“Boy, I’d love to club that lady over the head and steal those water bottles from her armpits.” That’s not a thought that typically crosses my mind, but on a sweltering October day back in 2007, it did. More than once.
Read MoreAs social distancing continues, do you find yourself surprised over the things you miss? Things like strolling through Hobby Lobby and filling your shopping cart with decor you don’t really need, decor you eventually talk yourself out of and return to the shelves so you can walk out of the store empty-handed and think, “Well, that was a waste of time,” until a few weeks later when you eagerly return to repeat the whole process.
Yeah, I miss that too.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, before the coronapocalypse, I was asked if I’d participate on a discussion panel for a local college ministry. They were planning to do a sermon series on “adulting” and wanted various professionals from the community to answer questions about living out their faith in their particular vocation. Obviously, I was to talk about nursing. And obviously, it’s been cancelled.
But that hasn’t stopped me from thinking over some of the questions, wondering what I might say to students planning a future in nursing right now. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
Read MoreMany people dream of writing a novel, few actually do it. I imagine that’s why the main advice for anyone starting a novel is don’t quit. Get the words down on the page—even if they’re terrible words. Don’t worry about making your story perfect. Just finish it. You can deal with the mess later.
Which is all wonderful advice until it’s later and you’re staring at a pile of 80,000 terrible words, wondering how to begin cleaning up the mess you’ve created without enlisting the support of the American Red Cross.
Read MoreWhen my husband and I first married, he’d often lament that God didn’t bring us together ten years sooner. “Just think,” he’d say. “If we’d met ten years ago, we could have been married all this time.” To which I’d smile and nod, take a sip of coffee, and all the while think, “Oh honey, if we’d met ten years ago, not only would I have not married you, I wouldn’t have even dated you.”
The truth is I wasn’t ready to get married ten years earlier. For starters, hello, I would have only been eighteen. But more importantly, my husband had very weird hairstyles during that time period. I’ve seen the pictures. And trust me, it wouldn’t have worked out.
Read More“You only get one shot at this.”
If you ever want to place unwarranted stress on a new nurse about to insert an IV in you, go ahead and say this. And if that doesn’t work, “You better be an expert” has a lovely way of raising the anxiety level as well.
Because really, who doesn’t want a nervous wreck taking care of them in the acute care setting?
Read MoreOver the weekend, as I was putting up the Christmas tree, I decided to put in a movie I hadn’t seen in a while rather than turn on my usual go to this time of year—the Hallmark channel. “What’s this?” my five-year-old son asked, pointing to the TV.
“It’s A Wonderful Life. Those are two angels talking.”
He stared at the black and white images filling the television screen. “Does it have a bad guy in it?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Then I’m going to love it,” he said, settling in to watch.
Read MorePicture Home Alone. Can you see the McCallister family running through the airport?
Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town…
That was me in Dallas about a month ago. Trying to make my connecting flight. The one that would get me to San Antonio for the ACFW conference. More specifically, a reception being hosted that afternoon. A reception where contest finalists had the chance to meet agents and editors. I was a contest finalist. And who knew when I might ever be a contest finalist again?
Read MoreSometimes the most helpful advice is what not to do in a situation. For example, I’ve been reading through blogs about writing conferences, and apparently agents don’t like it when writers slide manuscripts to them beneath bathroom stalls. Who knew?
Read MoreMy first job as a registered nurse began several summers ago on a burn unit. I was twenty-one, living in a new city, and coming to grips with the fact I was now responsible for keeping people alive. In other words…
I. Was. Overwhelmed.
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