My H1N1 Vaccine

I did it.
Say what you want.

Call me a sinner.
Call me weak.

Call me what you want.
I did it.

I got the H1N1 vaccine. And I have been itching since last Wednesday! Every morning I am thankful that my glasses cover my swollen eye-lids. My hives are almost gone, even though I only had a few. Maybe you don't notice a difference, but I can tell you that my eyes usually aren't that fat.

Call me in twenty years to see if I am still having side effects.

Friend Time

This past week I have realized more than ever how much I take my friends for granted.

The death of Kirsten shook our campus. It shook the way I treat my friends. She was my "friend-in-passing". We smiled at each other, said hi to each other, knew each other's names... but we really didn't know each other.

That hurts.

Now I am trying to meet my passing friends that I don't know. "I see you around, what is your name?" and once I know who they are, I try to befriend them. "Do you want me to help you carry that out to your car, it sure does look heavy!"

Here are a few friend moments. I won't be around these girls next year. That makes me sad. But I am glad that we have taken time out for each other this week.

It has meant alot to me.

Thanks friends.

Hair Ladies

They really are a different breed. They always look nice and think that everyone else should too. Where I got my haircut was no exception.

I was there first customer on the grand opening day.

They lavished me with all of their once-dammed up affection and attention, and.... advice.

"You really would look great with blonde highlights."

I know... I do look good with blonde highlights. I had them for years, in fact. It costs too much to keep up with and to time and energy.

"You do know that a little bit of roots growing out after a dye is stylish though?" She seemed concerned about my taste.

I am a little concerned about hers.

How are you feeling?

Faith/Feeling

Trust/Perception

Holy Spirit/Impossiblities

Divinity/Humanity

Peace/Fear

Grace/Hopeless

Strength/Overwhelmed

Oh! That we would realize our lack of faith and trust even when we everything in our path seems impossible, towers above us, blocks our path, and when we feel like we can't go on. It is when we keep on going, and when we trust what Jesus has promised that we are walking by faith and not by sight.

Don't Pick It Up!

If you say the name "Mr. Thompson" to me, many warm memories of a kind gentleman from the feed store at home flash into my mind.

Mr. Thompson comes to the feed store nearly everyday to buy a few sacks of feed for his beloved cows. When I was still at home, I would write tickets and help load customers. He never approved of me loading the 50 lb. sacks of feed into trucks and without fail would say, "Don't you pick up anything heavy, you hear? If you do- all your babies will be born naked!"

That is one thing that I wasn't taught in my Maternal-Child Nursing class.

Oh Yeah!? Well MY Dad....

At lunch this week, the conversation turned to tomatoes after realizing that someone at the table detested this delicious vegetable-fruit.

"I don't know what my dad was thinking", the boy exclaimed, "When in our garden he planted a whole row of just tomatoes!

"Oh yeah?" one of the girls across me challenged, "My Dad planted four long rows of tomatoes this summer.

What!? What in the world did you do with all those tomatoes? The tomato-hater was in awe.

I just continued to eat my salad and popped a big, juicy grape tomato into my mouth as I thought about my Dad's garden. I didn't dare bring up that my Dad had them both beat.

3,000 tomato plants? How about 4,000? Oh... and the rows are REALLY LONG.

Germ-X

As I sat through my last OB lecture of the semester this morning, I got a nudge on my shoulder. "That's funny... we usually don't pass around an attendance sheet..." But it was not the attendence clipboard, but instead a bottle of Germ-X.

Nursing majors do funny things like that- pass around Germ-X, back and forth to everyone in the class- we sure needed it today! So many coughs and sneezes, which sadly included me.

I smiled as I took the bottle, just as Mrs. Dedeker looked over at me. "Do you not need that Emily?", as if she was willing to take it away for me.

"Noooo.... I need it", I responded as I passed it on to Katie and Elise. I think they needed it too.