Sweet teeth

Another weekend, another parade. Polk City put on its festival last weekend. We were watching my best friend's daughter, Chloe so we carted her to the parade with us. The pictures above say it all. Goofballs. Oh, and we filled up the bucket on Chloe's head 2.5 times with candy before going home. This was additional candy to add to our already disgustingly huge stash of candy from the previous parade the girls had been to while visiting Uncle Shawn and Aunt Lianna. In all honesty, even the biggest sweet tooth couldn't put that much candy down. I have given away SACKS of candy in the past week. It's all free! Get it out of here! Sophie keeps coming up to me with a wide open mouth to ask me if she has black teeth. She's very worried that the sugar bugs will get her teeth! I've been limiting intake to one piece, two tops, per day. But, after all the whining for candy, I'm ready to throw it back out into the street. Bah humbug.

After the parade we visited the big blown up jumpy things. Do they actually have a name? Then we ate things like walking tacos, pork chops on a stick & hotdogs to our heart's content. Soakin up the Polk City culture. They even had a bagpipe band. Sounds annoying. The kilts were actually not offensive and the music was surprisingly good! Very surprising.

Our cousins Bailiee and Sayler joined us for the parade too. They were visiting their aunt and came all the way from Hinton (by Sioux City) to visit. The girls had a great time with them, especially when we got back to the house and they got to play in their already completely destroyed room. Why don't kids care like we do? Why don't they rush around to clean it up before the company arrives? I sure wish they did, but it doesn't seem to phase any of them!

The other pics are of the girls at Saylorville Lake. Steve found a great beach under the mile long bridge. We can take Rosie there because it isn't considered a public beach. It is under water most of the time, but the lake happens to be really low right now, so we took advantage of it. Steve has trained Rosie really well. He throws this fake duck out into the water and she'll swim all the way out to get it. Then she brings it back. This might not sound amazing to you, but I was impressed! She seems like such a dip sometimes and then she goes and performs really well. Who knew?

Two more weeks of school until graduation! I can hardly believe it! I accepted a nursing job today on W3 at Mercy. I worked there this past year as a tech and I will start there as a nurse upon graduation. It is a cardiac cath recovery floor. Patients go there after they've been to cath lab and gotten a stent or two placed, or an ablation to a vessel, or a pacemaker or defibrillator. The patients don't normally stay more than 2 days, so it is a fast paced place. Very nice people to work with. I'm excited for the opportunity. It's also nice to know what I'm doing in a few weeks! I'm not known as someone who likes to plan ahead, but in this case, I'm grateful!

Steve has been busy working and helping Darrell and my mom out at their place. They were going to hire out some jobs to be done around their house, but decided to hire Steve instead. We can always use a little more cash and I'm proud of him for working so hard. This weekend, he is going to Iowa City to help them put in a fence at my mom's old house soon to be the site of Lianna's new preschool. I'll be staying home with the girls (we aren't much help), but we'll be getting things put together around here. My mom is taking the girls tomorrow night overnight and then watching them on Friday so I can get some work done! I'm SO grateful for this, but she is grateful to me for letting them stay! She's been on vacation for a couple of weeks and then returned only to work and work and work, so she says she misses her grandbabies! I have plenty to do so the day will not be wasted!

I've told a few of you this, but its something I just have to write down. We were in Target the other night and the girls were being obnoxious. They were laughing and screaming and screeching and making noises. I got frustrated and finally stopped the cart and said, "OK! This is going to be a silent shopping trip now. Be quiet! Pretend you are sleeping!" Without missing a beat, Olivia said, "Well, I talk in my sleep." I just had to laugh. I'm wondering how long she'll find a loophole in the rules!

Next weekend is the Sickels family reunion. The Sickels are my dad's wife's side of the family. They do a BIG reunion about every 3 years. Last time, it was held at Dad and Carol's place in Ruskin, FL. This year, it is held outside of Cedar Rapids on a family member's acreage. They have a pond and we'll be camping and playing games and spending the weekend with family. Should be lots of fun! After that, the girls will be going to stay with Grandpa Larry and Grandma Diana in Merrill (outside of Sioux City). They will be there all week. They'll bring them back just in time for my graduation celebration! I will be VERY ready to see them again! Even though I get sad when they are gone, people have really done me a favor by asking to take them for some time. It really helps me get my stuff done and they don't have to see me stressed or too busy to help with bath time that night or leaving to go to a study group, etc. Plus, they enjoy it! I asked them if they get homesick and they said "sometimes, but we like it away too!" So, they are a part of the decision at least. Summer is a good time to visit family anyway!

Well, not sure when the next post will come. After graduation? Sooner? Stay tuned. Enjoy your summer!

Mel

Blessed summertime

The summer beat is beating on. Some recent summer events: 3 more weeks of school for me! I just turned the big 26 last Saturday, and I spent the weekend in Okoboji for Cousin's Weekend. It was a lot of fun even though our boat ride was cut short by a small monsoon.

My family finally reunited Sunday after long vacations and miles between us. Mom and Darrell cooked us some fabulous chicken and corn and hotdogs, and Lianna and Shawn made some rhubarb crisp. I contributed nothing. Nice. Although, I did come home with some sweet gifts from Okoboji. Very chic flat billfolds for my sister and mom and a magnetic coozie for Shawn. It can stick to boats, lawn mowers, trucks, cars, you name something metal and you can put it there. Just like it is magnetic or something. Anyway. We were celebrating both my and my mom's bdays. My sister made me a fabulous scrapbook of all of my writing, blogs and updates. It was such a well thought out beautiful gift. I feel so blessed! She and Shawn just finished up the week of watching Olivia and Sophia in Iowa City. Needless to say, they all had a blast! The weeks events included swimming, preschool, bug houses, swinging, mudrolling, Wall-E the movie, Solon Beef Days Parade and other festivities. The girls came home with a giant backpack FULL of candy from the parade. I'm starting to think the recent dentist visit was futile. My sister happens to also be a fabulous photographer. The pictures are courtesy of her.

Yesterday, we drove to Ames to visit our visiting friends, Tara, Kurt, Olaiya, and Naomi. They drove all the way from D.C. to do Ragbrai, so we thought it more than appropriate to join the party. We ate, we swam, we enjoyed each other's company. Steve took the girls back home and I stayed with Tara to get some much needed catching up done. We went for coffee at the Stomping Grounds in Ames. Campustown in Ames was PACKED. It was fun to people watch though and I had a great time chatting with my great "mommy" friend Tara. We loved raising our girls together in Iowa City. Sharing our mommy troubles and enjoying a great sale at Target together. I'm so grateful they were able to travel back. Brave souls in their white minivan of adventure.

This afternoon, I picked up Olivia and Sophie from preschool. They BOTH had been on fieldtrips today and were eager to talk about it. This is not the norm. Most of the time, I ask Olivia how her day was and she tells me a few details, like how many stars she got taken away and if she said any naughty words or not. When it is Sophie's turn, she tells me "its a secret." Ok....
Today though, both were ready to tell me all about swimming at the teacher's house and the Science Center with a "realfake TREX with bones but not real bones because he'd be much bigger and Saturn with the ring and that Earth is not very big compared to other stuff but we're big here because we're far away from the sun and "Menars" aka MARS" :) I took it all in. I love when they talk to me. I can't imagine the adolescent years when they don't. But, then I look at myself now. I can't go a day without talking to my mom! I'm so blessed to have such a great mom!

Tonight the girls took a bath and got dressed in jammies and we took our "puppies" for a walk down the street. I had Rosie, Olivia had a pink fluffy dog on a rubberband leash, and Sophie had PuffPuff, (my old scraggly, yet still cute puppy from my baby years) clutched in her arms as we made it down the street in our own array of pj fashions. A motorcycle guy stopped to admire us, or maybe he came to a screeching halt when there was a blonde, puppy toting, pj wearing princess in the MIDDLE of the road. Either way, he smiled.

Have a great night. I hope you feel as blessed as I do.

Mel

Here's some pics of our recent water balloon fight courtesy of my mom. She sent a birthday package in the mail that had a bunch of balloons in it! She still remembers me even when I'm turning 26. :) Anyway, believe it or not, my girls had not been exposed to water balloons before. So, I filled one up in the sink, much to their amazement. I directed them outside to "see if it would work". I had them stand like sitting ducks in the driveway while I stood on the porch, with waterballoon in hand, ready to try it out. They had no idea that I would actually throw it or that it would get them wet. I was laughing inside, thinking about what their reaction would be. So, I said, "Ready?" They looked uneasy. So, I threw it. Before I knew what happened, the waterballoon was coming down on me! I had thrown it directly into the overhang above the porch and it dropped right on me! That'll teach me. The girls ROARED and could not wait to fill up more. At that point, I was ready for a full out war. I was soaked already. Our next victim was Dad. He pulled into the garage and we waiting, giggling behind the door. Just at the right time, I gave the battlecry and we attacked with purple, orange, and pink. He was so shocked he ran into the neighbor's yard. Then he joined in the fun and went after me. What did I do?

Well, things have gotten a whole lot busier here lately with this new rotation and me thinking about taking boards soon. All I feel like I've been doing in studying and going to class and clinical. But, that's boring talk.

The girls are in Iowa City with Aunt Lianna and Uncle Shawn this week! We drove down on Tuesday night and they are coming back on Sunday afternoon. Lianna and Shawn are so good with kids. I guess they do both do it for a living, but a gift nonetheless! I called the night before we came and Lianna told me they had made a giant fort in their living room with card tables and blankets. :) Even before the girls were there! We are so grateful to have them take the girls in! They are planning on attending Solon Beef Days just like last year. We're hoping Olivia catches another tshirt this year! She's on a streak!

So, with my spare time...oops I almost started talking about really boring things like school and studying. Who wants to document that whining?

The other day, Olivia asked me if when I was little if I killed big bugs on the wall. I told her no, I didn't. I always told my dad, Papa Keith, to come do it for me. She nodded her head knowingly and said, "Yep. He's a hero too. Just like Dad. Lot's of Dad's are heroes, but not as good as our Dads right mom? But, we won't tell them that. It might hurt their feelings." It was so funny how she nodded her head and acted like that was just what she had expected, "Yep. He's a hero too." :) Made me laugh.

Tonight, Steve left for his fishing trip in SD. His good buddies are all going up there to visit another one of his friends and go fishing. Meanwhile, I'll be celebrating my bday in Okoboji for Cousin's weekend with Steve's girl family. Should be a good time.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Mel

Thanks Tara for teaching me about pics!

Rosie Posie Clark is MUCH bigger after a few short weeks! Today we played in the sprinkler. I killed a spider AND a bee. Rosie killed a baby bird. Trauma. It was a rough day, but we've made it to 2:00. I'm so happy there are pics now! More to come now that I know how to do it!

Mel

The S Word

Olivia: "Mom? Are there Mommy-long-legs?" (As opposed to Daddy-long-legs).

I answered yes. She then asked, "Could you just kill the Daddy-long-legs and not the Mommy-long-legs then?"

I agreed. Why not?

My girls like to talk about spiders with me every chance they get. They know I hate them and don't enjoy the conversation, so they bring it up even more. But, even I wouldn't have missed out on that spider conversation!

Have a great day!


Mel

PS. I tried to insert a pic into this one, but I still can't figure it out. So, I guess we'll have to keep waiting . Anyone in the blog world that can instruct me?

Ring pops and new clothes

Today I spoiled my kids. From the title, I'm sure you know what they received. I'm in love with Target. Target has these great sales where all the little girl stuff is 75% off. That makes everything between $1-3 and that's amazing!!! If you know me, you know that nothing is a good deal until it is priced under 3 dollars. So, every now and then, during life changing sales, I stock up. Olivia's long and lean bod has made it more difficult to squeeze her into anything with a T after it and Sophie, ever growing, can fit into anything Olivia wears, except pants of course. That's a real bonus when clothes shopping. Each thing I buy is for both of them! So, they were spoiled today. Cheap or not, they were happy!

Last night, we went to dinner with Steve's parents, Larry and Diana, and his sister Carmen. We went to this little restaurant in Grimes called The Radish. I still hate that there is a town called Grimes, but I deal with it on a day to day basis. It was nice and the food was good. Sophie likes to order corndogs from the kids menu and then peel all the breading off and just eat the hot dogs. When asked if she would like to just order the hot dogs next time, she adamantly disagrees. But, a change of heart took place last night as we sampled the best kid meal corndogs ever! Breading and all. Her belly was full. And we always know when Sophie's belly is full. She'll pull her shirt up over her head to show you every time, and it's true, potbellied baby. It was good to catch up with Steve's family too!

We will be traveling to Hinton this weekend for an all school reunion. It will be fun to meet all of Steve's old classmates. Diana said she wants to take the girls for a week this summer too! That's GREAT news for me! Whenever the girls go for a while, Steve and I remember why we liked each other once upon that autumn night at ISU Homecoming. We go to movies, and hang out on our deck, and even talk! It's crazy! Plus, Grandma Diana has little kittens courtesy of a stray who decided not to stray anymore and stay at their house to start her family. Last time we were there, the girls wanted to name some of them. Their cousin Gabe had already named a few, but the girls got their word in too. Valentine's Day. The kitten's name is Valentine's Day. Why wouldn't it be?

Steve and I are really spoiled this summer because my sister Lianna and her new hubby Shawn are also taking the girls for a few days! They like to take them to Solon Beef Days parade. It is known as being the "candiest" parade in Iowa. According to Lianna, that's true. Last year, she bought the girls little purses to stash some candy, but they left with a HUGE grocery sack full of candy and they refused even more than that. Olivia also caught an orange tie dyed t-shirt that says SOLON BEEF DAYS. She loves it. Recently, Olivia caught another t-shirt at an ICubs game! It was one of those shot out of the t-shirt gun. Happiest kid in the land. She might be good luck. We'll keep her a while. They also shoot hotdogs out of a hotdog gun. How cool is that?

The girls' new school seems to be going well. Olivia's in a "school aged" group that ranges in age from 5-11. This has got me in a panic. What are the big kids teaching her? Today, she told me she gave the pinky finger to another kid and lost two stars. I didn't know what that meant, but I had a good idea. But, just when I thought I had it figured out, Olivia told me it is from Kung Fu Panda and it's something where you trick another person into putting their finger into your hand and you slap it down, or pinch it, or something not good. She reported that it didn't hurt the girl, not really. Hmmm. Then she lost another star for filling up another girls' shoes with sand at the beach. Apparently that was an unfortunate accident where Olivia's pile just happened to happen upon the girl's shoes. I'm SURE it wasn't on purpose.

Sophie's room seems great. Her teachers have her doing some really cool projects with the alphabet and she seems more content than ever. I think Sophie might be running the show in her classroom though. The other kids are half her size and she rules with pleasure as queen of the 3's. Ruling over the underclassmen. Yesterday though, Sophie "sweated" in her pants. AKA she peed her pants and won't admit it could be true. When she wakes up from a nap and an accident has occurred, she'll swear up and down that she is sweaty. Even as the perfect silhouette of wetness is in just the right tell tale location. It's sweat. Just ask her. We took her "sweaty" clothes home and replaced them with some fresh ones. Must have been quite the workout.

Well, this marks the last week of this rotation for me. 5 more weeks to go! I got an interview today too, which is great. I placed an IV with ease today. Well, maybe my friend Shawna was there to support me, but we did a very fine job indeed. I have to finish all the paperwork now for tomorrow, but thanks for reading, and have a great night! We miss you Bam!

Mel et al.

Olivia's burdens

On our way home from daycare today, we dropped off our library books. Sophie cried and wanted her mermaid book back. I explained that we just borrow the books from the library and if we don't return them, they charge us money. Olivia thought about this for a few blocks and then said, "Mom, you don't have a lot of money. Good for you! People with lots of dollars don't have much anyway." Then, she said, "I just made that up. I don't really know." I told her she was right. If a person has a lot of money but no family or friends or happiness in their lives, they don't have much. I thought her made up words were insightful, really.

Later, Olivia whined and whined that dinner wasn't ready the moment we walked in the door. She told me to just heat it up in the microwave and I told her we didn't have an "it" to heat up. She wailed and wailed that she was SO hungry, STARVING, and she just couldn't wait. Then she told me, "I can't wait til I grow up and be an adult! Adults can do anything they want." I told her that it isn't much fun to be an adult. There are bills, and work, cooking, and cleaning. We don't get to play very much at all! Olivia then retorted that when she turned into an adult, she'd play all the time. I said, "Good for you honey! It's good to stay young." She shook her head and solemnly replied, "Mom. Sometimes it's so frustrating being a kid." :)

I smiled, and said, "I know honey."

Times are tough in Olivia's world. :)

What's missing?

You know what my friend Tara reminded me of today? Pictures! Her blog beats the crap out of mine because she has so many pictures! I must confess, this site boggles my mind at times and I've felt lucky to even get the slideshow up and running. But, I'm going to work on this. And I'm going to work on taking pictures more often. I was really good at it once upon a time back when the girls were itty bittys. But now, it seems the camera has somehow left it's place on my hip. Soon to return, I promise.

Olivia's kindergarten teacher's name is Mrs. Jones. Isn't that adorable? You always remember your kindergarten teacher's name! Mrs. Owens! That's mine. Isn't that great? I think I could name all of my teachers from the beginning of time. That means they have an amazing privilege, to be a BIG part of a child's life. Thank you teachers! I'm praying that Olivia continues to be her bright and shining, fearless self even amongst boys teasing and taunting and that one kid who just won't stop teaching her new words for body parts. I shall keep her innocent!!!! Someway, somehow. Or I might just cry in my minivan on the way to work, knowing that I've lost total control. Or maybe I'm a drama queen and I don't even own a minivan.

Anyway, this weekend was a weekend for home improvement, and although it now seems we did very little, it was a lot of work. We needed some extra supplies (and groceries) so we ventured out to Ankeny for sustenance. We stopped at BBops on our way out of Menards. The girls LOVE B-Bops. We took a family vote between Panchero's and B-Bops, only to have B-Bops win because of their fabulous outdoor umbrellas. As we were sitting, happily clogging our arteries, an older, slightly rough looking biker couple roared up and parked next to our table. They both de-biked while I did the silent mother's prayer, "Dear God, there's someone who looks different coming our way. Please please please let them pass by without my children pointing it out." That type of prayer. Just as they neared our table, Sophie exclaimed, "LOOK MOM! PIRATES!!! I knew it! They exist! There's real pirates! Look Olivia!" And honestly, Steve and I burst into laughter as we turned our heads away because for some odd reason, we've never made the connection between bikers in bandanas and leather and PIRATES! They look alike! I think the bikers pretended not to hear what had just happened and we all continued on with our days, Steve and I laughing silently behind our burgers. You really can't argue with innocent observation.

Today the girls started their new daycare. I can't wait to go see how it went. So, I'm off to pick up the princesses. Hope you all are laughing off mortifying moments too. They really can be funny.

Mel :)

The day after

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a great 4th! We did. We went out to Big Creek with our friends, The Pauschers and swam and sat on the beach and had some beverages. The girls played in the sand and we all went home with sand in our swimsuits. Connie, Chloe, and Curt came over for dinner and we grilled steaks and chicken and listened to The Boss. What's more patriotic than that? Born in the USAAA. A little air guitar. Never hurt anyone.

We then made our way into Des Moines for fireworks, which we watched from a baseball field in Urbandale. The girls conked out in the car on the way back home, oh about 1.5 minutes after getting in. They went to bed in their jeans and long sleeved tees and it was a happy day and night for the pumpkins.

Today, the day after, we are working on landscaping in the front of our silly little house. Steve is great at this. He got some of the edging stuff and we put it around our trees in the front and now we are going to redo the spot underneath our picture window. Eventually, this little place will be presentable!

Well, Steve is yelling at me from downstairs to actually help with the landscaping instead of writing about it. Better go. Have a great day!

Mel et al

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th everybody! I hope you have lots of plans for food and fireworks and sitting on blankets and being up way past your kids' bedtimes. I know we do!

Well, yesterday was a good day. It was the girls' last day at their daycare. We brought in Smileys (Walmarts version of fruit snacks). They really ARE the best, the Escalade of all fruit snacks. For this reason, we brought them. The girls made thank you cards for their teachers and so did I. Well, I didn't make them, I just wrote them on thank you cards. Anyway, despite the fact that they knew we were leaving for certain reasons, I just tried to be as thankful as possible. They told me they'd miss the girls a lot and we told them we'd see them around the big metropolis of PC, Iowa or at the pool. Either way, we're there all the time! So, we packed up our towels and suits, sunscreen and waterbottles, chapstick, immunization records, 14,000 pieces of artwork, and we made our way home. The long journey home...3 blocks away.

Sophie told me she doesn't want to make any more friends. She's at her limit apparently. It makes me feel guilty (not a new emotion for me), to think that I'm inflicting any pain on her little heart, but I have to think that this decision is for the common good. I think they will really like it there, at our new daycare, and I think it is going to be a better fit for our family. Olivia is very excited for the change. She can't get enough friends in her life, although she has to make sure that I agree several times to visiting the old friends and sending cards.

Sophie just came up the stairs and asked if she can have a popsicle. Is that how you spell popsicle? I don't think I've ever spelled it. Anyway, it's 8:30 am here and they've just had breakfast. On a normal day, I'd care, but today, not so much, so I told her to grab the scissors and I'd open it for her. Meanwhile, Olivia the sneaky fox grabbed the green one (Sophie's favorite) opened it, and starting eating it. (gasp!) Sophie FLIPPED out in total despair and cried that she could NOT have any other color because those colors are not special! I told Sophie to go talk to Olivia to see if she would trade. I heard Olivia tell Sophie matter-of-factly, "Green is your favorite? You think grass is your favorite?" And to this Sophie said, "GRASS is not my favorite. GREEN IS. YOU took it and that's my only favorite!" See? This is just like the drama in Young and the Restless! 20 minutes later (20 minutes of crying later), Sophie comes back upstairs beaming, clutching proudly in her little hands, a BLUE one! Angels sang as her tear stained eyes grabbed hold of the popsicle and smiled! She skipped away in her nighttime tshirt and bare bottom and I don't know where her panties went, but you know what? She is one happy girl.

Now that our popsicle crisis has been averted, today, we are going over to my friend Connie's house to swim with them and their little girl Chloe. Chloe is 2 and she loves to be a big girl with my little big girls. They could swim together for hours, and they do. Tonight, we will find some fireworks, somewhere. Connie says they always go park the truck in the mall parking lot and sit in the back of the pick up. Sounds good to me.

So, enjoy your day. Remember our freedom. We can have as many kids as we want, live the way we want, worship God the way we want, go to school the way we want, and we don't live in fear because of our decisions. Isn't that great?

Have a great day! Happy 4th!

Today is a new day

Have you seen the movie Chicken Little? It's a movie about a little chicken who's dad never supports him or believes him. He becomes the laughing stock of the whole town after the "sky is falling" incident. He trips and falls and has trouble because he is short and is picked on in school, etc. My girls think this movie is funny and awesome and I don't really LOVE it per se, but I do love one thing about it. No matter what happens to Chicken Little or how awful his day has been the day before, he says to himself over and over again, "Today is a new day."

This phrase went through my head a lot today. For one, in reflection of yesterday's blog, I knew I had to at least improve my day some. Surprisingly, it really improved on its own. I was paired with a great nurse today in clinical. I had been paired with her before and wasn't incredibly impressed, but today must have been a new day for her too, and we worked well as a team. I had great patients today. A good variety. An eye opening experience. A new experience. I got to help someone with a skill that, until recently, I had struggled with too and now have down pretty well. Today was a new day. Doesn't mean I'm not glad it's over....just glad it was better than yesterday.

Yesterday, amidst my frustration of the day, I talked to my mom on the phone. I told her what was going on and how I felt like I worked so hard to make people feel good but it never seemed to help them at all. I felt ineffective, incapable, burnt out. I wondered if it would ever come down to someone just saying to me, "You did a great job today. I don't know what I would've done without you." Does that ever happen? Or do we just go day to day working hard and pouring our hearts into things that don't matter? Or if they do matter, why aren't we ever told? I'm not saying I'm a compliment seeker or a "look at me" type of person. I just want to know that once in a while, I've done something positive for another person. After all, isn't that why I chose to be a nurse in the first place?

Today I set out to change this scene for someone else. Today, it was for the cafeteria tray lady. She's older and she pushes a big metal cart full of meal trays to each floor. I've watched her for 4 weeks now as she walks down the halls to find the nurse to ask if the patient is diabetic or NPO or if there are any special instructions. She then goes to the patient's room and sets up the tray for them, asks if they want to sit up in bed or in the chair, even offers to adjust the shades. She doesn't have to. She could just set the tray down and walk out, but she chooses to go above and beyond. She calls her patients by name. Today I stopped her on her way out of one of my patient's rooms and I told her that I noticed that she is always so kind to people. I really liked that about her. She told me she loves people, not her job, and she does her job to serve people. It brings her joy. This was a message I needed to hear.

Last week, we were shown a video in a meeting for summer graduates. I might not remember the details exactly, but it did make an impact on me. Here is what I remember: Words flashing up on the screen, music playing in the background. The words told a story of a middle aged man who was encouraged to examine who had made the biggest impact on his life and career. After some thought, he thought of his sixth grade English teacher. He wasn't much for self reflection, but the thought of the lady moved him. So, he decided to write her a letter. He received a letter back some time after that from his former teacher who told him that she was now 90 years old and lived alone. Her husband was gone. Her children were gone. Her friends were gone. She had nothing. She was overcome with joy that someone had thought of her and so thankful for this man's letter. This was the ONLY thank you letter she had ever received in her life. She told him that she wondered if she had ever made a difference at all. Now she knew she had. Both of them were overcome with emotion from the power of appreciation. While this might sound like a bad forward from your forward sending friend, it really impressed something upon me. I think the soul has an innate need for appreciation, purpose, effectiveness. I think it is up to us, as fellow people, to fulfill that need when we can for our family, friends, co-workers, strangers, anybody.

So, I appreciate you, blog reader. Because I know that you are my friend or my family or both. Thank you for the difference you make wherever you are and wherever you go. You make a difference. People just forget to tell you. If you think of it tomorrow, thank someone else. Today was a new day for me and tomorrow will be too. What a difference a day can make.

You know, tomorrow I'll probably feel stupid for allowing myself to write such a mushy entry. In light of that knowledge, why not continue it? My final thought. Whenever someone has a birthday, or a wedding, or some big event, Olivia sees the sunset and exclaims, "Oh my gosh! Mom, LOOK! God made a sunset JUST for Lianna (or whomever)! How beautiful Mom, LOOK! Let's call her to make sure she sees!"

I LOVE that optimism. I cling to that optimism, that maybe that one sunset, or moment, or day WAS for me, or for you, or for her, whomever.

The good and the bad

PART ONE: Bad things
I find myself all stressed out about people's feelings again. I wish I was one of those mean people that didn't care. Wouldn't life be easy? Just being mean and only worrying about yourself? Go to work, be mean, come home, be mean to myself because I live alone of course, etc.?

My clinical days always start the same. I always try to start the day out in a positive manner. Coffee in hand, a little Christian music to bond with God on my way to my friend Shawna's house who doubles as my carpool friend. I get there and hop in her car all cheery like and say good morning. In a few miles though the dread has set into both of our hearts. I blurt out, "I can't go today! This is horrible. I know I'm going to get Nurse Nancy today and I hate Nurse Nancy and I don't have my assignments done and my computer crashed. I'm sore from kickboxing and if I wasn't so busy I'd go more than once a week, but Mercy is taking over my life. I didn't shower either. My glasses are scratched and it's starting to hail." Etc. We look at each other and wonder out loud if we have time for Panera, but we both know we don't. Shawna, as lovely of a friend she is, pipes in with her complaints and we merrily make our way to the hospital where, sure enough, I've got the crazy nurse.

Today I found a bag of cherries rotting in my backpack. It wasn't until I pulled out my drug book that I found the unrecognizable mass on the cover and it smelled bad, I mean BAD. I wonder how long those have been in there. Would I have eaten them? That's the scary part.

Well, I guess this is senioritis. Get me OUT OF HERE! Will it be better when I'm on my own? I sure hope so. Oh, geez I hope so.

PART II: Good things

Ok, we have to end positively. Positive things....hmmm....Rosey Posey Clark (our puppy) is learning how to swim! Steve and the girls have taken her twice now and she is getting better and better. Did you know Labs have webbed paws? Isn't that funny?

The girls just have two more days at their daycare and we move to the new one at the church here in Polk City. They have a personalized security code for each family to get in the door. I think that's really cool. I can't wait to punch it in. It feels very...CIA.

6.5 weeks to go in this circus called nursing school. At the advice of my friend (who also has kids), I am going to make a paper chain tonight. Yes, a paper chain. And I will proudly tear off a link each day to show my progress. Either that or I will light the whole stupid thing on fire and watch it burn!!! BURN!!!!

Have a great night. I guarantee my next entry will be a ball of sunshine! Promise!

Mel