Saturday morning reflections

I am sitting here enjoying the silence of the morning.    Everyone else remains asleep, and I have the house all to myself.   Quite possibly the best part of the day.

My mind is wandering towards some issues I've struggled with this past week with my colleagues.   I try to use my blog for reflecting on family moments, with only the occasional reference to work.    However, I have this nagging need to get it out, and afterwards, hopefully I can let it go and move on.

It goes without saying that I like my job.   I like what I do, where I do it, and well, I think I am pretty good at  my job.   As Hubby has remarked on numerous occasions, not  many people have as high of job satisfaction as I do.   Oh sure, I have my days (sometimes weeks), when I question my sanity and my physical abilities to keep up with the pace, but then things quiet down and my perspective is restored.

Over the past 6 months or so, a wee bit of drama has been unfolding that has left me questioning who I work for.   No, not my direct leadership but the higher level command so to speak.  Gross inequity in pay based on education and experience.  

 In the end, I had to let that angst go, because a nurse harboring bitterness towards her employer makes for a really bad mix.   Not only is it bad for me as an individual, but it also puts the welfare of the kids I am tasked with caring for in jeopardy.   Nor is it fair to my family because well, they have to put up with me.

So, I thought the worst had passed.   I was done being mad at my employer and as is often the case when one lets go, my employer is starting  to see the error in their ways, and progress (ever so slow) is being made.

Apparently, not enough change in the direction some of my nurse colleagues want.
This week it all reached a boiling point.   I was accused of being selfish and inconsiderate in my remarks as I attempted to explain that what they wanted was more than we had a right to ask for.    

What they really needed was to be "Jack slapped!"

In the end, I was proven right, when a  higher level authority spoke up, explaining in work-relations lingo what I was trying to express in nurse lingo...or had I thought of it at the time "Jack Lingo".

Hopefully, their anger will subside and they too will have a chance for some Saturday morning reflection.   Recognizing how far we have come....in such a relatively short time....

Weekend in Wisconsin

This past weekend I traveled back "home" to where one could say my story first began...

For it is in this little church along the Wolf River...

Where my parents were married....

And it is in the cemetery next door to the church, where we gather together to say our final goodbyes...

25 years ago, we joined to say good bye to my mom...

And so when my Aunt Sue passed away earlier this summer, and plans were being made for her memorial service here in the little cemetery in the woods...

 I knew that I had to be there...to check in with my mom 

Pay my respects to my Grandma ...

And of course, spend time with the relatives still living...

Thank-you to Uncle Royal and my dad for providing us with a lovely send off for Aunt Sue.   Without a doubt, Sue would have enjoyed the simplicity and celebration of her service. 

A ship sails and I strand watching till she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says 

She is Gone...

Gone where?   Gone from my sight, that is all.

She is just as large now as when I last saw her.

Her diminished size and total loss from my sight is in me, not in her.

And just at that moment when someone at my side says she is gone, there are others who are watching her coming over their horizon and other voices take up a glad shout.  

There she comes!

That is what dying is...

A horizon and just the limit of our sight.

Lift us up, Oh Lord, that we may see Further...

author unknown

Rest In Peace Aunt Susie!  

September 13 on the 13th

Perhaps you've heard...but Colorado has had a little bit of rain this week.

Yesterday, I headed into work, and the rain was falling pretty steady.

So not typical Colorado weather.  Usually when it comes to rain, the clouds roll in, the rain falls, the clouds roll out and the sun comes out.   All happening over the course of an hour or two.

So yesterday, I started out with every intention of completing 12 on the 12th...waiting for 0700 to open up the door and welcome the little darlings...On a typical day some 65 kids or so will come looking for something from myself or Ms. S.  

A Clean Slate....wondering what excitement would come our way.

Nothing really....not like the case of Polio we had earlier in the week.   Yep, you read that right.   A mom called in and left a message that her child would be absent second period because he had polio.   Attendance ladies of course reacted by calling me.   I calmly called mom (with yes, a slight hint of panic when I noticed he has a personal exemption for all his immunizations).   Nope, mom confirmed NO polio, but yes, he would miss second period for an orthodontist appointment.   Crisis averted...what a relief.  We are still not sure why she said polio but I heard the message as clear as the attendance ladies....she said polio.  

I of course, got side tracked and didn't take any more pictures...until my phone rang around 7:30 last night.   My employer announcing we would have a Rain Day...

Yes folks, you read that right, we were closing for rain.   Never mind that in our area, roads were wet but no signs of flash floods.   I guess enough schools in our very large district had some type of water damage that they elected to keep us all home.   Whatever, a day off is a day off, you won't hear me complaining.

So, now I have no excuse not to finish this photo challenge.   

First task is to scale Mt. Laundry...and actually since we just caught up on washing on Sunday, the piles weren't too horrific...

With laundry started and a few other chores tackled, I treated myself to a trip to my happy place...

Where I met up with this lady (ok, I'm cheating, we took this picture at Back-toSchool night a few weeks ago, but it is a really cute picture of us so why not share it?!)

And another friend joined us....but alas, we were too busy gossiping and griping to get a picture of the lovely Ms. Zimmer...we even celebrated her good news of a new job.   Night shift on an orthopedic unit:   Yep, one of those, "If you are happy then I am happy for you"  (having realized 20 years ago, that night shift and I just do not mix!)

Finished with the coffee...and made a quick stop at Safeway...

Oh my stars?!   What is that in the sky?   Blue skies?   Sunshine?

We hadn't seen this in a whole 48 hrs and let me tell you....we Coloradans need our sunshine...

Groceries obtained (at least the $5 Friday specials were procured) and time to head home where I was faced with a very challenging decision....

Finish what I'm currently reading (Fin and Lady) or dive into this month's book selection.

And the verdict?

Neither...instead....I binged on a bit of NetFlix...

And of course, since I was in a good mood...(HELLO?   A surprise day off, coffee with friends, finding a new tv series worth watching, getting a new book for book club and all these trashy reads showed up in my mail box today...yes, it was indeed an awesome day)....I said yes to the impromptu request from younger child to have his buddy spend the night.   

And while I myself have had a top notch day...my prayers are with my fellow Coloradans as they dry out from this 100 year flood...

My wish for you is indeed....brighter days ahead...

*another cheater photo...taken earlier in the month...but WOW what a glorious surprise this was to see leaving for work.   The photo really does not do it justice...the layers of clouds with the red of the sun was truly a beautiful sight!  

School Year Resolutions

Back to the routine of work....and while I think I did a really good job of maintaining balance over the summer (actually pretty easy to do when you have summers off), I have found that I have gotten off to a really rough start with my work year.    Not the work itself, but my attitude towards the job.   I believe my co-worker Ms. S, summed it up best when she referred to me as Nurse Grumpy Pants (meant very lovingly I am sure, HAHA).

This weekend I promised myself to reboot.  So, despite some frustrations that have been building, the truth of the matter is I really like who I work with, where I work and most importantly what I do each day.   The fact that higher level decisions are being made that I don't agree with really shouldn't sour my attitude on a job that I enjoy and that I am really quite good at.

So instead of focusing on the frustrations that really are beyond my control, I'm reflecting on what I hope to accomplish this school year.   Maintaining balance:   leaving work at work, and finding pleasure in the routines of my home life.    Taking time for myself:   through reading a good book or going for an evening stroll.  Might even try to get to the gym a time or two (don't hold your breath on that one!  :)  )  Nurturing relationships:   both with my family and friends.

Yes, these are my goals for this coming school year.    I am confident thanks to the gift of a 3 day weekend (in which time I really have spent a lot of time thinking instead of stewing)that I can accomplish many of them...if I just remain positive.

And just in case my glass half full approach fails....I'm here to announce...

Only 172 days of work until Summer vacation strikes again!