasional program on PBS - like Mystery! or Masterpiece Theater or Dr Who. I like British comedies and detective shows. We check out DVDs from the library and have watched a lot of shows that way. I love the Dallas Public Library! And I've watched a lot of Scrubs because my daughter owns a couple of seasons on DVD. So I can't be a snob and say that I NEVER watch TV, but I can truthfully say that I watch very little and I will not be a good conversationalist if you want to talk about your favorite shows or the fall lineup. Lucky for me, Bill is not a couch potato either.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Today in the Clinic
We had to report on child abuse. We had a crying child stuck with us for more than half the day. There were some live ones in the hair, ruling out the classroom and we could not reach the parents. And oh yes, the whole class had to be screened! One child with a weak bladder came in twice for a change of clothes. Another child has encoporesis (Google that!) and came in for a change of clothes, but we didn't have anything that fit, so that one hung out with us until the dad arrived. Then there were the usual requests for bandaids, the tummy aches and headaches not accompanied by fever, the meds to be given, the record keeping, requests for shot records, enrollments... It was a busy day. [Can you tell that I'm trying to not violate HIPAA by being somewhat obscure?]
Monday, September 03, 2007
Weeks Two and Three
Just for the record, a brief account of my second and third weeks on the job:
Week two was spent following my schedule and meeting the nurses I'll be working with. The teachers were all at school, but no kids. On Monday I was at the high school and we went to teacher meetings all day with the teachers. I began to realize that I need to learn school-speak. Every profession has its own jargon. In spite of putting 4 kids through the Dallas ISD over 21 years, I have never really experienced the "other side". It has been interesting. The high school has a third nurse who runs the TPPP - Teen Pregnancy and Parenting Program. I was amazed to learn that last year there were 140 students in her program and that she expects to add about 40 new pregnancies this year. Wow!! This is in a school with a population of about 1650. So I spend Monday and Tuesday at the HS, Tuesday and Wednesday at Elementary #1 and Friday at Elementary #2. All of my nurses are great and I am running out of steam so I may edit this later.
Week two was spent following my schedule and meeting the nurses I'll be working with. The teachers were all at school, but no kids. On Monday I was at the high school and we went to teacher meetings all day with the teachers. I began to realize that I need to learn school-speak. Every profession has its own jargon. In spite of putting 4 kids through the Dallas ISD over 21 years, I have never really experienced the "other side". It has been interesting. The high school has a third nurse who runs the TPPP - Teen Pregnancy and Parenting Program. I was amazed to learn that last year there were 140 students in her program and that she expects to add about 40 new pregnancies this year. Wow!! This is in a school with a population of about 1650. So I spend Monday and Tuesday at the HS, Tuesday and Wednesday at Elementary #1 and Friday at Elementary #2. All of my nurses are great and I am running out of steam so I may edit this later.
Pesto
Emma made me do it. She planned this big Sunday dinner for us and got behind, so she asked me to make the pesto. I am not a gourmet cook. I am not a very adventurous cook. I don't even like cooking most of the time. I've never made pesto or even thought about making pesto. But I made the pesto and it was good! Bill bought this mini food processor a few months ago and I never even used it until yesterday. It worked great. I feel inspired to try more new recipes. I just need to find a low fat vegan pesto recipe... is there such a thing? Emma's recipe had 1/2 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese. I'm such a bad vegan...
UPDATE: Yes there is such a thing. I found a recipe on the McDougall website. Next time, I'll try that one.
UPDATE: Yes there is such a thing. I found a recipe on the McDougall website. Next time, I'll try that one.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
I visited someone at Parkland
tonight and it almost made me wish I had gone for a hospital internship instead of the School Nurse job. A choice has been made. I could probably go for a June 08 internship if I change my mind.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Week One - Orientation
So this week I've been going to new nurse orientation. There are about 20 in my "class". Most of them have many years of experience and this is to be their last job before retiremant. But there are also a few younger nurses. Needless to say, all have way more experience than I do. I am the only new graduate. Because of my lack of experience, I don't get my own school and clinic for at least the first six months. The BNE says I have to work with another RN. Actually I will be working with three other RNs. I will spend Monday and Tuesday at a high school, Tuesday and Wednesday at an elementary school and Friday at a different elementary school. The Friday school is the same school where I did my clinicals for my Communities class last fall. So I already know the nurse there - she's about my age and has been there for 10 years or so. I'm happy to be working with her again.
We were also trained on the school's computer system and got a benefits and retirement presentation, so I have a bunch of paperwork/red tape type things I need to sort through.
We were also trained on the school's computer system and got a benefits and retirement presentation, so I have a bunch of paperwork/red tape type things I need to sort through.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Emma Comes, Emma Goes
So Emma got home from her European trip last Sunday morning and was home for all of 2 days before taking off for Utah to visit her friend Anne for a few days. She tried to come home on Friday afternoon but a Delta cancellation ate up all of the available seats to DFW so guess what!?
Another overnight at the airport!
It may seem tacky to those who can afford a hotel, but overnighting at the airport has its advantages. First and foremost it is cheap. In fact it is free. Second, it is relatively safe, since you are on the secure side. No one is going to approach you with a gun or an appeal for spare change or anything like that. And third, there are not many people about and it is fairly quiet. You can usually find an airplane blanket or two and at the larger airports, they sometimes pull out cots or mattresses. Steve got a fold out pad from UA at Minneapolis to sleep on and we have had cots at Chicago. And last, but not least, there is the advantage of being there to stand by for that 6 AM flight. No early morning rush to the airport. And those early flights are often good for standing by since revenue passengers have been known to sleep in.
So yes, Emma got on the 6 AM flight out of Salt Lake and was home for the rest of Saturday. Sarah and Loren came over and we took some family pictures, since we will not be together again until Christmas. AND it was Stephen's birthday, so we all went out to eat which was fun. Then today Emma was off again to Minnesota. She will work for 2 more weeks at Danish Camp and then drive her car to Idaho. We expect to see her one more time before school (BYUI) starts since she is going to Disney World with Sarah and Loren in September.
Another overnight at the airport!
It may seem tacky to those who can afford a hotel, but overnighting at the airport has its advantages. First and foremost it is cheap. In fact it is free. Second, it is relatively safe, since you are on the secure side. No one is going to approach you with a gun or an appeal for spare change or anything like that. And third, there are not many people about and it is fairly quiet. You can usually find an airplane blanket or two and at the larger airports, they sometimes pull out cots or mattresses. Steve got a fold out pad from UA at Minneapolis to sleep on and we have had cots at Chicago. And last, but not least, there is the advantage of being there to stand by for that 6 AM flight. No early morning rush to the airport. And those early flights are often good for standing by since revenue passengers have been known to sleep in.
So yes, Emma got on the 6 AM flight out of Salt Lake and was home for the rest of Saturday. Sarah and Loren came over and we took some family pictures, since we will not be together again until Christmas. AND it was Stephen's birthday, so we all went out to eat which was fun. Then today Emma was off again to Minnesota. She will work for 2 more weeks at Danish Camp and then drive her car to Idaho. We expect to see her one more time before school (BYUI) starts since she is going to Disney World with Sarah and Loren in September.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
We are not hosting this year -
but we got to pick up Jullyano Braga da Silva from Brazil at DFW today. Our friends, the Romneys will be his host family and they got a good one! His English is great and he is handsome and charming. Here we are at the Airport.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
About Steve
Stephen just finished his 5-week summer camp counselor experience at Concordia's Hometown USA. He had a great time and, schedule permitting, will probably go back next summer. Better still, he accumulated plenty of language tutoring hours to complete his TESOL minor. However he is still recuperating from his 24+ hour wait at the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport, standing by for a flight to Dallas. He checked in at about 2 PM on Sunday and didnt get out till around 4 PM on Monday. So he joined the ranks of family members who have recently overnighted at an airport. At one point yesterday there were more than 60 people on the standby list (he was #21) and no seats available. I was convinced he wasn't going to make it. So Emma, James, Melissa and I drove up to Ikea, shopped and had a meal. And missed his call saying he got on a flight. So he had to wait a while at DFW to be picked up. Next week he will go to Utah to visit his friend Spencer and tie up loose ends.
Gainfully Employed!
This morning I signed a contract with the Dallas Independent School District. So I am officially a school nurse. They have not yet assigned me to a specific school, but orientation starts next week on the 13th. And next summer, maybe I will apply to be a camp nurse at Concordia in MN and see why Emma and Steve love it up there!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Last Minute
I still haven't sent out my E-announcements and my Lesson Schedule to my anxiously awaiting fans in the Lakewood Ward. Who am I kidding... but it still needs to be done. Preferably tonight.
Emma... almost home
So last night, which was Friday night in Denmark which is 7 hours ahead of Texas, Emma and Elle missed the 1230 am train back to Odense and had to wait an hour and a half for the 200 am train. She said she finally got to bed at about 4 am and had to get up at 730am to get the KLM connection from Billind to Amsterdam to London (LHR). She stood by for the AA flight from Heathrow to Chicago and got on it, but it was late so she missed her connection at O'Hare and is spending the night at the airport. She sounded so tired when she called. She said she didn't sleep on the plane. So now she's probably sleeping on the floor at the airport. I've done that before. In fact I did it in May in Denver. And Emma has overnighted at O'Hare before too. The trials and blessings of non-revenue travel! It's wonderful to have those privileges. It will be good to see her in the morning.
Friday, August 03, 2007
August 3, 2007
Three years ago today, my dad, Rollin T. Young died. I miss him. He was a wonderful father and a wonderful companion to my mother and a wonder person.
Sixteen years ago today, my son, Joseph C. Arnquist was stillborn. I wish I had had the opportunity to know him. It was a shock to us, since I was a week past my due date and went to the hospital in labor, not knowing that his heart had already stopped beating.
I just wanted to remember them today.
Sixteen years ago today, my son, Joseph C. Arnquist was stillborn. I wish I had had the opportunity to know him. It was a shock to us, since I was a week past my due date and went to the hospital in labor, not knowing that his heart had already stopped beating.
I just wanted to remember them today.
The 99 Cents Store Will be the Death of Me
I can’t resist a bargain. Even at the expense of my health. Lately I have been buying Silk Chocolate Soy Milk. It’s only 99 cents a half gallon. It costs $3.99 at Whole Foods Market. Such a deal. The problem is that I drink it. I don’t think anyone else in my house does. It’s delicious. But after I do, I go into a sugar funk which feels bad and is another indication that I am probably an undiagnosed diabetic. Then there is the Bryers Ice Cream at 99 cents for 1.75 quarts. I should probably be buying low sugar, low fat Tofutti for $5 a pint, but my goodness, who can afford that??? And then there are the Pillsbury Simply Bake Turtle Supreme Bars with Chocolate Chips, Caramel Drizzle and Walnuts. For 99 cents. Hard to resist. Where did my self discipline go? HELP!!
I Love the 99 Cents Store
There are lots of things it is good for: Decent reading glasses for 99 cents. Tomatoes, zucchini, celery, a 5 pound bag of potatoes, a package of 2 or 3 red bell peppers, a bag with 4 lovely fresh peaches.. all for 99 cents each. Canned goods are as good a buy or better than anywhere else. They haven’t had brown rice for a while, but 99 cents for 2 pounds is good. It’s a great place to get greeting cards and gift bags – 50 cents each! And I have found good deals on things like health/beauty/cleaning supplies. Right now they have a VHS copy of Quidam – a Cirque de Soliel performance. I’d buy it if we didn’t already have it! And the best thing is that it’s only 2 ½ blocks from my house. I just need to set myself some limits on the too good to be true sweets.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Not Feeling Inspired
But feeling a need to catch up:
July 7th - 07/07/07 - turned out to be a lucky day for me! I took the NCLEX that day. I only got 75 questions before the system booted me out so I knew I did really good or really bad. If the computer thinks you have not yet 'proved' yourself, it can dish out up to 265 questions. Thank goodness I didn't have to sweat out that many! I found out 2 days later online that I passed!!! So I am now a licensed, registered nurse - an RN.
Without a job. I am still a wimp. Working in a hospital would be a good experience, BUT, I am nearly 60 years old. I'm not sure how my body would take the 12 hour shifts and possibility of working nights. So I have applied to be a school nurse with the DISD. I have had an interview and they are processing my background checks. Ho hum... They called me last week because they couldn't find Manset, Maine, a place where I lived in the 70's. It's so small that it wasn't even a blip on their radar! If they hire me, and they seemed positive, I will start orientation on August 13th. So I hope I find out soon.
Emma the World Traveler is in Denmark today. She got on the AA nonstop from DFW to London on Friday and arrived at Gatwick on Saturday morning. She stayed at 2 different hostels in London on Saturday and Sunday nights. Then she flew from Heathrow via Amsterdam to Billund on Monday morning. She was met in Billund by Laerke Buch, our YFU student from the 2004/5 school year, and will be staying in Odense with the Buch family until Saturday. I hope she can get on a plane out of London… the availability does not look especially good .
Stephen is in Frontenac, Minnesota at Hometown USA. He is a camp counselor, teaching foreign kiddos English. He’s been up there since July 2nd and comes home next week.
And I hope to go to NH again on Friday.
July 7th - 07/07/07 - turned out to be a lucky day for me! I took the NCLEX that day. I only got 75 questions before the system booted me out so I knew I did really good or really bad. If the computer thinks you have not yet 'proved' yourself, it can dish out up to 265 questions. Thank goodness I didn't have to sweat out that many! I found out 2 days later online that I passed!!! So I am now a licensed, registered nurse - an RN.
Without a job. I am still a wimp. Working in a hospital would be a good experience, BUT, I am nearly 60 years old. I'm not sure how my body would take the 12 hour shifts and possibility of working nights. So I have applied to be a school nurse with the DISD. I have had an interview and they are processing my background checks. Ho hum... They called me last week because they couldn't find Manset, Maine, a place where I lived in the 70's. It's so small that it wasn't even a blip on their radar! If they hire me, and they seemed positive, I will start orientation on August 13th. So I hope I find out soon.
Emma the World Traveler is in Denmark today. She got on the AA nonstop from DFW to London on Friday and arrived at Gatwick on Saturday morning. She stayed at 2 different hostels in London on Saturday and Sunday nights. Then she flew from Heathrow via Amsterdam to Billund on Monday morning. She was met in Billund by Laerke Buch, our YFU student from the 2004/5 school year, and will be staying in Odense with the Buch family until Saturday. I hope she can get on a plane out of London… the availability does not look especially good .
Stephen is in Frontenac, Minnesota at Hometown USA. He is a camp counselor, teaching foreign kiddos English. He’s been up there since July 2nd and comes home next week.
And I hope to go to NH again on Friday.
Monday, July 02, 2007
July 4th on July 1st
Yesterday the city of Dallas 4th of July celebration was held at Fair Park. Bill and I went. The thing that got us out of the house was that all of the Fair Park museums were free from 4-7PM. We have been to the Science Museum often enough, but have never been to the African-American History Museum or to the Women's Museum. We only made it to the Women's Museum but enjoyed it. It had an exhibit on Women in War and another on various milestones achieved by women and another on the changing face of feminism. We didn't get there until 530 so we really didn't have enough time. Of course, Bill had to spend some time admiring and inspecting the structure.
Anyhow, after that we walked around the fairgrounds. The lagoon now has swan boats - I didn't know that. And the Texas Discovery Gardens were nice. We saw kids on bikes and kids running through the fountains having a great time. It made me a little nostalgic for the time when my kids were little and we brought them to Fair Park to ride bikes. They would ride their bikes through the ground level fountains. Good times! The concert started at 830PM with the DSO in front of the Hall of State and people all up and down the Esplanade. I was really glad we went. The program was nearly the same as the Memorial Day program that we heard in May but they add the 1812 overture. Fireworks started at the end of 1812 and continued through Stars and Stripes Forever. Nothing like 3 Sousa marches to make one feel patriotic.
On the real 4th of July, we will probably go to the concert and fireworks at Las Colinas with James and Melissa. I won 2 tickets to the Dallas Wind Symphony concert at the Meyerson on the 4th at 1PM. That should be fun!
Anyhow, after that we walked around the fairgrounds. The lagoon now has swan boats - I didn't know that. And the Texas Discovery Gardens were nice. We saw kids on bikes and kids running through the fountains having a great time. It made me a little nostalgic for the time when my kids were little and we brought them to Fair Park to ride bikes. They would ride their bikes through the ground level fountains. Good times! The concert started at 830PM with the DSO in front of the Hall of State and people all up and down the Esplanade. I was really glad we went. The program was nearly the same as the Memorial Day program that we heard in May but they add the 1812 overture. Fireworks started at the end of 1812 and continued through Stars and Stripes Forever. Nothing like 3 Sousa marches to make one feel patriotic.
On the real 4th of July, we will probably go to the concert and fireworks at Las Colinas with James and Melissa. I won 2 tickets to the Dallas Wind Symphony concert at the Meyerson on the 4th at 1PM. That should be fun!
Diversions
When Rene left for Germany last Tuesday, his flight made an unscheduled landing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa due to weather and low fuel. He had about half an hour to make his international connection once they made it to Chicago, but he is a good runner - he made it! With a 40-something pound backpack! Stephen left for Minneapolis today. He was number 10 of 21 on the standby list, but he made it. His flight was diverted to Omaha, Nebraska due to a medical emergency. They landed in MSP two and a half hours late. As for me, the diversions that distract me from studying for the NCLEX are: reading blogs and facebook, surfing the internet, washing dishes, washing clothes, shopping at the 99 cent store, sudoku.... almost anything that is not related to nursing. Can you tell I am not excited about studying?? Tomorrow I will go to the library to study. Maybe that will work.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
I'm a WIMP
Not only am I a wimp, I am a totally unprepared, scared, procrastinating and un-confident wimp. I was supposed to take the NCLEX today. After Rene left, I started studying in earnest and discovered how much I have forgotten already. So I rescheduled for Saturday, July 7th. I keep telling myself that I need to do at least 100 practice questions per day. I did today. I need to start looking for a job.
And so it ends...
SeWon Left for Korea on Monday and Rene left for Germany on Tuesday. I'll miss them. We have decided not to host exchange students next year. We were very lucky with Rene and SeWon. They are both great kids. I decided to host because of the severe attack of “empty nest syndrome” that I had the first year Emma was gone. Also because of Joseph, the child that died. He would have been 16 this summer. So in a way I have felt like we are supposed to have teenaged boys in the house. But I need to put my house in order before we do it again.
We still have a fairly active househild with James and Melissa here for the summer. Stephen is here too but will be spending the month of July up in Minnesota, working for Concordia. Emma, THE BAKER, is up there now, baking breads and cakes and cookies for all the lucky campers at Norwegian camp. She comes home for the last two weeks of July and will probably go back for the month of August. So people keep coming and going.
We still have a fairly active househild with James and Melissa here for the summer. Stephen is here too but will be spending the month of July up in Minnesota, working for Concordia. Emma, THE BAKER, is up there now, baking breads and cakes and cookies for all the lucky campers at Norwegian camp. She comes home for the last two weeks of July and will probably go back for the month of August. So people keep coming and going.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
Colorado, Minnesota and New Hampshire
The week after Sarah's graduation, I made a long overdue visit to my friend Patricia in Pueblo, Colorado. I spent a pleasant 3 days visiting, seeing some beautiful countryside and meeting some of Pat's friends. I had a bit of a hard time getting home. Flying standby is always a challenge, but this time there was bad weather in Dallas and the midwest, causing 3/6 flights COS to DFW to cancel and 5/12 flights DEN to DFW to cancel. I ended up driving from Colorado Springs to Denver, sleeping at the airport, and flying out on the 6AM flight the next morning.
The next week I drove to Minnesota with Emma. We got a AAA Triptik and loaded up her car and took off. What a big, beautiful country we live in! I don't often take road trips because of my flight benefits, but it was fun to do. We drove up to Oklahoma and through Missouri to Illinois. We stopped at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield and in Decatur to see Emma's roomie, Stepheni. Then we drove to and through Wisconson and on to Minnesota. Emma's Arnquist ancestors settled some of those WI/MN areas. We stayed at a nice hotel near the MSP airport that we got a really good deal on through Priceline and ate at a great little vegetarian restaurant called Good Earth. Then last Friday Emma drove to Bemidji to begin orientation for her job as baker for Concordia's Norwegian camp and I flew home to Dallas.
New Hampshire is coming up this week. Rene and SeWon left for their YFU trip to New York City on Sunday June 3rd. They managed to get on a 'full' flight with an early check in time and D1 status. On Thursday the 7th we fly to Boston and drive up to NH for about a week. I'm looking forward to being in New England. Maybe I'll look for a job there...
The next week I drove to Minnesota with Emma. We got a AAA Triptik and loaded up her car and took off. What a big, beautiful country we live in! I don't often take road trips because of my flight benefits, but it was fun to do. We drove up to Oklahoma and through Missouri to Illinois. We stopped at the Lincoln Museum in Springfield and in Decatur to see Emma's roomie, Stepheni. Then we drove to and through Wisconson and on to Minnesota. Emma's Arnquist ancestors settled some of those WI/MN areas. We stayed at a nice hotel near the MSP airport that we got a really good deal on through Priceline and ate at a great little vegetarian restaurant called Good Earth. Then last Friday Emma drove to Bemidji to begin orientation for her job as baker for Concordia's Norwegian camp and I flew home to Dallas.
New Hampshire is coming up this week. Rene and SeWon left for their YFU trip to New York City on Sunday June 3rd. They managed to get on a 'full' flight with an early check in time and D1 status. On Thursday the 7th we fly to Boston and drive up to NH for about a week. I'm looking forward to being in New England. Maybe I'll look for a job there...
Five new degrees!
Sarah is now “Master Doctor Sarah”. She is so cool. She worked on her medical degree and her masters degree concurrently and will begin a family practice residency at JPS County Hospital in Ft Worth in July. Her husband Loren also got a masters and Stephen graduated from BYU with a degree in Japanese. And I now have my second bachelors degree. I don’t know if I will go for a masters. If I do, it won’t be in nursing.
Wonder of Wonders
I graduated. I am now a GN and will take the NCLEX, the licenseing exam to become an RN on June 28th. I don't have a job yet because I have not applied. After this last semester, I'm not even sure I want to be a nurse. We shall see. Oh, and I did great on the HESI (94th percentile), so I hope that is an indicator of how well I will do on the NCLEX.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Spring Break
Last week was spring break for Rene and SeWon. Since I was in school, we didn't get to fly anywhere. They spent the first part of the week just hanging out at home or with friends. But Thursday - Saturday they got to go to Stake Youth Conference. It was a pioneer trek up in northern OK. I think they had around 100 kids participate... dressing in pioneer clothing, pulling handcarts, no electronics, backpacks or other modern conveniences. They had a great time!
This week is my spring break. I am spending it studying, both for classes and for the HESI. I did a couple of sections of the practice HESI yesterday and got 86% of the first part and 56% on the second part... So I have some work to do. I wanted to go visit Emma in Idaho, but last weekend would have been better and that didn't work for her. I thought I might go at the end of this week, but I'm glad now that I didn't. I really need to study and am getting a lot more done here than if I were traveling. So Emma, if you read this, I love you and will see you in a little over 2 weeks!
This week is my spring break. I am spending it studying, both for classes and for the HESI. I did a couple of sections of the practice HESI yesterday and got 86% of the first part and 56% on the second part... So I have some work to do. I wanted to go visit Emma in Idaho, but last weekend would have been better and that didn't work for her. I thought I might go at the end of this week, but I'm glad now that I didn't. I really need to study and am getting a lot more done here than if I were traveling. So Emma, if you read this, I love you and will see you in a little over 2 weeks!
The worst/hardest semester
Everyone said Senior 1 would be hard - it wasn't for me. Everyone said Senior 2 would be a breeze. No such luck. I'm not even sure I even like nursing after this semester. My experiences with Baylor have been less than ideal. I would not want to work there. It seems the big push is for nursing schools to crank out hospital nurses, but I don't think I want to do that. I don't like the culture. I'm hoping now to first, make it to graduation and second, find a non-hospital job. Some of the nurses I have worked with as preceptors have said to stick it out because the “real” working world is very different from school. I’m not sure I believe that anymore. I should have stuck with technology.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Degrees of Separation
Years ago, I saw the stage version of "Six degrees of Separation" at the Dallas Theater Center. The idea of connectedness resonated with me and I often think of it when I meet new people. Through Shinya, I am connected to many people in Japan. Through Stephen and his travels in Japan I am connected to many more. Through all the returned missionaries I have known, I am connected to the people they know in many parts of the world. And so forth...
This thought has returned to me in connection with all the random blogs I read. I started out as a fan of Benac.com. These are people I actually know. Then I started reading their kids blogs... I know the kids too. But then I started reading blogs that are linked to blogs of people I know and people they know. Some of the blogs I read now are up to 3 or 4 degrees of separation. It seems wierd that I regularly read the thoughts of people I don't know. I am an uninvited spectator of their lives. I comment once in a while, but I don't leave a link to this blog. I am not a confident blogger yet. I'm doing it mostly for me. I enjoy the thoughts that others share. I sometimes think about how akward it might be to actually meet them in person. They are people I would like to know, but most are a lot younger than I am and would be unlikely friends.
This thought has returned to me in connection with all the random blogs I read. I started out as a fan of Benac.com. These are people I actually know. Then I started reading their kids blogs... I know the kids too. But then I started reading blogs that are linked to blogs of people I know and people they know. Some of the blogs I read now are up to 3 or 4 degrees of separation. It seems wierd that I regularly read the thoughts of people I don't know. I am an uninvited spectator of their lives. I comment once in a while, but I don't leave a link to this blog. I am not a confident blogger yet. I'm doing it mostly for me. I enjoy the thoughts that others share. I sometimes think about how akward it might be to actually meet them in person. They are people I would like to know, but most are a lot younger than I am and would be unlikely friends.
Snow Day, January 2007
I had a math test at 8 AM today. Determined not to be late, I got up at 6:12 - only 2 minutes after my alarm went off - and took my shower, etc. Bill poked his head into the bathroom to announce that there was an 80% chance of snow today with a light dusting already. It didn't register. By 7:30 I was dressed, my bag was packed and I was just finishing up the breakfast dishes when Rene appeared. He announced that while everyone else in the world was getting a snow day, Dallas schools are carrying on. I told him he's from Germany; he can handle it. Then it suddenly registered - everyone else just might include TWU. I checked the website and sure enough, TWU's Denton and Dallas campuses are closed for the day. So I get a snow day! It's a little ridiculous. There is so little snow... but I have plenty to do.
Snow Day, January 1985
The DISD, Dallas Independent School District, rarely calls a snow day. One January day when Sarah was in kindergarten it was an icy, snowy morning. We listened to the radio listing all the many, many school districts that were closed. Dallas was not among them. So being a proud New Englander and not afraid of snow, I dutifully took Sarah to the bus stop where only 2 or 3 of the 8 to 10 usual students got on. At the end of the day I met the bus. Sarah got off and in all seriousness said, "Mom you were wrong; there wasn't any school today." Baffled for a moment, I said, "But the bus picked you up and brought you home. Where have you been all day?" It turned out that neither of the 2 kinder teachers made it to school and only 4 or five kids from the 2 classes showed up. They spent the day with an office aid playing games and coloring. I probably should have kept her home.
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