Nostalgic Nursing Refections on Life

I absolutely Love the last Saturday of the month! For the past few years the last Saturday of the month equates to an 8am Coffee House rendezvous with my good friends! A few hours with them and it's like I have had my worn down batteries replaced/recharged. Dynamic people are good "food for the soul"! Back on "the ranch" we needed a change of pace... so we hopped on our bikes, I grabbed the camera and we went for a ride in the cool spring air. We ventured to an abandon farm where the house and barn had been burned/torn down. A rich unknown history filled the air around us as we explored the scene. Nature had cycled back in as the primary occupant of the property... large old trees lined the sides of a long lane, daffodils smiled like miniature faces of sunshine everywhere, and a magnificent magnolia took center stage covered from top to bottom with large pink tulips! Before leaving, we gathered a decent sized bouquet of floral-sunshine... which I have since plac...

Rainbows (From an “Old Print Factory Inc.” Card) Rainbows appear after mighty storms, When things look their very worst, Just when the skies are darkest grey, Look for the rainbow. The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise, That he will guide us through any storm, That he will see us through all of our troubles, No matter what their form. When you feel battered by life’s storms, And you are filled with doubt and dismay; Just remember God’s rainbow is coming… It is only a prayer away.

THE STORY OF ATLAS by Judy Rosenbaum You’ve probably seen an atlas. It’s a book of maps. But the word atlas also has a different meaning. It was someone’s name. Here’s the story of the first Atlas. The ancient Greeks told tales about giant beings called Titans. One Titan was named Atlas. The Titans fought with the Greek gods and lost. So, the gods punished the Titans. Atlas’s punishment was to hold the sky up on his shoulders. He held the sky up for years and years. There once was a time when Atlas almost got free. A hero named Hercules came to see him. Hercules needed to find some golden apples. Only Atlas knew where they grew. Atlas said, “I’ll get the apples if you hold up the sky while I’m gone.” Hercules was almost as strong as a Titan. He could hold the sky up while Atlas went for the apples, but it was hard work. Soon, Atlas came back. He saw Hercules with the sky on his shoulders. The weight of the sky made He...

I had a recent discussion about check boxes on a form. The discussion made me think about simple words and how they make people feel... Adoptive Parent, Adoptive Child, Birth Parent, Biological Parent, "Real" Parent... The word "Adoption" seems to be a very legal term, used to classify and categorize people. Birth, Biological, "Natural" all have an inherent bonding/endearment, "natural way of life factor". These terms could leave the "Adoptive" Child/Parent feeling "unnatural". Maybe the social terminology associated with Legal Adoption ought to be re-evaluated to foster positive feelings... My thoughts regarding "Adoptive" families: All Parents are... "God Appointed Parents" There can be two subdivisions... "Pre-Birth Parents" and "Post-Birth Parents" Some Parents may be both, some may be one or the other, still others may be a mixture with different children falling into different cate...

Adjectives That Qualify: Unique, Uncommon, Rare, Unusual... Challenging, Difficult... Just, Right, Decent, Good, Kind, Honorable... Chosen, Planned, Wanted... Clean, Fresh, Tidy... Hopeful, Progressive... Tired... Loving

My Philosophy: Learn From Every Experience Reflect on Yesterday Live in The Momment and Make the Most of It Plan for Tomorrow, but don't Obsess About It Pray for Guidance Daily! My Goal: Grow a Little Every Day ...clothing size does not apply here:-) For Today... Take care of your mind and body with regular maintenance checks and "tune-ups". Get preventative tests as per medical guidelines... better to nip weeds before they germinate! Search for the right "fit" regarding your chosen health care providers, there is nothing better than a health care provider who is actively invested in your wellbeing! Identify people in your life who keep you real...meaning, they leave the sugar coating at the curb and feed it to you raw, bitter taste and all! I am truly blessed with a wonderful woman in my life who does this for me. I call her on good days, on bad days, just because... I call her when I am uncertain or when I feel strongly about situations... I can always count o...

Does Sunday mean we should be in the same church building, from 10:30am to 12 noon every week??? Hmmm... we (my husband and I)have been giving this a lot of thought. I believe it is important to build relationships, to set a good example, to demonstrate self discipline and to be committed to spirituality... but does that mean the only way to do this as a family is to commune from 10:30 to 12 at our local church each Sunday?? I decided that I am open to trying a multifaceted approach to spirituality, mix it up a bit, keep it lively. So the plan is that sometimes we will attend the traditional Sunday morning service; sometimes we will attend different churches/times; sometimes we will watch and discuss television sermons; sometimes we will watch and discuss Internet sermons; and still other times we will listen to/discuss radio presentations, religious movies, and books. We will see how it goes... For today we watched/discussed a very good YouTube skit that my mother forwarded to me (htt...

Soo most of my life, post twins, has been like the Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day". Same routine different numbers on the calendar. Well, I wanted today to be different. Here's how it went...it felt like I had morphed into one of those fish that fights the current to swim upstream, uphill, in a storm to successfully reach their spawning destination, but I finally got there! I met a new friend who shares many common interests for morning coffee and went bargain hunting, off the beaten path, all day in her convertible PT Cruiser. We had a great time! I think every first day of Spring ought to be celebrated with the top down, tunes on and wind in your hair! My "big find" was a unique string of Dragon Fly lights that will look awesome on the outstretched awning of our travel trailer on a fine summer evening (maybe even spring?). I noticed that the Goodwill parking lot has more BMW's, Mercedes and other high-end vehicles than it does old-clunkers... I think the...

Wow, my first post... It really is a lot of pressure... I want to appear intellectual, confident, well spoken and interesting... the truth is sometimes I really am all of those things... then again sometimes I am not. I guess that is plain human reality... (or maybe just my reality). My original motivation in creating this particular blog was as a practice project for The American Porphyria Foundation. Ms. Lyons asked me to lend my nursing insight and my personal experience with Porphyria to helping the foundation with their new upcoming blog. I agreed... but did not have ANY experience blogging... I really wasn't even sure what a blog was. Since Ms. Lyon's request, I have learned that blog is the shortened version of "web log", a type of virtual "diary" where people can document their thoughts, feelings and perspectives about various topics to share with others. Ok... I thought, this could be a fun way to express one's self. I love to write(although a c...