Love, love, love

Steve brought me peachy-pink roses and chocolate covered berries today. Last night we went to Andrew Michael for a Valentine's dinner. I feel special!

Resolutions that I'd like to see

I've got mine. Now the rest of the country needs a resolution for 2013.

How about a fashion resolution: men will stop wearing their britches slung down around their thighs and women will stop wearing pajama pants out in public.

Happy New (me) Year

Of course I'm going to eat right, exercise, lose lbs. but, this year I've decided on one resolution that I can actually be successful at. I resolve to read one book every month. I used to be able to read a book a day. Over time, reading has been pushed back behind work, kids, home. I lost the interest, the love, the distraction that reading provided once the "interweb" entered my life. I got lazy too. And old-lady eyes have set in literally making it hard to focus. But, I can see; I do have time. I will make this work.

The book I started months ago will be finished in January. The Girl in the Italian Bakery--no award winner, however I'm 30% through it according to the Kindle app, so I will push through to the end. I have not researched it, but it appears to be the autobiographical account of the author's life growing up in the projects near Boston. No girl and no bakery yet.

Holly-days

Got a little crafty today. Made this swag out of Christmas tree branches, boxwood, nandina and holly from around the yard.
How I did it:
• 7 longer cuttings from the tree pointing downward and 5 shorter cuttings pointing upward, over lapping about 3-4 inches
• Tie together tightly with wire
• After that, slip in shorter cuttings of evergreen plants, including some with red berries. Besides these, you could also use ivy, mahonia-which mine are flowering right now, pine, cypress or yew.
• Finally, tie on a shiny bow (check Youtube for great bow-tying videos) and hang on a door or garden gate.

Death--It's not for Sissies

NICU-there for the first breath, and sometimes, the last.

I love my job. Granted the hours are long and working on the weekend and holidays kind of stinks. But it is never boring. Within our staff of about 100 nurses I work with a different set of 15-20 nurses on any given shift. We all have our strengths and weaknesss, our likes and dislikes. We work well together most of the time. We are not just friendly, we are friends. Not all of us are buddy-buddy but there is always someone there who you can connect with, who has an interest in you and your life and you in theirs. The work is exciting and tedious and often overwhelming. And that's where we really shine.
The hard days are the dying days. That's why I love my coworkers. They watch out for me when it's my turn to see a baby to their last breath. I do the same for them. I can't write specifics here. Patient confidentiality, HIPPA. But I've had 2 days in the lady couple of months that have brought me to my knees in grief, and in prayer. My people get it. It can't be explained to those on the outside. Those that do it, know.

Another Celebration

The weekend of August 4th & 5th, Mom and I drove up to St. Henry to celebrate Uncle Joe and Aunt Pat Romer's 50th anniversary. Jill, Trish, Gwen and Leah did a great job. It was held at Romer's Catering (distant relation I'm sure) on Sunday, August 5th. Aunt Irene and Barb were there as well as all of Pat's siblings. It made for a nice crowd! Dinner was standard Ohio country fare--fried chicken, chuck roast, corn, carrots, mashed potatoes, salad and wedding cake for desert--yummy! We went to mass at St. Henry Sunday morning then had lunch with the Romers at their house. It was great to catch up with the cousins, especially Trisha since I haven't seen her in more than 10 years I'm sure. Matt Kinkley brought Aunt Irene so we were also able to catch up since I didn't see him on our last visit in October 2011.

The Game of Life

We've come a long way, baby.

I can remember as a first grader in 1968 wondering what job I would have....Secretary? Stewardess? Teacher? And only until I was a Mother. Maybe this game would have helped me expand my horizons. I never considered Ballerina, Nurse, Model, or um, Middle Eastern Princess(?).
 
Well, I did become a nurse, but I didn't "have to" be a nurse. OK, technically I kind of backed into nursing since I couldn't quite cut it in Organic Chemistry, which eliminated some of the health care professions I had in mind. Admittedly, I did not love nursing school, but sometimes you just have to jump in, put in the work and keep the big picture (college degree, a job) ahead of you. Eventually you find what you were really looking for all along. I'm thankful every day that I found my way to the NICU. Nursing was the right choice for me.

You're Only Old Once

Two weeks ago I got to do something I've never done before. I attended Uncle Luke Borger's 100th birthday party. While his memory has become a little fuzzier and his body somewhat frailer, it is amazing to be in the presence who has really lived all of his 100 years! He and Aunt Mary were always on the go, but never placed themselves above their faith and obligations to others. I'll forever be grateful that they came south in the 1950's. Otherwise I would not be here today because Mom and Dad would never have met!

How much we need God

Greers Ferry Lake

Wonderful. Relaxing. Hot. But 102 degrees on the lake is way better than 102 in Memphis. Just saying'-if I gotta be hot then I'd rather sweat on the water!

It was strange vacationing without everyone there. Our family was all together for Saturday and Sunday Everyone but Garrett left Sun. So they could be back for work/school. Connor was pretty sunburned on his feet so he went back too. I really hoped he would stay, but he probably would have been miserable and extra bored and nobody wants to be around that! Mary, Tim and Steph were there all week. Timothy Sarah and Mitchell were just there for the weekend. Gary brought Mema over then went back for church, returning on Monday. Jon, Lesa and the boys got in early Wed. morning, so there was lots of coming and going. The guys endured golf on 3 different days. We just hung around the house either reading, eating or watching movies when we weren't out on the pontoon boat. Tim, Steph and I spent as much time as we could on the water. Jon brought their Sea-Doo. It looks like so much fun to drive. I was chicken and only rode it with Tim. But I think one of these days in gonna get me one. Maybe then we'll have our own lake house!