Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Day Before

So, tomorrow is December 1.

I like December for quite a few reasons. One is Christmas, and that's a big one. The lights, the trees, the bows, the festivities... I like December because it's cold. I've always liked the cold weather, which is odd because I'm always cold. But, I like that EVERYONE is cold in December, not just me. That wasn't meant to be as mean as it sounded. I meant that it's finally ok for me to say, "I'm cold," and people don't look at me like I'm a freak of nature.

I like hot chocolate. A lot. And that's also more fun to drink when it's cold. Don't forget the marshmallows.

I like getting together with friends and family. I like socializing with everyone, drinking, eating, laughing. It's so much fun, and everyone wants to hang out in December. There aren't a lot of other distractions, like vacations, trips to the beach, etc. Most people aren't doing a whole lot in December.

I've decided to try something this year. Since I can't go home, and since most of my friends are in fellowship and stuck working a lot, I want to make a list. One person for each day in December. And I will email that person on that day and tell them how much they mean to me. I think it'll help me keep up the spirit of Christmas -- the giving and the sacrifice Jesus made, as well as the love Mary and Joseph committed to him.

So, we'll see if I can come up with 31 friends and family to dedicate to each day in December. Feel free to do the same -- even just an email or two to a few people who have been especially helpful, amazingly loyal or just made you smile when things were gloomy. I know for sure they'll appreciate it. You can't give a better gift than to lift someone up like that.

I'll let you know how my experiment works out. I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of out of this exercise as well.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

T-day

Tomorrow is Thursday and Thanksgiving. And another day of work at the VA.

I met two vets today -- they are roommates right now. I was consulted on both of them. One (Mr. H) for bacteria in his blood and one (Mr. R) for a possible wound infection. When I saw the 2nd one, at the end of the day, it was dinner time. Both had gotten their dinner trays.

I finished talking to Mr. R and on my way out, said hi to Mr. H, who I had seen earlier in the day. He asked when he was going to get his food. He had a tray on his table, so I lifted the top and asked, "Isn't it in here?" He said no, that it wasn't right.

Mr. R said, "Oh, he needs a new tray, he can't eat the pork."

I was struck by this -- Mr. R and Mr. H had obviously talked about why Mr. H wasn't eating his dinner. Mr. H has dementia, and he's very pleasant, but he may have forgotten to tell the nurse that the pork was not something he should be eating. I found it very sweet that Mr. R was looking out for Mr. H, making sure he got a dinner he could eat.

What else could you ask for on Thanksgiving -- or any day -- but someone to watch out for you and make sure you got a meal you could eat?

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Home, Sweet Home


We had our Housewarming Party yesterday. We weren't sure we were going to make it at first.

We were up until 5a Saturday morning doing final unpacking, touching up paint in a few rooms, and cleaning. I ended the night by repainting the stairs (they are wooden floating steps, and they were badly nicked). We found the paint left by the previous owner, so I started at the bottom and went up, effectively painting us into our bedroom. :)

We woke up at 9:30 on Saturday and had to do some baking, final cleaning and decorating. The party was supposed to start at 3p. At 2:20p, Kevin hopped into the shower and then left for BevMo to pick up some drinks. I was hanging our pictures on the "Picture Wall" until 3p. I took a quick shower and prayed that people would be late. Since it's LA, the first guest arrived at 4:15p. Perfect.

In total, we probably had 50 people come through, and at critical mass we were near 40 at one time. Thankfully, we have a lot of room now, so it wasn't too crowded. I think people had a great time.

For me, it was the first time the place really felt like ours. We had our pictures up, it was our colors on the walls, and our furniture in the rooms. And, most importantly, it was our friends laughing, sharing, and goofing off. It was so special to be surrounded by everyone out here that we love. I wish my siblings and a few close out-of-town friends could've been here. But, that just means another reason to throw a party when they finally are able to come visit.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Training

So, as some of you know, one of my New Year's resolutions was to run in a competitive race.

Well, I'm currently training for a half marathon. Some of my fellow fellows are running, and they talked me into it. I like that I have something to work toward - motivating myself to get out of bed was hard when it was just me. Now it's me against 13 miles. That's a kick in the pants to start your day.

So, we'll see how things wrap up over the next few months. The race is in February - February 1 to be exact. So, when you sit down to watch the Superbowl, give me a call to make sure I've survived. :)