One of these things just doesn't belong here... Or does it?
Wednesday, March 3
Tuesday, March 2
Melancholy Florida Montage
It was a melancholy morning this morning. I didn't go to work. I didn't follow my normal routine. I listened to The Call by Regina Spektor and stood in each room of my house and let the memories flow.
It felt like a movie moment where there is a montage of people hugging, kissing, crying and remembering some unfortunate character so as to move the story along.
I experienced something like this before when I flew to Indiana for my father's funeral. The first night I was there my family didn't sleep. I walked out to the field in front of my parent's house while the sun was rising and took it all in.
I saw my dad mowing the lawn and fertilizing the grass in the backyard. I looked to the west of the house and saw him clearing out the brush in the woods. He was working in the garden and getting out of his van. I sat with him on the porch while he lit the torches the last night that I spent with him. He walked down the driveway to visit my grandpa.
As I am now standing in the bedroom in Florida I see my husband working in his studio. We are sitting on the couch and watching a movie. I see myself laying on the bed while my mother and husband care for me after the loss of our child. I am answering the phone on July 26 when Kristen told me my father wasn't breathing and they were trying to revive him.
I have experienced so much here in Florida. I have learned so much. Staring at the empty rooms, I am not quite sure what to feel. I will leave it there for now.
It felt like a movie moment where there is a montage of people hugging, kissing, crying and remembering some unfortunate character so as to move the story along.
I experienced something like this before when I flew to Indiana for my father's funeral. The first night I was there my family didn't sleep. I walked out to the field in front of my parent's house while the sun was rising and took it all in.
I saw my dad mowing the lawn and fertilizing the grass in the backyard. I looked to the west of the house and saw him clearing out the brush in the woods. He was working in the garden and getting out of his van. I sat with him on the porch while he lit the torches the last night that I spent with him. He walked down the driveway to visit my grandpa.
As I am now standing in the bedroom in Florida I see my husband working in his studio. We are sitting on the couch and watching a movie. I see myself laying on the bed while my mother and husband care for me after the loss of our child. I am answering the phone on July 26 when Kristen told me my father wasn't breathing and they were trying to revive him.
I have experienced so much here in Florida. I have learned so much. Staring at the empty rooms, I am not quite sure what to feel. I will leave it there for now.
Monday, March 1
Boobra and Barbara Love Twinkies
I was thinking today that a higher-than-normal amount of my friends are nurses. Because of this I hear some interesting stories.
One woman worked in a nursing home and I will never forget her boob stories. This nurse was bathing an older woman and, of course, Boobra and Barbara were no longer perky and "happy to see you". So while lifting one of the twins in order to wash underneath, the nurse found a Twinkie that the old woman had stuck there to save for later. Who needs a pocket?
Another time, a nurse noticed a growth on a woman's arm in the nursing home as she was walking down the hall. The growth was pretty large and was just below the hem line of her t-shirt sleeve. Upon analysis the nurse realized that the woman had tucked her boob in her sleeve and the growth was not a mole. That flexibility would come in handy when it is time for a mammogram. Plop.
I had thought about becoming a nurse before I began college. Although I think that I would have enjoyed it, I made the correct decision when I chose to study communication.
I can rely on other people's nursing stories to keep me entertained. When I am old enough to tuck my twins under my belt I am going to hide a Twinkie under there just to give my nurses a story to tell.
One woman worked in a nursing home and I will never forget her boob stories. This nurse was bathing an older woman and, of course, Boobra and Barbara were no longer perky and "happy to see you". So while lifting one of the twins in order to wash underneath, the nurse found a Twinkie that the old woman had stuck there to save for later. Who needs a pocket?
Another time, a nurse noticed a growth on a woman's arm in the nursing home as she was walking down the hall. The growth was pretty large and was just below the hem line of her t-shirt sleeve. Upon analysis the nurse realized that the woman had tucked her boob in her sleeve and the growth was not a mole. That flexibility would come in handy when it is time for a mammogram. Plop.
I had thought about becoming a nurse before I began college. Although I think that I would have enjoyed it, I made the correct decision when I chose to study communication.
I can rely on other people's nursing stories to keep me entertained. When I am old enough to tuck my twins under my belt I am going to hide a Twinkie under there just to give my nurses a story to tell.
Friday, February 26
Lynn Graber in the Newspaper
So I found out from my mother that there was an article in The Star newspaper in Auburn this week about my husband Lynn as a new employee at Sweetwater Sound. Behold, Sweetwater hires Auburn native.
http://www.dekalbstar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6784:Sweetwater-hires-Auburn-native&catid=51:latest&Itemid=53
You know that this must be a small town when employment makes the newspaper - or at least evidence that we are in a recession.
Oh and did I mention this Auburn native is not from Auburn?
http://www.dekalbstar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6784:Sweetwater-hires-Auburn-native&catid=51:latest&Itemid=53
You know that this must be a small town when employment makes the newspaper - or at least evidence that we are in a recession.
Oh and did I mention this Auburn native is not from Auburn?
Thursday, February 25
Eritrean Hospitality
I said goodbye to a beautiful family last night. This was the Eritrean refugee family to whom I taught English in Orlando the first year that I was in Florida. Ever since, I have kept in touch and visited on occasion.
Jaered, Heda, Olana, Senayit, Layda, me and my mother
It was a difficult goodbye, especially since I noticed that Jaered (sounds like Yahdred), the father, had lost an extremely large amount of weight. I found out that he had been sick and the doctors do not know what is causing his sickness.
As we caught up and discussed the changes in our lives, Jaered said, "When I heard about the death of your father, I placed my hands over my face and cried. I see your mother in my head and it makes me sad. Tell your mother 'God bless you.'"
Senayit shared with me about how they fled their hometown in Eritrea because of the war there. They crossed the border into Ethiopia and after staying in a refugee camp, were placed in Orlando through a charity organization. I miss my mother in Eritrea very much, she said. I speak to her everyday on the telephone.
View Larger Map
Senayit is a very intelligent woman and was a teacher in Eritrea. "I love mathematics. I taught my native language. But numbers is my favorite." Because of the language barrier, she works in a bakery and Jaered in a hotel.
As I hugged the children and said goodbye to these precious people, I realized that family can span culture and language. God does that purposefully so that we know how big he is and how little we are in the world. Genuineness of spirit and a love for the other can entwine people from across the globe.
I will see this family again. Maybe someday they will welcome me into their home in Eritrea when, God willing, the war is over and they no longer have the title of refugee.
Jaered, Heda, Olana, Senayit, Layda, me and my mother
It was a difficult goodbye, especially since I noticed that Jaered (sounds like Yahdred), the father, had lost an extremely large amount of weight. I found out that he had been sick and the doctors do not know what is causing his sickness.
As we caught up and discussed the changes in our lives, Jaered said, "When I heard about the death of your father, I placed my hands over my face and cried. I see your mother in my head and it makes me sad. Tell your mother 'God bless you.'"
Senayit shared with me about how they fled their hometown in Eritrea because of the war there. They crossed the border into Ethiopia and after staying in a refugee camp, were placed in Orlando through a charity organization. I miss my mother in Eritrea very much, she said. I speak to her everyday on the telephone.
View Larger Map
Senayit is a very intelligent woman and was a teacher in Eritrea. "I love mathematics. I taught my native language. But numbers is my favorite." Because of the language barrier, she works in a bakery and Jaered in a hotel.
As I hugged the children and said goodbye to these precious people, I realized that family can span culture and language. God does that purposefully so that we know how big he is and how little we are in the world. Genuineness of spirit and a love for the other can entwine people from across the globe.
I will see this family again. Maybe someday they will welcome me into their home in Eritrea when, God willing, the war is over and they no longer have the title of refugee.
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