Just thinking...

It's an absolutely beautiful Saturday afternoon and I'm just thinking.

Just thinking about how lucky I am. I had kind of a rough week, with work and not sleeping well, but today I am rested and feeling content. I was thinking about what to do today and then started feeling grateful that I had so many options to choose from. I'm thinking there are people in this world who's options are limited.

I'm thinking how cool and amazing it is to be married to someone that I not only love, I genuinely like and want to be around all the time. In fact, I think there is not another person on this earth that I'd rather spend time with. I think that's special. I think there are people out there struggling with their relationships and I think I'm blessed for mine.

I'm thinking that I'm hungry. I just said it out loud and then followed it with, "There's really nothing to eat here." I think that's a lie. I think we have ample food and it's just a matter of me deciding what to make. I think there are people who don't have enough to eat on a daily basis and I think we need to do better to feed them.

I'm thinking there is so much to do today and it's all mine for the choosing. There's a Pike River Rendezvous right up the street from me. Reenactors dressed as traders and Native Americans gather on the shores of Lake Michigan to show how life was back in the fur trader era. It's a good event! I'm also thinking of going to the Racine County Zoo. This little zoo is a short drive from our house and it's such a great little place. They've done wonders giving the animals more realistic enclosures and creating an educational setting for zoo visitors. I think my vote is still out on the efficacy of zoos in general because I believe that animals should be in the wild. But I think I would never get the chance to actually see a giraffe or lion or baboon if zoos didn't exist. I think I am selfish at the expense of the animals.

I'm thinking I've already taken up too much of this beautiful day writing this blog. I think it's time for me to make some decisions and head out! So, I think I'll say good bye now!

Some mornings are better than others...

See what I mean? This is the sunrise I saw this morning on my way to work. How bad can a day be when it starts with something as glorious as this?

About my sister...

Awhile ago I wrote about finding out that one of my sisters was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Her condition is such that surgery cannot help her and at the time of it's diagnosis the doc told her that the best they can hope for is to prolong her life. The cancer was mainly in her breasts but had also spread to her lung, pelvic area and lymph nodes. They decided to try an estrogen based medical treatment to see what would happen. She's now on her third course of this treatment but so far the results have been nothing short of miraculous. The tumors in her breasts have dramatically decreased in size, some of them are gone. The cancer in her lymph nodes is gone and the tumors in her pelvis have also decreased in size. The spot they were seeing in her lungs is now gone. The tumor markers in her blood work and PET Scan all show that this treatment is outright reversing most of the tumor's growth. We couldn't be happier.

We aren't foolish enough to think that the cancer will go away completely. It won't. But at this rate what looked like a few more months of her being here has now turned to a few more years. She will always have to have treatment and her immune system will always be compromised so she has to be very careful if she is around people who are ill.

She's decreased her work hours. Yes, she's worked through all of this! A testament to the strength of the women in my family - but she's cut back. She's taking time to be with her husband, her daughter and grand daughter. And me.

Today, we just went out for a drive. It was hot and the wind in the car felt good. We talked and laughed. Being summer there was any manner of odd ducks walking around town. We had ice cream. It was lovely. When I got married the first time she was my Matron of Honor. She listened while I was going through my divorce. She asks about my life and my life and my dreams for the future. When I get married again, soon, I will again ask her to be my witness. And I'm thankful to know she will be here to accept that offer.

I'm close to all of my sisters but I am closest to this one. I will miss her everyday, every minute, when she's gone but for now, we have this time, and, for now, it is enough.

Oi, it's Monday and I have much to do...

I was a tad surprised when I left the house this morning. It was actually a beautiful morning! I guess I just imagine that all Monday's should fit my general yucky I don't wanna go to work mood but this one didn't. The sun was sparkling on the lake and there was a warm lake breeze. I did take a moment to enjoy but then it was "get to work".

I was dreading getting to my office, I must say. I know I left Friday with an enormous stack of paperwork sitting on my desk. I managed to put it out of mind all weekend but here it was, just waiting silently, for my return. So today, I have a ton of stuff to get done. Part of my job is to proof read every single care plan that my teams do for their cases. I get about 25 of them each day so they tend to add up if I don't get to them right away. I'll be "red penning" these for a while. Not the nicest way to spend a beautiful day like this.

Also, we are getting new carpet on one side of our building here. Not the side I'm on though. But that means that everyone over on that side has to temporarily relocate their stuff until the job's done. Since I have a bigger office some of them will be moving into my space for a time. Today is the beginning of moving week so people will be in and out of here all day. That should make proof reading impossible! LOL

I've got some new peeps starting this week too. I have no idea where they'll be located. Space is at a premium here. We have four or five people to an office now and the size of those offices doesn't make for comfortable quarters for that many people. We also have a limited number of phone and computer hook ups. The last person I hired didn't have a phone or computer for almost a month! And, being a non-profit organization, we rely on the kindness of strangers so our office gear (chairs, desks, etc) leaves something to be desired. That last person? She got a desk that had one bad leg which promptly fell off the second she leaned on it! So, I'll have to run around today trying to come up with some workable floor plan for the newbies.

In spite of it all, it's a great place to work. It really is! I love this job, the people, the place, even the crappy equipment. I don't think I'd know how to act if this place wasn't exactly the way it is. There's something to be said for that!

The blue in my neighborhood...

I live right on Lake Michigan. On days like today, when the weather is crisp but not cold, I like to walk along the lake in my neighborhood. I've lived near this lake my whole life and I respect it's power and it's beauty. There's nothing like sitting on the shore and staring into the big blue to put everything into perspective. Enjoy!