Day Fourteen- Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for Sunday dinner.

For some reason this meal with my family is the one that I look forward to most. I love sitting around the table and hearing what everyone learned in church that day. In a small way it's a chance for me to hear their testimonies growing.

It's a day that is unhurried, most often calm, where we take a breather before facing the new week ahead.

This is the meal that I start planning for on Monday.

I try to make it a meal that everyone likes. No complaining on this day. I save the 'yucky' meals for the other days of the week. :)

**If you need a really good chicken noodle soup recipe, I have got one for you! It's so good that Erik says he could eat it every night of the week. That's saying something! Thanks again Tiff for the recipe. I think of you every time I make it.

Thankful- day thirteen

High school dances.

Corsages, boutonnieres, expensive dresses, fancy dinners, the list goes on.

Today, I am thankful that good old pj's were the acceptable dress for Nicole's dance tonight. It saved so much time and money! Thanks just doesn't seem like enough!

I heart Sadies!

Thankful for a lesson learned

I stopped by the hospital today to help for a few hours. It was early in the morning and I began to do patient rounds to see if there was anything I could get for them.

I stopped by the room of a frail looking man with thinning brown hair. He was in the middle of eating his breakfast of scrambled eggs covered in cheese, hash browns, bacon, toast, fruits, juices and a yogurt.

After introducing myself, I asked him if I could get anything for him, fully expecting him to say no. Instead, he asked me to get him an Italian Ice.

"You may not have any because they were out last night" he went on to say, "so if there are none, please bring me two cups of vanilla ice cream, a Styrofoam cup, and some rootbeer so that I can make myself a root beer float."

I thought his request to be somewhat strange because of the time of day and the fact that he was still eating his breakfast. But I told him I would go and check on the Italian Ice. Before leaving his room I mentioned to him that if there were none, he would have to wait on the rootbeer float because we were out Styrofoam cups for the time being, but that more would be arriving soon.

He said that would be fine, so off I went.

Less than one minute later, I returned to his room with the Italian Ice. "It's the last one!" I said as I handed it to him. He took it with a smile and I continued, "I will check back on you later, when the cups arrive to see if you still might like to have a rootbeer float." Then I left his room and went off to the next patient.

About 30 minutes later, I was walking past the nurse's station when the charge nurse said to me, "You forgot to bring my patient a rootbeer float." She seemed annoyed which surprised me. It hadn't been that long since I had brought him the Italian Ice. I had forgotten to check to see if the cups had arrived but I hadn't expected him to be that anxious to get his float.

I went to his room, and after knocking on his door, I slowly walked in. He was eating his rootbeer float. "Are we still friends?" I asked him with a smile. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner and that you had to ask your nurse to get you the float." I said.

I expected him to say it was OK, not to worry, etc. Instead he said, "You need to start carrying around a notebook so that you can write these things down. I know you get busy, but you shouldn't forget."

I wanted to tell him it had only been 30 minutes, that he was still eating his breakfast for heaven sakes, that he had JUST eaten an Italian Ice, that there was only one of me and 32 patients and that I WOULD have come back eventually.

Instead, I said, "You are right. I need to do that. I shouldn't forget."

I have been thinking a lot about this man and what he said. At first I felt like I was being unfairly criticized. I'm a volunteer for crying out loud! I often do get busy running errands here and there for this nurse or that and most days only get to each patients room once in four hours. But then I realized that he was trying to teach me an important lesson. He was trying to teach me how to give better care and to realize that these patients are relying on us to do things for them that they cannot do for themselves. And that thirty minutes can seem like hours to someone sitting alone in a hospital room.

A rootbeer float seems like a trivial thing to you and I, but to a patient who perhaps hasn't been allowed to eat anything but a clear diet for days and has just been cleared for a regular diet again, this type of thing can be huge to them.

I'm grateful for this man. Grateful that he took the time to teach me this lesson instead of just saying that it was OK.

Today, I am thankful for the lessons I learn each time I walk through the hospital doors.

Thankful- day eleven

Need I say more?

Tart, ruby red little beauties- the fruit of the gods (in my opinion).

I am thankful for Pomegranates this time of the year.....it means Christmas is coming my dears!

Thankful for Prayer

I had an overwhelming and stressful day today and there were two specific times that I was in serious need of immediate relief from symptoms I was experiencing that were distressing me and were distracting me from the nursing orientation I was attending.

On two separate occasions, I mentioned this to two different people I was texting (I KNOW! texting during an orientation.....shameful!). I asked them to pray for me. Almost immediately after, I felt relief from the symptoms I was experiencing. I KNOW that prayers are answered!

Today, I am so thankful for the power of prayer.

Thankful-day nine

After a long, busy day, I am so very thankful for my soft, warm bed to climb in to tonight.

*It's very tricky to take a picture of yourself in bed! :)

Thankful Thoughts~ day eight

I had such high hopes for today. Really high hopes. The boys were going back on track, the house would be quiet again, time to myself, ahhhh.

But it was not to be. At six thirty this morning, Nicole climbed in my bed and I knew she was still suffering from the flu that had her down all weekend.

A few minutes later, Ian was standing next to me telling me he was scared and that his room was haunted.

So much for sleep.

I tucked Ian in my bed and got up. I looked outside. It was raining.

A few minutes later, Isaac walked in my room and informed me that his head and stomach were hurting.

So my quiet day to myself quickly came to and end before it even began.

Two children home sick, a cold and rainy day, and then add to that the fact that I had to out in it to go grocery shopping (my least favorite thing to do), and you may be thinking, "What is she thankful for?"

Let me tell you.

Today, I am thankful to be a mother. Thankful that I have three children who need me. Who wander the house looking for me when they need sympathy, need a hug, a reassuring word, a hand to feel their forehead, a dose of medicine, someone to tell their bad dream to, someone to feed them, someone to take care of them.

Being a mother is a wonderful thing. And sometimes it takes a day like today to remind me just how lucky I am.