Go NAVY!

Last summer, I had the privilege of being in a Bible study with some "locals". And, I use the term loosely, because if you've spent any time here in the Virginia, Maryland, DC area, you know that FEW people are actually born and live their lives here. Most people come for a while and then leave - VERY TRANSIENT AREA!! Anyways, the leader of the group last year told us about the Navy Band concerts that take place most Tuesdays at the Navy Memorial downtown. The group went last year, but I had to work that night. I've wanted to go hear them since she told us about it, and last night after work, Amy and I went!

To say that it was amazing is an understatement!!!! Such talent! I wish I'd had a video camera so I could post a small portion of what we heard. Of course, we got there late since I didn't get home from work until 8 last night, but what we heard was incredible. They were doing TV show theme songs. . . Mr. Ed, Lavern & Shirley, Happy Days, etc. Then, they moved into some classic rock. At one point, while playing Dancin' in the Streets, almost everyone in the crowd was up and dancing. They ended the evening with military and patriotic songs. It was wonderful! I've always been patriotic, and it was so fun to be surrounded by people who feel the same way I do. We were all moved to tears during some of the songs . . . especially Taps. I LOVED watching the military personnel (current and retired) stand and sing their branch's song with such pride! It's a great experience, and I highly recommend that you go to this event if you're in the District on a summer Tuesday night!

Here are a few pictures from the concert:

DC in the Dark

My sister is up visiting me for about a week, and we went into DC on Saturday evening. I've been wanting to get some close up pictures of different monuments at night, but I'm MUCH TOO CHICKEN to go there by myself after dark. So, I took along my sister! (safety in numbers, right?!?) :) The monuments are so pretty all lit up!



Here are some of my favorite pictures . . .

Executive Office Building lit up (& of course, the lamppost!) :-)

Soldier from the Korean War Memorial

World War II Memorial

Washington Monument behind WWII Memorial

And, last but NOT least . . .

Lincoln in lights!

MERRY CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!!!

This morning, when I got off work, I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me in my car . . . Christmas music playing on one of the local radio stations. It's their "Christmas in July" day! :-) Talk about a happy end to my work week!!

My Mema shared my passion for the Christmas season. (probably even inspired mine) It's been a tradition for as long as I can remember to celebrate Christmas in July with her. She faithfully sent me a Christmas card each July to let me know the holiday season had begun and it was time to start decorating. :) It's been a little sad this year - not receiving this card. But, what better way to carry on the tradition she started than to share it with you?!?

So . . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

LET THE DECORATING BEGIN! :-)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Perspective

"The soul is healed by being with children"

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

Sometimes, in my line of work, I hear the most amazing statements from family members of my patients. One of my patient's mom said the most profound thing last night, and I wanted to share. But first, a little background . . .

Her adorable little girl, we'll lovingly call her Drama Queen, was born at 24 weeks gestation. In case you're not super familiar with pregnancy terms, a normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. So, a 24 week baby is just over "half baked" when he/she comes out. LOTS of things aren't ready for the outside world at this point, and this leads to a difficult few months for the baby AND the family.

Drama Queen . . . and I use this term lovingly because she is precious as well as a handful (all 2 pounds of her) . . . has not had the easiest course as far as NICU babies go. Her mom was visiting with her while I worked with my other patient last night when a family member of the patient next to DQ looked at her and had (what appeared to mom) a terrified look on his face.

Now, to be completely fair, if you've never seen a baby this premature, it IS QUITE intimidating/scary/terrifying/fill in your own adjective here. BUT . . . it's not appropriate to make that face at a stranger's baby. I missed this encounter, and I have to admit that the mom of DQ handled it with so much more grace than I probably would have in that situation. When I finished with my other patient, she told me what happened - all the while smiling. Then she said it -

"If he could only see how far she has come!"

DQ is almost a month old and has grown quite a bit from where she began. Yes, she still has way too many wires and tubes for any baby to have, but she is alive, looks around, and smiles occasionally. Last night, we celebrated as we played "beauty shop" . . . we placed a pink bow on her head and she was allowed to wear a little shirt for the 1st time in her life. It was so exciting, and MANY pictures were taken (much to DQ's displeasure - NOT a fan of flash photography!!).

This brave mom - so content with being able to touch her baby occasionally (yep, DQ is still much too sick to get out of her incubator for mom to hold) - having the poise to overlook other's offensive looks with a smile.

Perhaps this other patient's family member was looking on, feeling sorry for her or looking on with a sudden realization of how blessed he was that the baby he was here to visit was doing so well. I obviously don't know his thoughts. I have to catch myself so I don't judge him for hurting my patient's mom's feelings. I'm reminded of what a mother once said while talking at a conference - giving us (the medical-type people) a view "from the other side". . . "My son may not be your sickest patient, but he IS my sickest child." That statement struck me and hasn't left my mind since I heard it years ago.

It's SO easy to focus so much on the medically most unstable patient on your list that the family members of the other patients can feel neglected. Not that they aren't receiving the attention they need, but that you're at the other patient's bedside so much more - almost like it's a contest of who gets the most time with the nurse. Whenever I'm in that type of situation, I have to take a deep breath as that quote comes to mind. It (on most days!!) helps me not get frustrated with the person who needs help to change their baby's diaper so urgently while my other patient is crashing and burning.

Life really is about perspective!!

I truly LOVE my job. The quote at the top really says it all for me! I SO ENJOY time with babies and children. It's refreshing to me . . . even when they keep me running for 12 hours during the night like DQ has done the last 3 nights. :-) It's just so amazing to me when God uses someone completely unexpected to show me the depth of his love for me . . . for all of us. He not only sees where I've come from and where I am . . . yet loves me anyway, but He also sees what my future holds and the plans He has for me. A parent's love is a wonderful picture of God's love for us. I got to see yet another glimpse of that the past 3 nights with Drama Queen and her precious mom.

A Work in Progress

Since I have been a little under the weather lately, I haven't done much exploring . . . hence the lack of fun Virginia/DC area pictures and adventures. A positive from this is that it has forced me to stay home for several days in a row . . . What better time to work on my scrapbook?!?

It's quite apparent to me, now, that the past two years of traveling are NOT going to fit in one book! I'm sure that's obvious to most people, but I thought I might could get it all in. Well, I have one page left before I start needing the "refill/extra pages", and I'm almost finished with my 1st contract. :-) I'm guessing this project will end up being a "few volumes".

I got tired of cutting, gluing, and arranging/re-arranging/re-arranging yet again this afternoon, so I stopped and took pictures of what I have so far. Here's a sneak peek of the scrapbook . . . definitely a work in progress!

THIRTY . . . and 2

Does anyone else hear the Jaws theme song in the background?!? Well, it happened on Friday . . . I turned 3 whole decades old!! I remember when I thought 20 was "OLD" and 30 was "one foot in the grave". Well, I'm hear to tell you, it's NOT the end of the world! It was actually a nice day. (aside from being sick and having no voice) :-)

I went home for a couple days to celebrate/mourn (depending on how you look at it) this milestone. Admittedly, I'm not where I thought I'd be at this age. In most respects, I'm in a better place, though. I've gotten to do and see amazing things as well as meet incredible people, and for this I am grateful! Friday night, we had some family over for a cookout and cake. YUM!!

My dad (the Grill Maestro) and Papa Joe

It was great to visit with everyone and hear updates from their lives. After everyone left, I got out my new birthday toy and played a little. Fellow croppers, card makers, and otherwise crafty people . . . prepare to drool a little! :-)

Yep . . . my amazing parents got me a Cricut. How fun is that?!?!? Of course I had to play with it a little before going to bed that night. :-) I guess the thrill of playing with new toys doesn't go away with age. It was a great few days at home, and now I'm back in Virginia resting up to go back to work - hopefully tomorrow night (if my voice decides to return).

So . . . this brings me to another type of anniversary that happens to be today. I left Texas 2 years ago this morning to start this thing called "travel nursing". It's funny to think that I'm about 10 miles west of where I was on this exact day last year.

One of the tigers at the National Zoo

I started this "travel year" living in Arlington, VA, and working in DC. Now, I'm finishing up the "travel year" living in Fairfax, VA, and working in Falls Church, VA. (literally 10 miles down the road) I spent the majority of this year in North Carolina, though.

I got to work at a hospital in Greenville, NC, from last August through this March. Needless to say, I really enjoyed living in North Carolina. So, here are a few shots from the past year.

My little piece of heaven . . . Ocracoke Island

One of the many NC lighthouses

Neuse River near Raleigh

Now, back to the DC area . . .

Our Capitol on a beautiful day

That's my year in a nutshell. It's been a mostly good year, and it's fun to complete my traveling in the same place (well, almost) that I started it two years ago. Like coming full circle. :-) Now, the "fun" task of finding a real job.

Happiness!!!!

Bebo Norman's newest project releases September 16th!!!! :-)

Time to start saving my pennies!

Happy 4th of July!!

. . . a few days late. :-) I hope you had a terrific holiday weekend. It's probably my 2nd favorite holiday of all (Christmas, of course, being the 1st!) in spite of my dislike for sudden, loud noises - i.e. fireworks. Although, I like them more now than I ever have. I guess my ears are getting less sensitive with age. :) So, here's my weekend in a nutshell . . .

I worked Thursday night, so I slept a good part of Friday. But, when I woke up, I went to my friends' house near here for a cook out and some neighborhood fireworks. They have two kids under the age of 5 (Oh, if we could bottle that energy we'd be millionaires!!). They were SOOOO cute watching the fireworks from the window of the living room. They were squealing with excitement every time one would go off. We just laughed & laughed at them. I LOVE seeing things through the eyes of children. It's so enlightening and refreshing!

Saturday, I went to a local minor league game with a friend who had come to see downtown DC. The Washington Nationals were out of town for the weekend (ironic since they play in our nation's capital, oh well), so we went to their single A team, the Potomac Nationals. Anyways, it was a close game. The two teams seemed equally matched, but the visitors bested us by just one point in the top of the 9th. I can't say that I was too sad, though, because the other team was a farm team for my Houston Astros. It was a fun time. The picture to the left is of their mascot "Uncle Slam". A little scary if you ask me, but the kids seemed to like him. :-) I must give credit where credit is due . . . the "sounds person" (the person who plays the scenario-appropriate songs and sound effects) was incredible at this stadium!! He was johnny-on-the-spot with song/sound clips for everything. It was VERY entertaining! After the game, they put on a "fantastic fireworks show." And it's in quotes because that's how they announced it throughout the game. I thought that was funny, but it was really a great show! It lasted 15-20 minutes, and they had some fun patriotic music playing over the speakers to make it perfect for the holiday weekend.

Today, we spent touring downtown DC. It was fun to see all the July 4th decorations that were still up. There's just something special about being there on the birthday of our great nation. It's insanely crowded (in spite of all the rain & thunderstorms), but it's SO worth it. There's excitement in the air. Anyways . . . here are a few of my favorite pictures from today.

The Executive Office Building

One of the MANY flags along the Vietnam Wall

And, what's a trip to DC without a picture of the Washington Monument?!?

I hope you had a terrific weekend playing with friends and family!