Along for the Ride

Well, hello, there, friendly blogger friends! It's been a while since I've dusted off the ol' blog, and like most medical update websites, that's because no news is good news. Things in my medical mystery tour have been going swimmingly, and I've been doing very well, all things considered.  Of course, there are things going on in the world...LOTS of things, in fact.  But one of the biggest things recently has been COVID-19. As a transplant recipient, I've been following developments of the novel coronavirus diligently since January when the first rumblings of this illness began making their way into the news. At first, we all just kind of assumed that this would be one of those things that would creep up and then just sort of disappear, but man...we were wrong. This illness has shut down life as we know it. Social media feeds are filled with people bickering over whether masks are political statements, whether our government has responded appropriately and done...

Wow! It's been a long time since I've written. It's been a busy summer so far. I taught elementary creative writing at the summer institute for gifted students (SIGS) this year. It was definitely a challenge because I'm not used to working with such little kids! I've been doing a lot of curriculum writing and keeping busy with tasks around the house too. It's amazing how much got put on the back burner over during the last year or so. It feels good to go room-by-room, checking off "to-dos" on the list. I've been thinking a lot lately about the journey I've traveled this year.  Last night - the 4th of July - we met up with our neighbors and had a good meal and conversation.  After dinner we walked down to the end of the street to watch fireworks.  They set them off just down the about a tenth of a mile away, so it's a perk of living in our neighborhood.  Close enough to enjoy without parking headaches, but far enough away to not h...

This morning we had a meeting at work to discuss - among other things - school finance. Topics on the agenda included an upcoming reduction in force and the fact that teachers won’t be getting raises. Add in a sure-fire increase in medical premiums, and I suppose I can actually look forward to making less next year than this year. Normally, this information would have incensed me. I would have left the meeting riled up and ready for a fight, yapping off the ears of anyone unfortunate enough to come in my path with my frustrations about not being taken seriously and the dangers to the public education system. While I’m certainly not at the point of apathy, I found myself filled with a certain level of calm. I immediately starting thinking… “I have a job. It’s a secure job. Someone has to teach the kids. Mike has a job. We have health insurance. We have a roof over our heads. We have food to eat, clothes to wear, and people who love us.” Then I looked at my arms and actual...

Lately I've been doing some thinking about friendship and how it fits with my spirituality and lifestyle. The last few years, I have developed some fantastic friendships with some amazing people. A couple of weeks ago, we hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner, and I was listening in on the conversations of our guests. I was so impressed with the intelligence and wit of the people in the room. When my husband and I were recapping the evening the next day, we both commented about how nice it was to share an evening with people who could engage in civil conversations about politics and religion. I started thinking about my definition of friendship and evaluating the relationships I have in my life. I've never been one to have many friends, but the friends I do have are very close. For that reason, I would much rather have 1 or 2 friends with whom I can really connect than a whole group of people who barely know me. I was recently reminded of the value of boundaries, particularly w...

As we near the end of July 2010, I feel compelled to reflect over the past year. I realize that it seems a bit strange to reflect in July. After all, January is typically the month for reflection and resolutions. But for us, July holds an important meaning. In July of 2009, my husband was laid off from his job as a graphic designer. The recession we had heard about and seen shaking our community suddenly became very personal. We found ourselves "shocked and awed" by the economy and job market, and that experience has led us to a year of greater enlightenment, personal growth, and understanding about ourselves, our marriage, and our beliefs. I suppose I should back up and start by explaining a few things. My husband had been through layoffs before – several, in fact. Layoffs are part and parcel of working in the IT field, which he had done for years. He had always been able to find a new job quickly. His resume is impressive, and he has a very broad set of skills...