One of our campus' neighboring streets is being completely refurbished this summer. This is great news, as a drastic repair is long overdue. At this point, it is more pothole than road, as the undercarriage of my car found out the hard way...
I used to take this street almost every morning, as it is the easiest way to get from the busy street I live on, to the busy street that leads to the home I baby-sit in. One morning, as I made my way down the street, I hit a pothole, and heard what sounded like something metal falling off of my car. I kept and eye out my review mirror, but didn't see anything left behind. I even checked under my car when I arrived, and couldn't see anything hanging from the bottom, so I figured I was good.
About a month later... a few weeks ago... I had to have the starter replaced, and I noticed a loud rattling sound when I got my car back. I immediately returned to the auto body shop to inquire as to the source of the rattle and was told I had a loose exhaust shield... most likely from running over something (like a pothole) but that it was nothing to worry about, and could just be hammered back up the next time I had the oil changed.
Today, I worked the Brewers' Home Opener (they beat the Cubs 4-3 in the bottom of the 9th - GOOD Friday :) and as I pulled into the employee parking lot, I heard a loud metal clang and something underneath my car scraping along the pavement. I checked under my car and saw a large, thin piece of metal half hanging onto my undercarriage, and half resting on the pavement. 'That must be the exhaust shield,' I deduced, and called the auto body shop on my way into work, before being told they couldn't fit me in to fix it until early tomorrow morning.
I ended up finishing early, and called back to see if they'd be able to squeeze me in this afternoon, and they were... so I pulled out of my parking spot, prepared to drive there with the hideous sound of scraping metal under my car. Fortunately, the piece of metal fell completely off before I got out of the parking lot, and the rattling was stopped. When I walked into the auto body shop carrying the large piece of metal, the worker immediately said, "Looks like you don't need me anymore!" Turns out it was the heat shield that fell off, and he told me I don't really need it and he would've just taken it off himself.
Things worked out pretty well, but what did I do on my way back to my apartment? Yep! I took the pothole infested street that got me into my predicament in the first place. Real smart, Kate.
I was thinking about this when I was walking back to my apartment after rounds, and noticed that one of the potholes on that street is so deep that you can see the mesh/wire/grid thing that goes under the concrete on roads! Why would I keep driving on this dangerous street, even after it caused a potentially dangerous problem with my car (what if that huge hunk of metal had fallen off on the highway?!)
Since the start of the initial rattling, I tried taking a different neighboring street, which proved to be just as hazardous because of the many parked cars and jay-walking students, and eventually settled on a much smoother, albeit longer, round-about way of getting to the girls' home in the morning. Despite my every intention to avoid that road, I often find myself driving down Pothold Path... like when I'm running late to baby-sit.
I will sometimes go down that road, knowing the potential hazards, simply because it is the quickest route to my destination. Other times, I will head down Pothole Path out of mere habit. I won't even remember that I'm trying to avoid it, or realize that I'm heading in a potentially hazardous direction, until I am already half way down the road and have hit several potholes. Can you guess where I'm going with this?
The potholes are a lot like our pet vices, the road being the sinful path to temporary satisfaction. As someone who's been playing tug of war with OCD for nearly 20 years, I know as much as anyone the comfort of the familiarity of the Broken Boulevard, and the discomfort of rerouting your commute by the Healthy Highway. Too often, when I get agitated, restless, or unsettled, when I encounter a major change in my life, I am tempted to take the easy, familiar path riddled with potholes, even though I know I will regret it later. Dealing with a broken car, or a broken heart later, is simply easier than dealing with the anxiety of the present... until it catches up with me...
I get both literally and figuratively lost more than anyone I know. I am very much a "turn left by the big oak with the twisty trunk" kind of girl. Fortunately, I was given a GPS for my 24th birthday, and it has helped me safely navigate my way to many new places throughout southeastern WI and northern IL, with much less stress than my previous excursions. Sometimes I forget it, and I get lost, but that just helps me remember and appreciate it even more the next time I'm in need of direction.
I'm fortunate enough to also have a GPS to help me navigate the potholes of life... my Bible... Just like the electronic GPS unit I use in my car, I sometimes forget it... or think I can navigate my way on my own. That just reminds me how important it is to study and familiarize myself with my life's roadmap. It might seem easier, or more fun, to get lost along the sinful path for awhile, but avoiding such eventually painful detours is the easiest way to ensure I arrive at my final destination safely!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
A Light in the dark...
A few weeks ago, the RCs were given the responsibility of coming up with a devotion for our weekly meeting with the RAs. Our meetings are late at night, and I was finishing with the flu that was going around, so I missed the meeting, but we were supposed to each pick a favorite verse of ours and talk about what it means to us.
Choosing just one verse was incredibly difficult. Matthew 5:16 was my Confirmation verse, and one that I sort of use as my own personal motto. Proverbs 3:27 is another one that I reflect on when my job requires me to resolve undesirable situations, but the one I chose to share (then didn't) is Psalm 119:105: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path." This verse has served as an important reminder for me of God's provision during many uncertain times in my life and, at a time of extreme economic uncertainty, I thought it might be helpful to share with you how this verse has comforted and reassured me.
I'm a literal thinker, so in second or third grade, when our pastor used the verse in his sermon with the literal example of a lamp at our feet, those mechanics produced an analogy that has hit home many times. Since people don't really walk around carrying lamps in the dark anymore, think of God's Word as a flashlight...
The summer after eighth grade, our Confirmation class went on a weekend retreat to Camp Luther in northern WI. Lots of other Confirmation classes were there that weekend, but our group from Beautiful Savior stayed in the Fort Village, which was slightly secluded from the rest of camp... including the flush toilets. Being adolescent girls, we weren't too keen on the idea of using an outhouse in the middle of the pitch black woods, so we would opt for the dark and treacherous hike back to the bath houses at the main camp. During these walks, a flashlight was highly essential.
As a 14 year old girl, my fear would urge me to shine the flashligh straight ahead. That would provide me a dimly lit preview of the twists and turns on the path ahead. However, it would also provide me with an easy way to sprain an ankle. While I might be able to see where the path was headed, I'd have a limited view of the path directly in front of my feet, where rocks and roots waited to trip me up. Although a bit more frightening, it was far wiser to shine the flashlight down, at the path right in front of me. I wasn't able to see as far in front of me, but I was able to see enough to safely reach the bath house.
Like the flashlight pointed down, it's not really God's style to show us everything at once. I imagine if He did, things would be too easy for us, and we might not remember to look to Him for guidance. Still, He never leaves us in total darkness. He always gives us what we need (not necessarily what we think we need) to safely put one foot in front of the other and take one step at a time down the path of life.
This can be unsettling for us sinful humans... especially in today's culture of immediate gratification. We want everything all at once and yesterday! That's when we exercise our trust in an all-knowing God. He knows what's at the end of the path, He built the bath house (oh my goodness - I just compared Heaven to a bathroom!) He gives us His Word to serve as our flashlight, our map. The more we immerse ourselves in it, the more illuminated the path becomes, and the less we fear the dark times.
That doesn't mean that life won't occasionally smack us in the face with a tree branch. We're sinners. We make mistakes, take the occasional detour, but God is always there to turn us back around and point us in the right direction! Knowing this serves as a huge comfort to me in such uncertain times. I don't know when I'll find a fulltime job with health insurance. I don't know how I'll pay off my student loans. I have no clue what the future holds, but I know that God will never leave my side.
Choosing just one verse was incredibly difficult. Matthew 5:16 was my Confirmation verse, and one that I sort of use as my own personal motto. Proverbs 3:27 is another one that I reflect on when my job requires me to resolve undesirable situations, but the one I chose to share (then didn't) is Psalm 119:105: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path." This verse has served as an important reminder for me of God's provision during many uncertain times in my life and, at a time of extreme economic uncertainty, I thought it might be helpful to share with you how this verse has comforted and reassured me.
I'm a literal thinker, so in second or third grade, when our pastor used the verse in his sermon with the literal example of a lamp at our feet, those mechanics produced an analogy that has hit home many times. Since people don't really walk around carrying lamps in the dark anymore, think of God's Word as a flashlight...
The summer after eighth grade, our Confirmation class went on a weekend retreat to Camp Luther in northern WI. Lots of other Confirmation classes were there that weekend, but our group from Beautiful Savior stayed in the Fort Village, which was slightly secluded from the rest of camp... including the flush toilets. Being adolescent girls, we weren't too keen on the idea of using an outhouse in the middle of the pitch black woods, so we would opt for the dark and treacherous hike back to the bath houses at the main camp. During these walks, a flashlight was highly essential.
As a 14 year old girl, my fear would urge me to shine the flashligh straight ahead. That would provide me a dimly lit preview of the twists and turns on the path ahead. However, it would also provide me with an easy way to sprain an ankle. While I might be able to see where the path was headed, I'd have a limited view of the path directly in front of my feet, where rocks and roots waited to trip me up. Although a bit more frightening, it was far wiser to shine the flashlight down, at the path right in front of me. I wasn't able to see as far in front of me, but I was able to see enough to safely reach the bath house.
Like the flashlight pointed down, it's not really God's style to show us everything at once. I imagine if He did, things would be too easy for us, and we might not remember to look to Him for guidance. Still, He never leaves us in total darkness. He always gives us what we need (not necessarily what we think we need) to safely put one foot in front of the other and take one step at a time down the path of life.
This can be unsettling for us sinful humans... especially in today's culture of immediate gratification. We want everything all at once and yesterday! That's when we exercise our trust in an all-knowing God. He knows what's at the end of the path, He built the bath house (oh my goodness - I just compared Heaven to a bathroom!) He gives us His Word to serve as our flashlight, our map. The more we immerse ourselves in it, the more illuminated the path becomes, and the less we fear the dark times.
That doesn't mean that life won't occasionally smack us in the face with a tree branch. We're sinners. We make mistakes, take the occasional detour, but God is always there to turn us back around and point us in the right direction! Knowing this serves as a huge comfort to me in such uncertain times. I don't know when I'll find a fulltime job with health insurance. I don't know how I'll pay off my student loans. I have no clue what the future holds, but I know that God will never leave my side.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Going Home...
This past Friday I had the opportunity to get together with 18 friends and former Salem staff to commemorate the sale of our station one year ago. It was so good to see all of them again... like a family reunion. However, it was pointed out to me how bad I am at sharing thoughts and updates on a regular basis... Evidently a few people actually read this blog - who knew?!
I guess the biggest thing going on in my own life right now is that I finished my graduate degree in December. I'm tempted to say, "FINALLY," but I know it only seemed like for-ev-er because I went straight through after college and was starting to feel really burned out towards the end (I partly expected to have a nervous breakdown - like the occasional marathon runner who collapses from exhaustion and/or dehydration just a few feet short of the finish line.) Well, I made it to the finish line and, for the first time in 20 years, there is no homework in my nearly foreseeable future (I'm eventually planning to pursue a PhD, but not until I've paid off my student loans and my brain has had time to recharge :) I have to say, it is a pretty amazing feeling to be 25 and be able to add "MBA" to the end of my name on my resume.
Speaking of resume's, I'm finding the search for a fulltime job to be quite elusive. It seems I am either too inexperienced or too overqualified for everything I apply for. It's mentally exhausting to be constantly searching and getting rejected (sounds like my love life ;) I just have to keep reminding myself that God has a plan and the right job will come along in His perfect timing - not mine. Patience has never been one of my gifts, as many of you have experienced first hand ;)
Hmm, what else is up with me? I bought my first car that is 100% mine. An older model vehicle with very low mileage and lots of bells and whistles... plus it's not one of Mom's old boats that I grew up driving... very exciting! My grandpa found her (yep, it's a girl - Geraldine, after Grandpa,) made a few repairs, and sold her to me for cost. Last week I put air in her tires (all four of them) all by myself - first time ever!
Other than that, I continue to baby-sit every day and am continually amazed by how quickly children can absorb information - like sponges, or ShamWOW's! I think I might be finally catching up on all the sleep I missed toward the end of graduate school, and I'm trying to re-learn the art of socialization... Not that I haven't always been on the more outgoing end of the social spectrum, but I've been such a nerd the last several years that I'm a bit rusty, a.k.a. boring... It's so tempting to just put my PJs on as soon as I can and spend the rest of the day vegging out and watching Netflix on my computer (which is not nearly as enjoyable when you don't have homework to procrastinate on.)
I guess that brings me to the closing, and a few prayer requests... First, for my Uncle Steve, who was recently diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) and is not only feeling the effects of the cancer (something like 4 collapsed disks in his back!), but is also starting a Chemo/radiation treatment program that is planned to last a year before culminating with a bone marrow transplant (the Docs will actually be re-planting his own bone marrow that was harvested and is being genetically altered as I write! The wonders of modern science!)
Next, that God will lead me to the right job, and that I would be patient and have the sense to follow where He leads. Also, for my parents, as the company my step-dad works for is being absorbed/closed. They aren't going to leave the rest of the family in the mid-west and relocate to Boston, which leaves him to search for a new position at a very inopportune time. I think it may actually be harder on my mom, if you can believe it. She just feels completely overwhelmed by their very large, empty house, and the desire to move closer to us kids, but knows that it is not really the time to think about trying to sell.
Finally, and most importantly (though I know all prayers are equally important in God's eyes,) my very good friend, Jon (who is doing very well, health-wise, since his heart problems this past fall :) and his family are in great need of God's comfort and strength right now. On Tuesday Jon called to tell me that the family had decided to stop his sister, Angela's, Chemo treatments. At the time they were giving her a month, but she had a really rough weekend and went Home to Jesus yesterday morning - almost two years to the day from her original diagnosis. The cancer was so spread throughout her body - she was so sick and in so much pain that the thought of how healthy and happy she is in Heaven now makes me misty, but my heart is breaking for her family, who will miss her so much. I know time will pass in an instant for her before she is reunited with them all, and her family has such a solid faith - they know they'll see her again, but her three little children who will grow up without her... it's almost too much, and that is exactly why they need to feel God's loving arms around them during this time of mixed emotions - the mourning and majesty.
I guess the biggest thing going on in my own life right now is that I finished my graduate degree in December. I'm tempted to say, "FINALLY," but I know it only seemed like for-ev-er because I went straight through after college and was starting to feel really burned out towards the end (I partly expected to have a nervous breakdown - like the occasional marathon runner who collapses from exhaustion and/or dehydration just a few feet short of the finish line.) Well, I made it to the finish line and, for the first time in 20 years, there is no homework in my nearly foreseeable future (I'm eventually planning to pursue a PhD, but not until I've paid off my student loans and my brain has had time to recharge :) I have to say, it is a pretty amazing feeling to be 25 and be able to add "MBA" to the end of my name on my resume.
Speaking of resume's, I'm finding the search for a fulltime job to be quite elusive. It seems I am either too inexperienced or too overqualified for everything I apply for. It's mentally exhausting to be constantly searching and getting rejected (sounds like my love life ;) I just have to keep reminding myself that God has a plan and the right job will come along in His perfect timing - not mine. Patience has never been one of my gifts, as many of you have experienced first hand ;)
Hmm, what else is up with me? I bought my first car that is 100% mine. An older model vehicle with very low mileage and lots of bells and whistles... plus it's not one of Mom's old boats that I grew up driving... very exciting! My grandpa found her (yep, it's a girl - Geraldine, after Grandpa,) made a few repairs, and sold her to me for cost. Last week I put air in her tires (all four of them) all by myself - first time ever!
Other than that, I continue to baby-sit every day and am continually amazed by how quickly children can absorb information - like sponges, or ShamWOW's! I think I might be finally catching up on all the sleep I missed toward the end of graduate school, and I'm trying to re-learn the art of socialization... Not that I haven't always been on the more outgoing end of the social spectrum, but I've been such a nerd the last several years that I'm a bit rusty, a.k.a. boring... It's so tempting to just put my PJs on as soon as I can and spend the rest of the day vegging out and watching Netflix on my computer (which is not nearly as enjoyable when you don't have homework to procrastinate on.)
I guess that brings me to the closing, and a few prayer requests... First, for my Uncle Steve, who was recently diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (a cancer of the bone marrow) and is not only feeling the effects of the cancer (something like 4 collapsed disks in his back!), but is also starting a Chemo/radiation treatment program that is planned to last a year before culminating with a bone marrow transplant (the Docs will actually be re-planting his own bone marrow that was harvested and is being genetically altered as I write! The wonders of modern science!)
Next, that God will lead me to the right job, and that I would be patient and have the sense to follow where He leads. Also, for my parents, as the company my step-dad works for is being absorbed/closed. They aren't going to leave the rest of the family in the mid-west and relocate to Boston, which leaves him to search for a new position at a very inopportune time. I think it may actually be harder on my mom, if you can believe it. She just feels completely overwhelmed by their very large, empty house, and the desire to move closer to us kids, but knows that it is not really the time to think about trying to sell.
Finally, and most importantly (though I know all prayers are equally important in God's eyes,) my very good friend, Jon (who is doing very well, health-wise, since his heart problems this past fall :) and his family are in great need of God's comfort and strength right now. On Tuesday Jon called to tell me that the family had decided to stop his sister, Angela's, Chemo treatments. At the time they were giving her a month, but she had a really rough weekend and went Home to Jesus yesterday morning - almost two years to the day from her original diagnosis. The cancer was so spread throughout her body - she was so sick and in so much pain that the thought of how healthy and happy she is in Heaven now makes me misty, but my heart is breaking for her family, who will miss her so much. I know time will pass in an instant for her before she is reunited with them all, and her family has such a solid faith - they know they'll see her again, but her three little children who will grow up without her... it's almost too much, and that is exactly why they need to feel God's loving arms around them during this time of mixed emotions - the mourning and majesty.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Healing Prayers for the Hemmer Family...
Friends, I need to ask you all for some big time, heavy-duty prayers for the Hemmer family. In my last post, I mentioned the sister of one of my best friends who just had brain surgery, and is dealing with a lot of complications with cancer. Things have been so crazy for their family lately, that it has been hard to catch a free moment from my friend to get caught up on how she's doing, other than to be told that it's not good and the doctors can really only try to keep her as comfortable as possible from this point on. She came home from the hospital on Friday, almost two weeks after her last surgery.
As always, my prayers are with her, but now even more pressing is the condition of my friend, Jon. Jon had a heart condition as a child that had him in and out of doctors' offices and on life-long medication. This experience inspired him to enroll in a two-year program to become a pediatric echo-tech and work with other children with heart conditions after our beloved radio station was sold. However, with the return of his sister's cancer, he put that on the back burner to concentrate on helping with his niece and nephews. His family is incredibly close... His mom raised him and his sister on her own since Jon was a toddler, and he has really been their rock through all of the turmoil surrounding Angela's battle... which has left him, understandably, extremely stressed.
I was supposed to see Jon on Friday night for a VeggieTales event, but received a call from him that afternoon telling me that he wasn't going to be able to make the drive up because his back and shoulder had been bothering him, and also because Angela was coming home from the hospital that day. On Saturday I received a text from him asking me to design a poster for the band I have been working with, and for which he is the drummer/acting manager (Chad James)... I texted back that I could work on it on Sunday if he e-mailed me the specs. I never received an e-mail, but figured it was just "Jon being Jon" and spacing because he had so much else on his plate. Then, while baby-sitting on Monday morning, I received a call from the lead singer, Chad, and figured he was calling to ask about the poster, so I didn't listen to the voicemail until I was done babysitting later in the afternoon. I was shocked and saddened to hear that Jon had suffered a massive heart attack on Sunday afternoon!
From what I have learned, he was driving alone when it happened, and either went off the road, or pulled over. Someone passing by stopped, found him unconscious, and called 911. The doctors are not sure how much time passed before he was found, but they are estimating his brain was without oxygen for around 30 minutes. An initial brain scan was quite bleak, and doctors thought he may have also had a stroke. Fortunately, further tests showed that he did not also have a stroke, but they were keeping him on a ventilator in a drug-induced coma and were lowering his body temperature to 90°F. Yesterday, his condition was so critical that they were concerned that he wouldn't make it, or if he did, that he would have a very diminished quality of life... this as his sister is fighting cancer and he and his wife haven't even reached their one year anniversary...
Today, they started to bring him out of the coma, initially very gradually, so that they can do another brain scan tomorrow and hopefully receive some better results. As of this afternoon, he is off the ventilator, awake, and talking (only a little, which is very unlike Jon :) but he's pretty confused and is having trouble with his memory... he knows who people are, but if they leave the room for a while and come back, he won't remember that they were already there... Still, this is amazing progress given that only yesterday they were not sure he'd make it! Things are still touchy, but the fear that he won't make it has near dissolved, and they are now concentrating on getting him better and preserving a much quality of life as they can... as close to "normal" as possible...
This, to me, is so blatantly miraculous! Nothing, no amount of medical science could cause such a quick, however seemlingly small, turnaround in such a short amount of time except for God and all the prayers that have already been sent up on his behalf. He is still in the ICU in IL, and it looks to be a slow road to regaining his strength, so his family does not want a lot of friends making the trip down and tiring him out. Right now, what they really need is continual prayer. The whole Hemmer family has a strong collective faith in God, and I know that now, when they feel like they've just had the rug ripped out from under them, they will lean on him for strength, so please keep them in your prayers.
As always, my prayers are with her, but now even more pressing is the condition of my friend, Jon. Jon had a heart condition as a child that had him in and out of doctors' offices and on life-long medication. This experience inspired him to enroll in a two-year program to become a pediatric echo-tech and work with other children with heart conditions after our beloved radio station was sold. However, with the return of his sister's cancer, he put that on the back burner to concentrate on helping with his niece and nephews. His family is incredibly close... His mom raised him and his sister on her own since Jon was a toddler, and he has really been their rock through all of the turmoil surrounding Angela's battle... which has left him, understandably, extremely stressed.
I was supposed to see Jon on Friday night for a VeggieTales event, but received a call from him that afternoon telling me that he wasn't going to be able to make the drive up because his back and shoulder had been bothering him, and also because Angela was coming home from the hospital that day. On Saturday I received a text from him asking me to design a poster for the band I have been working with, and for which he is the drummer/acting manager (Chad James)... I texted back that I could work on it on Sunday if he e-mailed me the specs. I never received an e-mail, but figured it was just "Jon being Jon" and spacing because he had so much else on his plate. Then, while baby-sitting on Monday morning, I received a call from the lead singer, Chad, and figured he was calling to ask about the poster, so I didn't listen to the voicemail until I was done babysitting later in the afternoon. I was shocked and saddened to hear that Jon had suffered a massive heart attack on Sunday afternoon!
From what I have learned, he was driving alone when it happened, and either went off the road, or pulled over. Someone passing by stopped, found him unconscious, and called 911. The doctors are not sure how much time passed before he was found, but they are estimating his brain was without oxygen for around 30 minutes. An initial brain scan was quite bleak, and doctors thought he may have also had a stroke. Fortunately, further tests showed that he did not also have a stroke, but they were keeping him on a ventilator in a drug-induced coma and were lowering his body temperature to 90°F. Yesterday, his condition was so critical that they were concerned that he wouldn't make it, or if he did, that he would have a very diminished quality of life... this as his sister is fighting cancer and he and his wife haven't even reached their one year anniversary...
Today, they started to bring him out of the coma, initially very gradually, so that they can do another brain scan tomorrow and hopefully receive some better results. As of this afternoon, he is off the ventilator, awake, and talking (only a little, which is very unlike Jon :) but he's pretty confused and is having trouble with his memory... he knows who people are, but if they leave the room for a while and come back, he won't remember that they were already there... Still, this is amazing progress given that only yesterday they were not sure he'd make it! Things are still touchy, but the fear that he won't make it has near dissolved, and they are now concentrating on getting him better and preserving a much quality of life as they can... as close to "normal" as possible...
This, to me, is so blatantly miraculous! Nothing, no amount of medical science could cause such a quick, however seemlingly small, turnaround in such a short amount of time except for God and all the prayers that have already been sent up on his behalf. He is still in the ICU in IL, and it looks to be a slow road to regaining his strength, so his family does not want a lot of friends making the trip down and tiring him out. Right now, what they really need is continual prayer. The whole Hemmer family has a strong collective faith in God, and I know that now, when they feel like they've just had the rug ripped out from under them, they will lean on him for strength, so please keep them in your prayers.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
4:00 a.m. Wake-Up Call...
Long time, no blog... I guess time just got away from me... Life has been so busy lately that it constantly seems I am running out of time... Here are some updates:
Kara and I had almost two more months to enjoy Teppy before her tumor grew large enough to cause difficulty walking and she stopped eating. We had to euthenize her (though Kara voted for letting her go outside, where some animal could eat her)... We took her home to our parents' house in Stevens Point and buried her in a rubbermaid container by the stump of one of my Matthew trees. I know it seems silly to bother burying a hamster, but I couldn't do anything else.
About a week later Kara and I moved to a new apartment... actually the bottom half of a duplex... making it the 7th summer in a row I have packed up my possessions and relocated... It almost doesn't seem worth unpacking anymore, but I am determined to stay in the place for at least three years... hopefully longer. Our situation is quite unique as I am working as a Resident Counselor at my alma mater, and the duplex is included as part of my stipend... Yep, "free" rent, not to mention utilities, a meal plan, and a decent cash stipend as well... This is a GREAT job and I love being part of Res Life again! I oversee a group of 5 RAs, all with apartments on the upper-campus, 9 buildings, and about 100 or so residents... Of course there are the responsibilities like going on rounds at 3am, making up mandatory residential meetings at 5am, writing disciplinary sanctions, breaking up students guilty of pelvic "grinding" at the homecoming dance (Which is now referred to by a group of students as "The dance that Kate ruined!"... It has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?) ...but it is also incredibly rewarding in a way I do not think I could accurately describe...
I have also taken a position as a part-time nanny for one of the other RCs. He is the campus pastor at a local high school, and his wife teaches third grade... they have three daughters: one in 1st grade, one in 4-K, and an incredibly strong-willed 18 month old who. Every weekday I come over to "play" (makes the kids feel more independent if I don't call it "baby-sitting"...) with the toddler from 7:30am-2pm... I know I'm probably a bit biased, but she is cute as a button and I miss her (and the other girls) over the weekends. What's the most fun is that so much is new to her and she is so easily amazed, plus now I have an excuse to be watching Curious George and VeggieTales (who I'll be meeting in two weeks :) I try to take her for a walk outside everyday because she thinks we're going "exploring" but I know that a short walk for my long legs is a long walk for her short legs and then she goes down for her nap pretty easy... Actually, she's napping right now... I usually bring my computer and homework and get work done while she sleeps, but I am soooo sick of homework.
Speaking of which, I am so close to finishing my graduate degree I can almost taste the huge beer I'm going to celebrate with after... I only have two weeks left in my current class, Managerial Accounting, and then my 8-week capstone, in which I will be creating a portfolio and doing a research project rather than a thesis. I have already received all my graduation garb and was quite disappointed to see the ugly hue of the hood... the piping for an MBA is a light shade of brown that I have only see in diapers (which I've been changing a lot lately)... still I will wear that hood with pride for graduation before probably taking a two-week nap... I'm currently looking for teaching positions and have applied for one teaching communications at an area tech school. It starts in January, so it seems ideal... please pray...
And since we're lifting up prayer requests, yesterday was a big day for people I know to have brain surgery. A cousin who is just more than two years younger than me had her second operation in a year to cauterize an artery that was "choking" a nerve and causing severe debilitating pain. She's been struggling with this for around three years now and all doctors seem to know is that it was spurred by a virus that irritated the arteries or something like that. It has been so terrible that she has fallen way behind in college (she should've graduated last year but is only a junior) because she cannot concentrate and reading (one of her favorite activities) is too painful. She is honestly the smartest person I know and is such a gifted writer, yet even writing papers was too hard because she couldn't concentrate enough to put her thoughts into sentences on paper. This summer she had to make the tough decision to drop-out of her dream school :(
Also on Wednesday, the sister of one of my best friends from my former job had surgery to remove tumors in her brain that were pressing on her spinal column and causing a radiating pain throughout her body. Sadly, these were all cancerous tumors and she has been battling cancer for almost two years now. She first found out she had breast cancer when she was pregnant with her third child. She started chemo during her third trimester and radiation immediately after he was born. Since then it has metastasized to her lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and now brain. She is determined to fight this to the end so her children will know she did everything possible to stay with them as long as she could, but what she's gaining in time, she's giving up in quality because she's so sick from the treatments and in so much pain from the cancer. Her husband has to keep working for the insurance, so my friend and his wife have basically stepped in as surrogate parents when need be, but it is all just so incredibly sad, especially when I think of their three young children who need their mom... but the good part in this is that they all have such amazing faith that has only continued to grow...
Now finally, for the first time in 26 years, my beloved Milwaukee Brewers are in the play-offs. I was there last week to see them clinch the NL Wild Card and will be in the stands on Sunday if the NLDS makes it to four games (which it will have to for the Brewers to win since Philly won game 1...) I am just so thrilled!
Lastly, the title of my post... One of my favorite things in the world to do, is sleep... I don't think I could ever get enough... I am an incredibly heavy sleeper and can fall asleep almost anywhere... put me in front of the TV and I'll be out as if I were hypnotized... Lately, however, I have been experiencing a great deal of insomnia and have stayed up way later than I would like to, considering I have to be chasing around a toddler at 7:30 in the morning. Last night I finally put down my book and turned off my lamp at midnight. I woke up when it was still dark out and was not the least bit tired. I LOVE the feeling you get when you wake up, look at the clock, and realize you have an hour left to sleep... well when I looked at the clock, it was only 4am... giving me three more hours of blissful rest... except that I could not fall back to sleep... I was NOT tired! So, after tossing for another 10 minutes or so, I decided to just get up... at 4am! I washed two loads of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, took a nice looooong shower, ate a big breakfast and watched "Transformers"... I loved getting so much done before the sun came up! I expected to tucker out early and crave a nap by the time the baby went down, but I am still insanely wired... what's up with that?! At first I had this feeling of impending doom, just because it was so unusual for me, and I prayed for pretty much everyone I know, but I haven't received any devastating phone calls, so for now I am just going to feel blessed that God gave me so much extra time today... I hope yours has gone just as well...
Kara and I had almost two more months to enjoy Teppy before her tumor grew large enough to cause difficulty walking and she stopped eating. We had to euthenize her (though Kara voted for letting her go outside, where some animal could eat her)... We took her home to our parents' house in Stevens Point and buried her in a rubbermaid container by the stump of one of my Matthew trees. I know it seems silly to bother burying a hamster, but I couldn't do anything else.
About a week later Kara and I moved to a new apartment... actually the bottom half of a duplex... making it the 7th summer in a row I have packed up my possessions and relocated... It almost doesn't seem worth unpacking anymore, but I am determined to stay in the place for at least three years... hopefully longer. Our situation is quite unique as I am working as a Resident Counselor at my alma mater, and the duplex is included as part of my stipend... Yep, "free" rent, not to mention utilities, a meal plan, and a decent cash stipend as well... This is a GREAT job and I love being part of Res Life again! I oversee a group of 5 RAs, all with apartments on the upper-campus, 9 buildings, and about 100 or so residents... Of course there are the responsibilities like going on rounds at 3am, making up mandatory residential meetings at 5am, writing disciplinary sanctions, breaking up students guilty of pelvic "grinding" at the homecoming dance (Which is now referred to by a group of students as "The dance that Kate ruined!"... It has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?) ...but it is also incredibly rewarding in a way I do not think I could accurately describe...
I have also taken a position as a part-time nanny for one of the other RCs. He is the campus pastor at a local high school, and his wife teaches third grade... they have three daughters: one in 1st grade, one in 4-K, and an incredibly strong-willed 18 month old who. Every weekday I come over to "play" (makes the kids feel more independent if I don't call it "baby-sitting"...) with the toddler from 7:30am-2pm... I know I'm probably a bit biased, but she is cute as a button and I miss her (and the other girls) over the weekends. What's the most fun is that so much is new to her and she is so easily amazed, plus now I have an excuse to be watching Curious George and VeggieTales (who I'll be meeting in two weeks :) I try to take her for a walk outside everyday because she thinks we're going "exploring" but I know that a short walk for my long legs is a long walk for her short legs and then she goes down for her nap pretty easy... Actually, she's napping right now... I usually bring my computer and homework and get work done while she sleeps, but I am soooo sick of homework.
Speaking of which, I am so close to finishing my graduate degree I can almost taste the huge beer I'm going to celebrate with after... I only have two weeks left in my current class, Managerial Accounting, and then my 8-week capstone, in which I will be creating a portfolio and doing a research project rather than a thesis. I have already received all my graduation garb and was quite disappointed to see the ugly hue of the hood... the piping for an MBA is a light shade of brown that I have only see in diapers (which I've been changing a lot lately)... still I will wear that hood with pride for graduation before probably taking a two-week nap... I'm currently looking for teaching positions and have applied for one teaching communications at an area tech school. It starts in January, so it seems ideal... please pray...
And since we're lifting up prayer requests, yesterday was a big day for people I know to have brain surgery. A cousin who is just more than two years younger than me had her second operation in a year to cauterize an artery that was "choking" a nerve and causing severe debilitating pain. She's been struggling with this for around three years now and all doctors seem to know is that it was spurred by a virus that irritated the arteries or something like that. It has been so terrible that she has fallen way behind in college (she should've graduated last year but is only a junior) because she cannot concentrate and reading (one of her favorite activities) is too painful. She is honestly the smartest person I know and is such a gifted writer, yet even writing papers was too hard because she couldn't concentrate enough to put her thoughts into sentences on paper. This summer she had to make the tough decision to drop-out of her dream school :(
Also on Wednesday, the sister of one of my best friends from my former job had surgery to remove tumors in her brain that were pressing on her spinal column and causing a radiating pain throughout her body. Sadly, these were all cancerous tumors and she has been battling cancer for almost two years now. She first found out she had breast cancer when she was pregnant with her third child. She started chemo during her third trimester and radiation immediately after he was born. Since then it has metastasized to her lymph nodes, lungs, liver, and now brain. She is determined to fight this to the end so her children will know she did everything possible to stay with them as long as she could, but what she's gaining in time, she's giving up in quality because she's so sick from the treatments and in so much pain from the cancer. Her husband has to keep working for the insurance, so my friend and his wife have basically stepped in as surrogate parents when need be, but it is all just so incredibly sad, especially when I think of their three young children who need their mom... but the good part in this is that they all have such amazing faith that has only continued to grow...
Now finally, for the first time in 26 years, my beloved Milwaukee Brewers are in the play-offs. I was there last week to see them clinch the NL Wild Card and will be in the stands on Sunday if the NLDS makes it to four games (which it will have to for the Brewers to win since Philly won game 1...) I am just so thrilled!
Lastly, the title of my post... One of my favorite things in the world to do, is sleep... I don't think I could ever get enough... I am an incredibly heavy sleeper and can fall asleep almost anywhere... put me in front of the TV and I'll be out as if I were hypnotized... Lately, however, I have been experiencing a great deal of insomnia and have stayed up way later than I would like to, considering I have to be chasing around a toddler at 7:30 in the morning. Last night I finally put down my book and turned off my lamp at midnight. I woke up when it was still dark out and was not the least bit tired. I LOVE the feeling you get when you wake up, look at the clock, and realize you have an hour left to sleep... well when I looked at the clock, it was only 4am... giving me three more hours of blissful rest... except that I could not fall back to sleep... I was NOT tired! So, after tossing for another 10 minutes or so, I decided to just get up... at 4am! I washed two loads of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, took a nice looooong shower, ate a big breakfast and watched "Transformers"... I loved getting so much done before the sun came up! I expected to tucker out early and crave a nap by the time the baby went down, but I am still insanely wired... what's up with that?! At first I had this feeling of impending doom, just because it was so unusual for me, and I prayed for pretty much everyone I know, but I haven't received any devastating phone calls, so for now I am just going to feel blessed that God gave me so much extra time today... I hope yours has gone just as well...
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