Confessions of a Nurse - Knock, Knock

Who's There?

One thing nurses are taught to do is to knock. We knock a lot. All day long we are in and out of rooms with patients in them and we are to knock before entering. So, I knock and I knock and I knock...all day long.

Not too long ago I knocked before entering a room. It is just automatic for me. The weird thing was, I was at home and the room was our bedroom. Mike was inside. He just looked up at me as I entered and said, "Well, that's new."

This week I over-knocked yet again. I was in PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit...formerly known as a recovery room) and as I was going from that unit out to the hallway, I knocked. No one answered. I'm not sure who, if anybody, saw me knocking before entering the hallway, but I burst out laughing at myself. I thought it might tickle you as well. 

If I made you smile, my mission is complete.

The Face of Joy

May you be open to pure joy today.

Dear Cordelia,

Dear Cordelia,

You turn three years old today!  How did that happen so quickly?  Yes, those three wonderful years have gone by so fast.

I want you to know how very much I delight in your sweet little personality.  You are interesting, quirky, funny, smart, kind, creative and very sweet.  It seems that every time I see you I notice you are taller and you've learned something new to share.

You think in ways well beyond your years.  Recently you asked, "Am I still young?"  When your Momma assured you that you are still young, you asked, "Why am I still young?'  You are always full of questions.  You love learning and I hope you can keep that love for a lifetime.

This week you asked me, "Grandma, do you like me AND love me?"  Well, sweet baby girl, I most certainly do like you and love you!  I hope you always know that!  Even now, as I write this, I am smiling.  That is because you make me very, very happy!

I know that you won't remember every adventure we share from this time, but I hope you can always remember the feeling of being loved by me.  I will always, always like you AND love you.  I will always, always feel lucky that I got to be your grandma!  I  treasure the relationship we have.

 Happy Birthday Cordy Girl!

This is just one of many photos sent by your Mom when I am at work. 

 Your sweet smile always cheers me!

Riding the Wave With a Smile on My Face

(photo from:  http://www.allbestwallpapers.com )

Ha!  Did I catch your attention with that title?  Sorry.  It is totally misleading.  My bad. This post is not about surfing, although it could be.  I do love water, I love big waves and I think surfing looks like a lot of fun!  In the back of my mind I've kind of always wanted to try surfing at least once.  I'm pretty sure I've passed my prime surfing days, though, and I think surfing on our river might be tough.  Let's just discuss another kind of wave.

I'm talking about the hand wave.  You know, a simple gesture of greeting.  Specifically, I am referring to waving at people when you are passing them in your car.  Where Mike and I met, (Turner, Montana) is one of those friendly places of this world where I am certain the wave is still alive and well.  When driving on those country roads that's just what you'd do.  Any car that passed, you'd wave.  It's nice.  It acknowledges the other vehicle has a living, breathing person in it.  In Turner it is likely that you know them but even if you don't, you wave.

We live in a bigger town now.  It is rare to see anyone wave here.  I miss it.

So, I started waving again.  I'm waiting for it to catch on here.  Really, think about it.  If more people waved, don't you suppose there would be a lot less road rage?  It just puts you in a mind frame of courtesy.  It means you realize the other vehicle holds an individual person, someone to be valued.  Sometimes I think that public forms of courtesy, in general, are in danger of becoming a thing of the past.

Up in Turner, we all came to know some people's individual style of wave.  You guys from Turner reading this know that's true!  Does anyone remember Virgil's wave as he drove the school bus?  It was classic.  So far my little attempt to bring the wave here hasn't produced much response.  Maybe it is because I need to develop a fancier wave.  Right now my wave style is kind of boring, straight and to the point.  I think I need to try a Queen-of-England type of wave or perhaps one reminiscent of an excited little kid...fast and furious.  What do you think?

I've seen a few motorists wave at each other.  They always seem to have the same wave style. It involves just one finger.  Weird.  OK... moving on.

Just so you know, I'm not waving at every car on the street.  Some places here in town have a lot of traffic and I don't want to be responsible for a pile-up or anything.  I also do not want to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.  No, but I AM trying to remember to wave when I am on the less traveled streets, places where it is just a one on one passing of my vehicle and another.

The most important part of the wave is knowing that it is difficult to do it without smiling.  That might be the whole key here... the smile. Hmmmmm... perhaps we just need to work on bringing back the public smile and head nod toward strangers.

So, what do you think?  Is it worth the effort or do you think I'm just scaring people?  Are you a waver?  A smiler?   Huh?  My spell-checker tells me that "smiler" isn't even a word.  Sad.  Well, there's our next mission, to make "smiler" a real word.

How a Walmart Clerk's Smile Changes the World

I was at Walmart recently.  I was rather lost in my own thoughts, shopping as fast as I could as my goal was to be anywhere but there.  I don't generally enjoy shopping; it is just another chore that needs to be accomplished.  Checking out at Walmart is not usually a joyful experience either.  This trip was to be different.

As the person in front of me was checking out I noticed that she really had her hands full.  She had several little people attached to her and she was trying to manage a lot of groceries.  The clerk was being so sweet and actually SMILED at this tired mother.

Wow!  That smile just seemed to ease the tension out of that young mom.  You should have seen the change in her! She smiled back, they chatted a little and then the mother and children left.  I imagined that the mother spoke a bit more kindly to her precious children.  The children would then be more kind to each other.  When they got home, I bet their dog even received a bit of the run-off happy feeling!

As I moved up to swipe my debit card, the clerk gave me a big smile as well.  Even though I'd seen her be so encouraging to the previous customer, I still felt as though I'd just received a special sweet gift by her smile and pleasant greeting.   I noticed I pretty much instantly felt lighter, happier.

As I left, I found myself wondering how many people passed through that clerk's aisle during the course of her shift.  Did she manage to stay upbeat and pleasant with all of them?  I'm wondering now if each of those  customers left feeling more kindly toward others?  Did that mean they were more likely to place their carts into the cart rack, rather than leaving them behind the car parked next to their's?  When they drove away, was there a reduction in road rage?  Were they more likely to smile and nod as they patiently waited for a pedestrian?  Did that pedestrian then help a lost dog find its owner?  Did the dog owner, happy to meet a kind neighbor, decide to bake cookies for her child's teacher?  Did the teacher, happy to feel appreciated, encourage each child with a little more enthusiasm?  Did those children, feeling their self-worth, realize their potential and feel more interested and eager to learn?  Perhaps some of those children will use what they learn to build on, eventually leading them to make great discoveries.

I'm sure you can clearly see where I am going with this.  That young clerk's happy smile more than likely will lead to more happy smiles that will likely lead to cancer cures, a drop in national levels of depression, scientific breakthroughs in sustainable forms of energy, poverty resistance, cleaner water, better care of animals, drop in crime, less bankruptcy, a balanced national budget, fresher air, improved international relations and so on and so on.

Don't you agree?  So go ahead, smile at a stranger!

She Makes My Heart Sing!

This pretty little girl just absolutely makes me smile.  I took this photo recently as I was walking toward Cordy at her house.  As she was waving at me she narrated the situation as well, saying, "I'm waving at you, Grandma.  I'm waving at you."

Then she took me on a tour, showing me her rocks and flowers.

When I've had a couple of days without seeing her sweet face I develop a funny hollow feeling.

Her smile just makes my heart sing!

Getting Ready!

Did any of you ever play "store" when you were kids?

I did.

Once, when we lived about 10 miles outside of a town in Nebraska, I had a friend with a real store where we could play.

Their home was on a corner and on their property was an old store, no longer in use.  There were some leftover items in it and even some old paper sacks and such.  We had fun playing and pretending we were business people.

That's kind of how I am feeling about this whole craft fair deal.

It feels a bit like we are playing "store".

We are going to set up our little space and make it all pretty and then sit there and act like store owners.

I think it will be just as fun as when I was a kid!

We're all set up and ready to go!

Since this is our first craft fair I have no idea how many items we should have, but I'm pretty sure we have WAY more than enough.  I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much we have but let's just say we've both been busy crocheting, making jewelry, etc.  We have more than you can see in the pictures.  It is truly an addiction but a fun and useful one.  You'll see some of it also at

 Wyoming Rose Boutique as soon as we get a chance to list it all. 

I'm kind of excited. 

Can you tell?

This particular craft fair is a first for the place where it is being held so I don't know if it will be well attended.  I was also kind of surprised to see that they are charging $2 for entrance.  Is that normal for a craft fair?  We already paid for our booth.  I don't understand how they expect shoppers to pay just for the privilege of looking at our stuff.  I don't like it but it isn't up to me.

 So, if you are local, stop by and say "hi". 

I'm sorry it will cost you $2 but we'll try to give you a

big smile as well.  You've heard of a million dollar smile?

We just offer the $2 smile.

Pardon My Lenten Smile

When Mike was in seminary I somehow came into possession  of a button that said, "Pardon My Lenten Smile".  I loved that button!   Unfortunately, I lost it some time ago.

I know that Lent is a time to remember all that Jesus had to endure before his resurrection.  I know we have to make that journey.  We need to dwell on the mockery, humiliation, pain, rejection, betrayal and death.  It needs to be real to us.  We need to feel it and own it.  We need to take responsibility for it and we need to be repentant.

But, because I already know how the story turns out, I may occasionally be caught with a Lenten Smile!