1. Thursday afternoon and evening smelled like monsoons, and even though it didn't rain where I was, the smell was intoxicating and reminded me of the promise of the upcoming rain and storms. Yes yes monsoons, come soak our desert!
2. Blueberries, grapes, watermelon, nectarines and peaches. Mmm, I love summer fruit!
3. Two good home visits yesterday. One in particular in which the patient was scared she was having a stroke. It was nice to have a good neuro background to bring along and help reassure her that in fact she was not exhibiting a single stroke symptom or any neurological deficits that needed emergent care. I am grateful for my training.
4. Mead stopped by for a quick dinner. It was delicious--both seeing her and what we ate.
5. Roofrauff and I went to Udall Park to go for a walk last night.
6. Drawing.
7. Thursday night my compassionate communication class met without our teacher as she is taking the next month off from teaching in Tucson. There were only three of us but it was really fun--and it felt like we had much forward movement in our learning.
8. I learned how to irrigate a urinary catheter this week. Slowly but surely I am learning this trade. What was particularly nice about learning this was there was no expectation that I should already know it. Just gentle instructions and clarification to make sure I understood. Nursing is hard because there are so many details, bits of knowledge and skills that we are held accountable for. I appreciate the gentle learning experiences most.
9. I took
this test (the first of the two options) at the repeated request of my compassionate communication teacher. I generally am not a fan of personality tests, horoscopes, or anything that attempts to use an external system to categorize people by personality traits. I really don't like the idea of people defining themselves by their limitations. I have always loved the quote from Richard Bach, "Argue your limitations and sure enough they're yours." However, this enneagram concept has been repeatedly brought up as a potentially useful tool by a few people who I really respect. So I took it, and lo and behold, it is interesting food for thought. I like it in terms of having some quick insight into what needs a person might be trying to meet as they approach the situations in their life. I think it would be helpful to know your own and also the numbers of those close to you. It sort of speeds up the process of empathy if that makes sense...? If you read this, take the test and want to chat about it, leave me a comment!
10. Last night I went grocery shopping. I am really grateful that we have enough to eat--that we can eat well without worrying that next week we might not. In the past few days I have been reminded of the choices that so many people have to make between resources---do we buy food, pay rent, buy medicine, keep the house warm/cool enough to be comfortable? This week at work I watched someone try to make those choices. It is always painful to watch others suffer. I remember hurting over this often when I had my Americorps position at the food bank way back when. It hurts not to be able to do more to help people. At the same time, I am so VERY grateful for my jobs, that I am not having to make those choices right now and have never known what it is like to lose a home, or go without food or medicine, or really be uncomfortable. And so I enter my hospital work week with this in mind-- deep gratitude for having enough. My hope is to carry that gratitude with me and not get caught up in anything else.
11. This week has been a little easier than the weeks and months before it. Something somewhere in my brain let go and I have been feeling a bit lighter. There is relief in this. (Dad, I still miss you constantly.)
