Count backwards from ten to one...TAKE OFF!

I had to go back and see the nice doctors and nurses this week for a little followup procedure.
This one required full general anesthesia however. I knew someday I would have to face this!
Something about giving up control and being put completely out...I thought the conscious sedation for the colonoscopy was a big step earlier this month!
Everything turned out fine and now I won't be afraid if I have to have it again someday for a more serious condition.
I seem to worry about things like this more than most people. My doctor says it is because I was in the medical field and I know too much, but does that explain why I don't like to fly in commercial airplanes?
(If I could just check in with the cockpit and make sure everyone is feeling well, slept good last night?, no fight with the spouse or suicidal impulses today? Maybe a little interview with the plane mechanic.....)
Anyone else out there have these issues?

Not my idea of a cruise

Rod and I survived our first colonoscopy.
Drinking that awful salt sludge was definately the worst part. By phase 2 we decided we liked drinking it straight and chasing it better than mixing it with something and prolonging the misery.

They had to try five times to get an IV in me, I think I was dehydrated from all the salt. They finally called in the supervisor to do the IV and she ended up being in my nursing class at Good Samaritan and was on my floor in the dorm 30+ years ago. We had some laughs.

I was teasing them in the procedure room that with our high insurance deductible this was costing us as much as a nice cruise which I have never taken and that I was waiting for them to make it more fun. The next thing I knew I was waking up from a nap in the other room and they were offering me juice and crackers.

Pretty slick, no pain, no soreness, just a nice little nap. I had 3 polyps that they removed so I have to repeat in 5 years. Rod was clean so he can wait 10 years.

I guess it takes a while for the "conscious sedation" to wear off because when daughter Bethany picked us up afterwards she said we kept asking the same questions and forgetting what she had just answered so maybe we weren't fit to drive but we FELT normal.
We all went out for a little soup, an event Rod has no recollection of, and came home to get hydrated and promptly all fell asleep, even the dog. I thot it was Bethany snoring oddly but it was the dog between Rod's legs on the couch.

I still think a cruise would have been more fun but at least when we do go I won't be worried about whether I am harboring colon cancer, the 3rd killer of people our age.

I can't believe I put it off so long...it was a "breeze".

I've never done a wedding!

My second child (daughter Erin), was married this last Saturday.

The week before the wedding people would come up to me and ask the same question, "Are you ready for the wedding?" It was a perfectly reasonable question but my response did not seem to be what they wanted to hear. I would answer, "How do I know if we are ready, I have never planned a wedding before!"

In the last 6 months I have learned an amazing amount of information about what goes into planning a wedding. As I sat there on the front row watching my daughter vow her love to my new son in law, I thought, "Wow, 6 months of planning, buying, cleaning, for a one hour ceremony and simple reception." I feel like I should change careers and use all this amazing info now but in reality I will just appreciate the next wedding I attend a lot more.

Here's a couple of things I learned:

1. There is a reason why florists get paid for "designing" flowers for special occasions.

They have access to wholesale flowers, tools, and supplies in a world the rest of us know little about.

Don't think you are going to save money by trying to be one of these professionals. Flowers have to be designed the day before and the bouquets, corsages, etc have to be kept in water or moist and chilled, then transported to the wedding all in the 12 hours before the big event. You do NOT want to do this on top of being mother of the bride! You will be master minding everything else.

2. It is not buying the food, it is getting it prepared, served, and cleaned up afterword that you need help with. Either hire this done or have some VERY talented and GOOD friends you can count on. If the facility says their volunteers will take care of everything...HAVE A BACK UP PLAN and people to jump in if necessary. (this happened to me this last weekend)

People will forgive you if the ceremony has glitches, but when they hit that reception hall you don't want 300 people waiting for the food to be put out!

3. Email family, guests, and wedding party with instructions re what time to show up and what to expect. If they need to grab some lunch before a 2 pm wedding give them those instructions and what is the earliest time they should show up for pictures or for guests, how early to arrive.

We decided next time we will make sack lunches for the wedding party with their names on them, otherwise someone always goes hungry...this time it was the maid of honor who was running errands when the snacks were set out for the attendants.

4. Delegate! When people offer to help (or owe you), keep them in mind esp for those last minute details that are no biggie but on top of everything else a lot. We had to send someone out to buy different candles, with specifics most people can do these kind of errands even last minute.

Utilize the bridal party...if you think about, you will know who can handle what jobs and most jobs are really pretty minimal requests but a big help altogether.

5. Have some kind of a program plan for the reception. We had a family member MCEE and he introduced the Bride and Groom as they entered, determined the oldest married couple there, set up the toasts, etc .

6. Plan how and where you can connect with family afterwards.

People make a real effort to come, some from good distances, you need a place to "catch up and debrief" after the wedding if possible.

7. Expect that something will go wrong. (We forgot to put on the music during the reception)

But in the famous words of my deceased mother in law, Irene Willett, " In the end they will be just as married!" So don't miss the moment...soak it in.

Do you know this terrorist?

I have a weed that has invested my flower beds now for a few years. I call it "pop weed" for lack of its real name due to its ability to make little spring loaded coiled seeds that fly in all directions when you touch it once it gets to maturity.
I fight it on every front, thinking if I get every last one each spring there will be no "hosts" left to reproduce and I will rid myself of it. When it warms up enough, I spray with toxic sprays that give me headaches for the next 6 hours, yet it reappears in my flowers every spring.
I just return from walking the dog and realized that even though it is not yet officially spring and the air still has a definite winter bite, this weed is already going to seed in my soggy, frigid, flower beds. I search for it on my walks in other beds around the neighborhood to no avail. Even the most unkempt beds seem to be spared this curse....I walk by and look on with wonder that no one else seems to be fighting this crusade!

One of the most fascinating facts about my nemesis however is that the poorer the soil the quicker it matures and reproduces. Instead of being 3 -5 inches tall and lush, it might go to seed at only 1.5 inches in a matter of what seems like only hours. As I despaired today to see this already happening in the winter, I wondered if a similar phenomenon occurs in humans who live for several generations under impoverished, harsh conditions. Do the women start maturing earlier in order to reproduce themselves before the harshness of their environment takes it toll on them and they succumb to malnutrition and disease? Hmmm.

What is your second language?

Rod and I finished up a new endeavor this year, teaching English as a second language (ESL).
Our class consisted of a Latino couple we have insured at our business and two Asian ladies from the nail salon I use.
We started in October and finished on March 15th.
This has to be one of the craziest endeavors that Rod ever talked me into but it worked! We were taking Spanish ourselves, preparing for a quick week trip to Guadalajara Mexico when our teacher asked us if we would be interested in "tutoring" some Latinos in English in exchange for some help from them with our Spanish.

Well, Rod gets very enthusiastic about these things and begin to invite everyone we came in contact with that looked like they could use a little help with English. When I would express my concern he would assure me that "We can do this". Thanks to my background in teaching phonics we were able to put together some pretty good material and I can say now that I am quite proud of the progress these wonderful people made this year.
I was inspired by these new friends and their ability to navigate our culture. They are so far ahead of me in that they already speak TWO languages, just need a little help with the second one, some more than others.

Sometimes you hear "natives" making derogatory remarks about these new comers. I don't think I have ever known any of these "commentators" that could speak another language yet somehow they feel that having been passively pushed out of the womb into a free country like ours makes them above these others.
Many internationals seem to be bringing a lot more to our country than some of their critics. We readily hire and use these people to do our nails, roof our houses, and clean up after us but "tsk, tsk" about the jobs they are taking when in our own little clicks.

I have had some experiences that made me resent immigration but in each case I was viewing them from outside their circle, unable to understand their language or cultural ways. Meeting with non natives every week puts a "face and personality" to these foreigners and you soon see how much like you and I they are. Loving parents, struggling bread winners.....

Rod and I are finishing the book, "Infidel. The author talks about the prejudice between different blacks within the the same regions of Africa who may have slightly different shapes of noses, hair curliness, or shade of black skin color, etc. It is chilling to hear how these "different" people are characterized with the same characteristics we commonly hear people use to describe "different" people here; lazy, dirty, immoral, dishonest, etc. You could close your eyes and be in a cafe somewhere in America and hear the same generalizations. To know how this can turn into raw hatred and mass murder should get our attention.
Prejudice is a common human problem the world over. Does it make you wonder what the root of the problem is that drives us to need someone to look down on? Are we all prejudice in some way?
I have opinions about "groups" of people that may be considered prejudice. There are statistical differences is cultures but how do we process and explain those differences? Have you had a close relationship with someone from another culture? Have you formed your opinions without such a relationship?
Do you think there were family influences that affect how you perceive these people? Do you think your religion is strong enough to stand along side these other faiths that are coming in?
I would enjoy your thoughts/questions, please comment even if you don't agree with me.

That which we call a rose...

That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet." (from Romeo and Juliet)

Do you ever ponder your name? Seems like every school girl at some time thinks of a name she would like to be called in her daydream fantasies.

I remember hating the name Vicky simply because two of the meanest and most obnoxious girls in my life for a few years were both named Vicky. At that time in my life that name was synonymous with unrelenting evil. (Since then, I have met some wonderful Vickies!)

One of the Asian students in the ESL class I have been teaching this year told me her name means "virgin" in Vietnamese. In her attempt to convey this concept to me with her limited English, I witnessed what some might say was a graphic sign language answer to my inquiry. I have learned to keep an open mind in these situations but sometimes I must suppress a blush.

My alter ego is named Lily. She lives in a Victorian era, has poofy, pinned up hair, high buttoned shoes, a parasol, and white bustled dress . She wears cotton gloves in public, carries a lace hankie, and is careful not to damage her porcelain skin with too much direct sun, but gets "down and dirty" when it comes to social justice and humanitarian causes.

If you could have named yourself would you have chosen a different name and why?
Do you have an alter ego?

The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh

Never have I experienced such an intense 8 days. We buried my Mom, Zona , last Monday and this Monday we listened outside a birthing room door in a Seattle WA. hospital to the first cries of our first grandchild, Micah James.

In between, I switched gears and got back into wedding plans for daughter Erin's June 9th wedding plus tried to get caught up at work after being in central Oregon for 10 days with my Mom before she died.

A plethora of emotions has kept my mind engaged as my body has soaked up much needed sleep with desperation.

I had unexpected emotions after my Mom's death; like feeling guilty for sleep, food, or even a hot bath...I knew she would not want that but somehow I felt frustrated to still be enjoying life when I could not relieve her suffering or keep her with us...it was as if I had failed her someway even tho I kept vigil at her bedside for many days. It has gotten better as the days have rolled by however and more and more I am able to realize the great release she is experiencing from terrible pain she has endured for months and the living condition changes she never really embraced. I know I will see her again so we are the ones to be pitied; left behind, unable to call her like I used to, a 50 something orphan in a sense, yet God does not leave us there.

How timely to send this little one to our family to press against this aching heart and fill it with new emotions of wonder and joy.

" Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children. " Psalms 103:13-17