Questions

Family drama.

Nearly everyone has it at one point or another.

My family's drama has almost always centered around one of my older sisters.  I don't have any pictures of her, because she doesn't come to family events and hasn't for years.

She has had abortions, given up a baby for adoption, relinquished custody of three of her kids, then proceeded to have two more babies (whom I have never seen).  She lives off of the government, never taking any responsibility for herself or her actions.  She does drugs, gets clean, then gets back on drugs.  She has put her children in unmentionable circumstances, and she breaks my mom's heart on a daily basis.

Yet, she is my sister.

I am the baby of four girls.  My other two sisters and I are very close, getting together for holidays and scrapbooking and days at Kings Island.  Getting hooked on Twilight and swooning over Edward and Jacob together.  Loving each other's kids and just loving each other.

I am sad that our other sister misses out on this love.  She has driven all of us away, and everytime we even begin to consider to letting her back in, she does something horrible.  We don't want drugs around our kids, we don't want any more drama in our lives, and we don't want to be doormats to her needs.  She only knows how to take, take, take; never how to give.  It's a crying shame, but I have no idea what to do about it other than to pray.  For her, for her children, for our mom.

I have to admit, though, that I find it easier to pray for the injured, lost and dying in Japan right now than for my sister.  All of the hurt, the anger, and other ugly feelings rear up their heads everytime I get down on my knees.  I wish I had the heart of Jesus, to take her in my arms and forgive her and let her back in.

But I don't.

I only hope I can be forgiven for that when I make it to the other side.

Weekend plans

Starting tomorrow, I will be working a marathon stretch of three 12-hour nights in a row (hopefully with a bit of sleep in between).

Walking miles around the hospital, putting out "fires", dealing with staffing issues, placing ICU patients in the appropriate location, handling disgruntled patients/families/doctors/nurses...you know, the usual.

If only this guy worked there, it would make the job much more enjoyable.  Just sayin'...

Who's your dream co-worker?

Just because...

sometimes we all need a little bit of protection from the bad guys.

This boy always knows how to make me feel happy.

And safe.

On my mind...a rant.

Imagine if I drove my car for ten or twenty years, and never did one bit of maintenance.

No oil changes, no new tires or tire rotations, no new air filters.  Only the cheapest gas, maybe the occasional car wash or new headlight, but nothing more.

Imagine me pulling this car, on its last leg, into the mechanic's garage and demanding that he make it "good as new", because that's his job.

Ridiculous, right?

Here is my rant:  people do this ALL THE TIME, with their bodies.

They abuse their bodies for years.  Poor diet, no exercise, noncompliant with medications or treatments ordered by their doctors.  When their organs start to fail, and they can't even perform simple daily tasks, they drive to the hospital and demand for us to make them "good as new".  And when we can't, when the damage is too far gone, they can't understand why.

Medicine has come a long way.  There are many things we can do to prolong life and even improve quality of life for some.  But we can only work with what we have.  If a patient has mistreated their body for forty years, we cannot erase that damage.  We can only treat the symptoms.  And when they have an attitude about the "incompetence" of the health care professionals, that really only ticks us off.  Would they be cussing out the mechanic who can't fix their mistreated car?  (Well, maybe they would...)

I don't know when responsibility for taking care of our bodies went by the wayside, but it's time to bring it back into style.  And stop blaming the doctors and nurses for failing their patients, when they're only failing themselves.



Thus ends my rant.

She's 19!

Danielle, there are many things we love about you.

Your sweet nature.

Your intelligence.

Your kindness.

Your beauty (just ask Gabe!).

The way you love your momma.

The fact that even as an adult, you still blend right in with your little cousins...

(maybe you need some higher heels?).

Hope your nineteenth birthday is your best one yet.  We are SO PROUD of you!

Love,
Aunt Heddy

A new start.

For years, Joe has had a dream of owning his own business.  He is extremely talented at home improvement, and has done so much to our own house over the past decade.  From fixing a leaky sink to building a new deck to finishing our basement...he has done it all.

Finally, we have reached a point where we could afford for him to take the chance and make a new start.  He is now the owner/operator of Vista Tile and Remodel, and is already hard at work on his first job:  a basement remodel for a former teacher of Elijah's.  He has a Facebook page (and even his own blog!).  If you want to check it out, the link is www.vistatileremodel.blogspot.com .

I am so excited for my husband as he starts this new journey.  (Though I must admit to being a tad nervous, as well).  I have been blessed to have a career that I love; I hope this new opportunity gives Joe that same satisfaction.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as he embarks on this new endeavor...

The hope of March

It may be chilly outside, and gloves/hats/winter coats still necessary, but the mere fact that March is here warms my heart.

Tulips and hyacinths are bravely poking up through the mulch in my flower beds.

The pear tree has fuzzy little buds all over the top.

The sky is light when I go to work in the evening (this is a HUGE mood-lifter).

The air even smells different, full of things growing and changing and coming back to life.  I am counting down the days til we can plant our garden and dig up earthworms and boost up our compost bin and design our flowerpots for the year.  (The rule of thumb around these parts is no planting in the ground until after Mother's Day).

Does March bring you hope?  What are you itching to do this spring?