A Life of Service

I had an interesting patient several weeks ago at work and have been thinking about it ever since. This woman was also a nurse, in her late 70s. When she first said she was a nurse, she said, "I loved every minute of it." We started talking and she started telling stories of her nursing career. When referencing one of her many jobs she would use the preface, "When I served as a (such and such) nurse." She had retired several times and was asked by clergy or others to come back into the nursing field to serve a need. Through this she learned several new types of nursing. Even now, in her late 70s, she's a hospice nurse.
I've thought about it a lot and it really hit home to me. So often I fall into my generation's entitled trap of, 'what's in it for me,' 'I really don't want to be here today', or even 'that's not my job.' This patient gave me a little big of fresh air, a reality check, and made me realize that a job should be more than a job. What I do at work and for my coworkers and patients actually means something, or can. Those mundane little tasks, when added together, form a life. When I'm in my late 70s, regardless of what "job" I have done throughout my life, I hope to be able to say, "when I served" and "I loved every minute of it."

Those were the days...

My family just got back from a trip to Boston to watch my older sis graduate with her PhD. It was an exciting trip and I really wanted to be there to support her but wasn't able to go. So, to stave off the jealousy of their trip, I'm finally posting my pics of Costa Rica. We went at the beginning of March and had a fantastic time.



This is canyoneering by Arenal volcano.

Our sweet ride up to the rapel areas

View of Arenal Lake from the volcano national park. M and Lou, JW and me.

Zipline over a valley in Monteverde.

On our drive to Arenal

On our drive to Manuel Antonio. One of the bigger towns with a school and soccer field.

I never got over how beautiful it was.

Manueal Antonio beach

Our Mangrove tour out of Manuel Antonio.

Our last day. We took a sailboat tour and ended up being the only ones on the boat. It was fantastic. We chased dolphins, ate seafood, and went snorkeling off the boat.

A sample of the wildlife.

There is a sloth there- look close and you can see its head. Below right is a boa.

One of these monkeys almost attacked M. It was really funny- for us.

Voting for Change

So, I am officially the world's worst blogger. But, enough of you have bugged me that I'm back on the computer to try and chronicle my life.

While everyone was voting for "change" last week, JW and I decided to jump on the bandwagon. We both changed jobs. I started my new job last Monday, he started his on Thursday. I started at a cardiology clinic doing stress tests and urgent care. I work in the ghetto, so the urgent care portion is pretty interesting. JW changed to a different mortgage company, closer to home. It was an interesting week and we're still trying to adjust. My transition didn't go as smoothly as I expected. With nobody around to train me, I was thrown into the fire. Hey, it's all part of the adventure, right? (Can you tell my goal this week is optimism.?)
I am definitely appreciating JW's patience this week...

What's in a name?

So, I've finally joined the blogging world. I was inspired by my sister's new blog and thought I'd join the craze. Inheriting my love of writing from my mother (she hates to write), we'll see if it lasts. I've spent the last hour or so catching up on my friends' and families' blogs as I was setting up mine. It brought to pass one of my greatest fears-- spending too much time blogging. Then I thought about whether I'd wasted my last hour and decided that I haven't. This is a great way to keep involved in each other's lives. I'm able to experience the excitements and disappointments of my family and it makes me feel as if they're closer. My sister wrote about how lonely it can be to live away from family. Maybe this is my way of being a little closer.

I wanted to be creative when I was thinking of a blog name. Let's face it, I'm not creative. But I have always been fascinated by the origin of names and what they mean. My first name means "ewe" or "innocent lamb," my maiden name means "gift of God," and my married name means "one who lives by an island in a fen or near a holly tree." Anyway, my husband and I were discussing what our names mean and he had no clue and didn't seem to think it a big deal. So, I took the privilege of looking up his surname and first name. His first name means "down to earth" or "descent" which made me smile because he's one of the most down to earth people I know.

My conversation with J.W. about name meanings got me thinking. What's in a name? Both J.W. and I take strong pride in making our name mean something. I think J.W.'s feeling is that a name means what you make it mean, not what it meant 2000 years ago. I agree in most ways but I also think that who and what we are comes so much from those who came before us. What I want my name to mean includes the characteristics my anscestors had-- strength, hard work, loyalty, devotion to God, honesty, quiet service. So, my blog name isn't so creative, but I hope it means something.

P.S. Despite the name subject, I've left the names of family out because I want to keep this a public blog. So, if you don't know what J.W. stands for you can email me. :)