A Whole New World

Hello! Please pardon my infrequent postings. I'm finding it harder to write when my stories now revolve around people who can actually use the web and read this blog! :P  I've started cross-training up on the Medical-Surgical unit in my hospital and it is a Whole New World, let me tell you! It's been interesting discovering the different mindsets between "the floor" and the emergency room. My grandma and cousin also came for a visit. Since it was a beautiful day here in sunny Nashville we took them to the zoo. Here are a few pics for your visual enjoyment...

I think flamingos look kind of fake, but I like 'em.

I believe I would enjoy riding a giraffe someday.

Anteaters are such strange animals! God certainly is creative.

This bird thought Caleb was the bomb dot com.

He looks like he's in his environment!

Look, Mr. Frodo - an oliphant!

Pretty birds. :)

And a thought to leave you with...

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” - C.S. Lewis (from The Four Loves)

Beloved, let us love one another...I John 4:7
Love your enemies...Mt. 5:44
Walk in love...Eph 5:2

Lights and Sirens

Too tired to write more now, but a pic for ambulance ride-along day! :D



P.S. And as this post says "April 13th" even though it's the 12th I just now realized I never changed it from Mada time - aww! Now I don't want to... :P

Mean Mugging at the Post Office

I enter the post office on a day like any other, and waited in line while the elderly woman behind me made comments about how cute the four-year-old girl behind her was. Finally, it was my turn.

"Next." Came the bored call.

"Hello, thanks." I say.

The post office lady stares at my letter then looks up at me with a hairy eyebrow look that makes me wonder what I did wrong. I look down at my letter - name, address, country, return address, it's all there. She moves her eyes downward several times silently commanding me to check it out. It's all there, woman, what more do you want from me?! I think.

"Oh wait," she says. "Is this going overseas?"

Since MADAGASCAR is written on there in black Sharpie, I'm surprised to hear her ask, but I reply in the affirmative.

"Oh." She looks confused. "Is Madagascar a real place? Like, is it a country? I mean, I knew it was a movie..."

Oh my goodness. Okay, so tons of people have not known that Madagascar is a country and I know the movie is more popular in the U.S. than the place itself, but this woman works for the post office! And it's our regular post office, so it's ferried several packages and letters to Mada in the last few years. I don't fault the lady for not knowing, it just surprised me. When I sent postcards to places like India, Mexico, and China from Mada I was not surprised that they had to have a huddle of great minds to figure out which continent to even send them to, but I guess I just had higher expectations for America. :P
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In other news, after being back to work in the ER I have renewed my conviction that I will never use a table saw. Fingers and all, just sayin'.
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We had a delightful Easter with our First Friends, Ruifan and Xuejiao from China. It was Xuejiao's first church service ever, and both girls' first Easter in America. We had a delightful time talking about the real reason for Easter and how bunnies and eggs and candy fit in to the festivities! Ha ha. :P
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I called the Emergency Medical Services chief in Nashville and asked to do an ambulance ride along on Thursday. I'm pretty excited about it. :D
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In great news, three months and nearly a thousand dollars later, my car finally got re-tagged to drive in TN! The governmental run around kind of made me feel like I was back in Africa, but I passed. Take that emissions testing! And yes, I did get the same emissions guy who asked me out on Valentine's Day...ha ha ha! Fun times in Nashville. :P