Post OP and Pullups

So my husband had to have Carpal Tunnel Release surgery today.

So to keep him occupied this morning I had him make me breakfast.

While he was fasting.

   I did tell him the coffee was good.

We arrived at the surgery center on time. After a slight delay, they came and took him back. Then

they let me come back with him before he went into surgery. I took a picture. I mean really, there wasn't much for me to do. Not like they were going to let me assist or anything...

Then it was time for surgery. So I went back into the waiting room and had a snack.

Lucky for me they had good coffee and French Vanilla Creamer and healthy snacks.

They were the thins after all.

Before I knew it, I was called back to Post-OP.  He was looking pretty good. I offered to help him dress, but he said he thought he could manage on his own. Probably a good thing he brought pull ups...

Sweat pants, that is. What were you thinking?

Home now and all is well. Guess he is not making dinner...

Loving Lent

   I am blessed to have Lent. I call it a reinforced pause. One that I need.

Because life is hectic. Our calendar is bursting full and there is always more to do. After a while, it becomes a blur. Life shouldn't be a blur of dates on a calendar or commitments on a schedule. So I am thankful for Lent to give me opportunities.

Opportunity to pause in my daily life and take time out to pray.

photo credit: Josh Kenzer Turn my Darkness into Light via photopin (license)

Am I listening to God?

What is he trying to tell me?

Am I who I am supposed to be?

What am I being called to do?

The world is full of noise. Pause puts everything on hold. Cuts through the sound to get to the silence of the soul. Prayer is asking questions and listening for the answers. Hearing the answers in the stillness. Taking the time to reflect on those answers. Sometimes that means reading scripture. Sometimes it means joining a group prayer. Sometimes it is just sitting quietly. 

Opportunity to fast and live more simply.

How much do I consume?

What in my life is excess?

Do I know the difference between my needs and wants?

Where do I waste?

Our society seems obsessed with consuming. Large dinner plates brimming with food. Department stores with all the latest fashion trends. Fasting helps me limit what I consume. Not just how much or what I eat, but what I buy when I go to the store, what I keep in my closet at home. When I fast I am forced to consider the value of what I have. Through fasting I strive to be mindful.

Opportunity to Give and Give Thanks.

What talents do I share with others?

Am I giving of my time?

Do I share my treasures?

We have received rich blessings in our lives. Many of these gifts we have received from family and friends, some from strangers as random acts of kindness. This week my husband stopped for gas. When he went in, he found that someone else had already paid for the fuel he put in the tank. My daughter was surprised to find that her family donated generously to the fundraiser she was participating in. We are so thankful for family and friends and strangers who have made a difference in our lives and who are actively living out their Lent. I have been blessed with the opportunity to reawaken the spirit of giving as part of my thanks for all that I have received.

Opportunity to reflect on what I have done and what I have failed to do.

    Am I responding with love and compassion, or do I lash out in anger?

Do I think about my actions before I react?

What about performing works of mercy? 

It is a hard reflection and a stern reminder that I need to atone for my sins if I want to be right with God. But I am so grateful to have Lent to help me do just that. A season in which we are encouraged to slow down and take time to pause, feed our souls, and renew our promises so that we might give back with an improved version of ourselves to make the world a better place to live.

World without Women

What would the world look like without women?

   That was the question posed Wednesday on International Women's Day. Women were encouraged to take the day off and march in the streets to raise awareness of what women contribute in today's society.

photo credit: MyTudut Presentation via photopin (license)

For many women this just wasn't possible. Why? Well a few reasons:

1.  Women still make up the majority of the primary caregivers for young children in their homes. (stay at home mom vs dad statistics) 
2. Women make up the majority of primary caregivers for older family members. (Women as caregivers) 
3. As of 2016, women working full time salary positions in the United States earned about 83% of what their male counterparts earned. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

So, in short, they were too responsible and too broke.

   I think we all understand. I posted a shout out to all the women in the workforce (both paid and unpaid) on Facebook and briefly noted that without them there would have been no bus on our school route, only three classes for my daughter to attend at school and our religious education program would have been canceled. I wanted to let the women around me know that I am grateful for all they do.

   Later I wondered, what would my day have looked like on International Women's Day if there had been no women working that Wednesday....
really.

   At my daughter's school there are 67 individuals listed in the school directory. 52 of them are women. Hmmmm. I'm thinking no school at the Jr. High. Taking a quick peek at the district high school there are 78 individuals listed in the directory. Again, 52 of them are women. Okay, probably no school there either. The local day care down the street with the red roof, they used to have like 1 guy working there years ago, but no men showing in their teacher and staff directory at this time. Guess dropping kids off would be out of the question. Well, I suppose the kids are too old anyway.

   With groceries low in the pantry and zero coffee available at home, a quick stop at the grocery store is needed...or perhaps not. Since the staff is predominantly women and there is only one male cashier scheduled to work on Wednesday...and he is under the age of 21. Guess I can't substitute wine for coffee. With the line looping through the store aisles, I look for an alternate coffee source. Afraid it doesn't look much better at the Starbucks. A day without coffee? Yikes! Maybe I would have better luck at McDonalds?  But not likely.


   It appears our favorite local dining spot has a cook, but no one to seat us or take our order. Damn, doesn't look like I will be able to get coffee here either. Perhaps I will just use the machine at our library, but no, the doors are closed. Turns out 15 of the 20 staff are women. E-books anyone?

   I suppose I could get a hair cut and go work out at the YMCA to relieve stress. Oops, salon not open. No exercise classes either, at least not on Wednesdays, you guessed it, all the instructors are women. With the exception of two classes, that seems to be the case for the rest of the week as well. Thank heaven the doctor is in. I hope he is good at reception...and nursing..and referrals...and scheduling.

Perhaps to pass the time, I can read the mail, oh wait, no MALE carrier...

    It appears that my Wednesday will be the day I am carted off to jail for killing someone!

Well, not really, the patrol car in our neighborhood looks empty...

All over a little spider

From upstairs I heard the call.

"Mom! There is a spider in my bathroom."

"So take care of it."

"No, I can't. I will just shower in your bathroom."

SERIOUSLY?!?!

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photo credit: mmariomm MMB_0088 via photopin (license)

   It is not like we live in South America, home of the 1 foot long, Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula. This isn't Sri Lanka where picking up a basket of clothes might reveal a Poecilotheria Rajaei with an 8 inch leg span and pinkish gray band on its abdomen. 

   We are in Illinois. The largest spider we are likely to encounter is the 1 inch Wolf Spider, if we are lucky. Since they are typically an outdoor arachnid, the odds of finding one inside our bathroom are pretty slim. So what was all the ruckus about?

A very tiny house spider.

Image from PhotoPin
photo credit: goforchris In the sink ... via photopin (license)

   Too little to be identified. So minuscule that I was unable to capture a picture that resembled anything other than a blurry dirt speck. Yet apparently large enough to elicit screams and hysterics from my teenager. A teenager who is taller than me.

Nope, not happening. Not on my watch.

   It was time for my daughter to take on her demons and slay the dragon. If she was afraid to stand up to one microscopic arthropod, how the heck was she going to handle everything else life would throw at her? 

   Being a supportive parent, I did go upstairs to encourage her. I handed her a wad of tissue big enough to suffocate a Pomeranian and brought her a stool to stand on*. All through her rants and crying I waited patiently. I even took care of the centipede that had chosen that ill fated moment to appear. But I would not take care of the eight legged problem for her.

   In the end she had to make a decision, deal with the enemy or lose the privilege of having friends over on the weekend. 

The spider didn't survive...my daughter did.

   I'm not a callous person, just a parent who wants her daughter to grow up courageous and able to address whatever challenges the future might hold. I want her to feel confident in the face of adversity, daring in her undertakings, and self-assured in her decisions. You can only achieve lofty goals after you have tackled small ones. This spider was definitely one of the small ones.

   I mean, really, what is she going to do when summer comes and the mice get in the garage?

*The author does not advocate or condone the harming of domesticated pets. Spiders are fair game, pets are not.

References: Spiders IDPH, Worlds biggest spiders