wobbly desk

 

This is my little corner of learning. This started 4/1/22. Nope. Not an April's fool joke. It is FOR REAL! After I got registered and started looking at my first class and the syllabus and assignments, I started to think, WHAT WAS I THINKING???!  Well it is day 3 and I am still thinking this.  I got my desk, and had to put it together. I thought, I can do this. Well, a few minutes later, me and my daughter were putting it together. When we were putting the final piece on we realized I got the top piece on backwards and had to drill a hole to hold the side shelf! I wasn't about to take it apart and start over. 

It is good to go out of your comfort zone, learn new things. You are never to old to learn. You are never to old to hear I love you, or I am proud of you. As a parent, I try to impart these words and actions to my children. I want them to know how much my husband and I love them and how much we are proud of them and the adults they have become.

In the same way, I love to hear this as well from my parents and family. And they let me know. It is a warm feeling to know you are loved and it comforts you to know that someone feels this way...they are proud of you. To know that they trust me and seek out my guidance as a nurse shows how much they love me.

I am comforted and look forward to seeing my dad wave at me when I leave their house. He stands outside and waits for me to back out, and waves.  It is a memory I will always have. It reminds of other memories I have, like sitting at the kitchen table with my memaw and mama just talking about life and boyfriends. Or talking to my papaw on the phone. Sitting with my parents-in-law at church and looking forward to being with them at the service. Holiday gatherings with my family, the WHOLE family.

The memory of my husband telling me how beautiful I am when I was going through chemo treatment and I lost my hair and gained 20 pounds. (I can rock a bald head!) When my son, who was 4 at the time, put his hands on my cheeks and said "I love you mom". And the wonderful feeling that your daughter wants to spend time with  you and says you are the "cool mom". And you already know that I AM the cool mom!!

There is so many ways to feel loved and I have so much to be thankful for. This love fills me up and spills over for me to give this love to others. 

So hopefully my little desk will last with me pounding away at my computer for 2 years. Then I can celebrate with everyone our accomplishment of my masters degree! Yes, we all will celebrate because we all earned this. I did the work, but they all had to put up with me, my crying and whining and giving me encouragement to keep going forward.

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Love to all,

Thank you for the small things

Do you think about those small things? Those things that really make a difference, but we really don't notice them.

I had my family in my house this week.  Both kids. Grown kids. This is something I took for granted in the past. Now when the kids come home, I realize that I miss it. To have those quiet times with all of us just sitting in the living room together. We may not be saying much, but the togetherness was so much more. The family dinners and the conversations we have. I miss all of this. I won't miss the messy house when everyone is here! I see some things don't change. My son is back to his home right now and I can tell he is gone. Summer can't get here fast enough for when he returns!

The small like an encouraging word, hug, or even a smile can give someone that encouragement to someone that may need a lift that day. And you may not even know that you gave it to them! I have been on the receiving ends of this. And I know that when I am down or not feeling good, that smile or someone just telling me I did a good job or even thank you has made the day more bearable. I try to encourage those around me. I try to not dwell on the negative. I think I am doing pretty good and suppressing my negative Nelly in me and seeing more of positive Pete!

Find the good in each day. Write a blessing you have each day and reflect on it. Look for things in the day that cause you to smile. One of the many things that cause me to smile (and sometimes to really wonder why) is my dog Riley. She is so playful and loving. Dogs have a sense to give unconditional love, no matter what. She plays, cuddles and is so annoying at times! but she will have that look sometimes that just causes me to laugh and smile. Find the joy in life, in the small things.

God is working through us all, whether you like it or not. We are all part of his plan and we need to decide which side are we on. Is your heart opened for God?

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called "Today", so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13

Love to all,

what a week

 This has been an week. All I can say is WHEW! as I wipe the sweat from my brow. Do you sometimes feel like things are out of your hands? This week I had to make some really tough decisions. Decisions that I do not like to make, but had to. 

In the midst of this, I feel I was sent little breaks. Things to take my mind off the tough times this week. Two of them, I will share.  I was pumping gas one day and the lady at the pump next to me had 3 baby goats!! OMG, they were so cute!!  And you KNOW I just had to go over and see them. I just couldn't help myself. And they made the cutest sounds of BAAAA.  You would just want to cuddle with them all day. Let me show you.....

See, I told you.. Cuteness 200%. 

I also got to spend some time with the girls from work. We went out to lunch at this amazing restaurant with some amazing food. I already told the hubs that this was going to be a date night place to eat at. Then went to this place called a rage room.  This place is something else. You go and just tear and beat the crap out of stuff.  This was so much fun. I never thought throwing bottles against a wall or taking a sledge hammer to a TV would be so much fun. And just to let you know, a sledge hammer is HEAVY!

Just goes to show me that I had a lot of stress to beat out! I recommend this to anyone. 

What I learned this week:

~Take some time for yourself.

~I cannot take on others mistakes or faults

~I am not responsible for others actions, only to myself

~I am loved

I praise you because I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.  Psalms 139:14

Love to all,  

Hallof Faith

 Hebrews 11:1; Now Faith is confidence of what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see. 

Who is in your hall of faith? No, not hall of fame. Faith. Do you have anyone? Think of someone you can always count on. This person is someone who is always there for you. Someone that if your were to have a date set to meet, you know that they would show up.  Do you have them in your mind yet? 

This is what faith is. Confidence of what you hope and sure of what you do not see.

Sometimes, though, people fail us. We are human. We make mistakes. We must forgive to move forward. They may cancel on your lunch date, or say the wrong thing at the wrong time. But haven't you done the same? I can think of times when family and friends tried to comfort me and said something that would make me think "are you serious?" 

Like: When I had cancer, I would hear things like, There is a reason this happened to you, it could be worse,  and the best one I heard was you have a good head to be bald.  I know I have an awesome and beautiful head but when you lose your hair for all the wrong reasons, this is something you don't want to hear. I know they didn't mean any harm, but....

God is with you and he has a plan. Through everything that you go through or whatever you are  doing to help someone through their tough times. You play a part in that. He doesn't tell you his plan. He doesn't tell you what your part is in this plan. You have to have faith that God knows what he is doing.  You have to hold on to God, sometimes tight, and let him guide you to where you need to be. He wants us in his story and we have to take that step of faith to be included in it. You may not know where you are going, but God does.

It doesn't always have to be hard times. We are part of this in the good times as well. We just don't see it when we are happy, we tend to remember the hard times more. For me, I think one of the parts I play in this plan is with my family. To be the best mom, aunt, wife, daughter that I can be. To be an example and show love. To carry on the traditions and life story of my family. My memories of this is fish fry picnics every year. KFC every Sunday after church at my grandpas house. Aunt Vicki's "fruit salad" at our family picnics. Camping and fishing every summer, (well I didn't fish, I dissected the worms). Reading the birth story of Jesus every Christmas (and fighting with my brother whose turn it is to read it, so that my dad had to start keeping track of it!).

If you want to make a change in the world, start with YOURSELF. Smile MORE. Have MORE fun.  Love MORE. And then you will SEE change. 

Love to all, 

Survivors that are surviving

DID YOU SAY HUGS? I want a HUG!

 

Everyone one of us is a survivor in one way. You survive each day with the ins and outs of life. Some have had it tougher. You may say, "I don't think that includes me." Well, you survived high school didn't you?? I think that is our first test of life. If we get through that, we can tackle the other things that is thrown at us.

I know I have talked about this before on here.  I am still talking about it because I am still surviving the effects of this pandemic. The aftermath of this that the world is going through. And so is the great people I work with.  It is getting harder and harder to manage the stresses of our work life which is crossing over into my personal life. The lines are getting blurred.

You see, nurses are committed to our patients. It becomes hard when those patients or families are not understanding what we do. They try to tell us or the physician's how to do our job and get upset when we do not do what they learned on the internet or what someone has told them. We have them scream, yell profanities and call us things that shouldn't be said. We are physically abused when trying to protect the patient from hurting themselves. BUT....We come back to this the next day. New nurses learn how to dodge punches or what to say when verbally attacked. We all start to "toughen up" and our hearts become a little hardened each time this happens.  It is called compassion fatigue. 

But we put on our smile and go back and do it over, and over, and over and over......again.

Today, I decided to spread some cheer. I have a sign on my office door that states, "Free Hugs. No appointment needed. Warning, may cause smiles"

No one came for one today, but I am sure that there will be some coming for their hugs soon.  I am ready for it because I am a hugger.  I need hugs. If this is one little thing I can do to help someone through a difficult time, stress or just provide some comfort, then I will hug you!!

Be Kind... to others but also to yourself. If no one has told you...YOU ARE LOVED. You are amazing. You are beautiful. You are NOT ALONE.

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8;10

Love to all,