did you miss me?

where have i been, you ask? how is it that i've only made one brief post since 4/28? i know, i know... these are the burning questions that have kept you awake at night... so let's take a look at my recent life

4/29- typical crazy wednesday. work all day, get the kids from school, shopping for sonshine kids, then youth group bible study and turtle time. flags may or may not have been involved.

4/30- all day training/meeting at work. convince tali that it's okay to miss dance class. packing for departure to wisconsin tomorrow morning (by 6am no less).

5/1- wake up to realize it's 5:38. madness ensues. manage to get husband, two children, and self up and dressed and out of the house by 5:54. i've got mad skillz. leave for wisconsin. arrive safely to find we are staying in a "quaint" hotel on the property. we definitely did not refer to it as the bates motel. ever.

5/2- lovin' me some green lake.

5/3- leave green lake having caught the vision and having one of the most emotional, touching experiences with the amazing group of people God called for just such a time as this. meet a sweet kid named nate with the cutest accent at pizza hut. much discussion, singing, and sleeping on the van ride home. kudos to our driver, steve for getting us there and back safely. oh, and i'm fairly certain we were one of the most rowdy groups ever to haunt the terre haute steak 'n shake at 9pm on a sunday night.

5/4- gratuitous day off work to rest. blog post made on this date.

5/5- having missed dance class last week, definitely couldn't miss today. worked rear end off due to having been essentially off the road for three days in the last week.

5/6- another crazy weds. work. take brother to doctor's appointment. ask jennifer to cover me shopping and preparing for ssk tonight due to said appointment and having to leave for another training (for work this time). pack bags again. arrive at church in time to assist with meal. realize church clerk will not be showing up for business meeting, so as assistant stay to take minutes of the meeting. hug and kiss kids goodbye {again}. pick up mom and head to columbus, indiana. arrive safely at 9pm.

5/7- attend training on ministry with the elderly. so good. had an awesome supper that night with my mama and hit some outlet malls. enjoyed spoiling my family. thankful for seth's friend tom tom.

5/8- training ended on this day at 2:30pm. discover during the day that a client is in crisis. spend the entire two hour drive home on the phone trying to solve said crisis. little progress made. arrive home in time to pick up tali and zach from brookes, stop by the house and pack an overnight bag, and take zach immediately to his friend isaacs house for a sleepover. then go immediately to the jones' estate where we left to go to brock hancock's benefit dinner and auction.

5/9- spent some time running errands with the family and just chilling out. felt it was deserved at this point.

5/10- church and then tali's dress rehearsal for alice in wonderland in henderson, ky.

5/11- worked literally from 8:30am to 7:30pm this day with a couple of hour break in the middle. my job is not usually like this, but with so many days out and off for training, it was not avoidable today. by the time i got home i was feeling pretty cruddy- sinus icky and super tired.

5/12- definitely coming down with something but working anyway. dance class in the evening.

5/13- things are no good at all. not one bit. had a meeting in the morning and then stayed home and did case notes and such. by 3pm feeling really bad. called in favors and didn't even go to ssk or youth group or turtles. becky is ill.

5/14- home sick from work. was supposed to go to training, so glad i didn't. no dance class tonight, mommy was not feeling good. kids hanging out with jim at the ball park. thanks daddy :)

5/15- still not feeling good, but guilt for taking sick time forces me to another all day training and meeting. not a great idea. take pictures for the photo booth at the kids spring carnival... even worse idea.

5/16- dress rehearsal for alice in wonderland. in henderson, ky of course. home to sleep.

5/17- teach sunday school and then head out for the performance of alice. the show was beautiful. becky was dog tired. out to eat with our bffs afterward. not home til 9pm.

5/18- still sick and realizing it's really "something". call doctor. see him at 3pm. bronchitis and three prescriptions. not able to breath and hanging out on the couch.

5/19- still no good. bronchitis plus migraine. skip dance.

5/20- feeling human again! yay! worked hard today, then did the typical crazy wednesday night routine. lovin' life.

5/21- dance class tonight- last one for the summer.

5/22- kid's last day of school. awards. open house for work in bloomfield. graduation at the high school. proud of tyson :)

5/23- picking strawberries with the family. zach's ball practice. preparing strawberries and catching up on three weeks worth of missed tv.

5/24- today. and now, having typed all that, i am exhausted all over again and you are completely bored! LOL

as crazy as it's been, i can't help but reflect on this month and how incredibly blessed i am. my job is amazing. my church family is truly a beautiful thing. i am so lucky to have two amazing kids who are passionate about the things they love (dance and baseball). a husband who will wisk the kids away when he knows i need the peace and quiet to rest. the opportunities to continue to learn and grow. and that even though i was really sick, how infrequently that happens to any serious degree!

so there, you are all caught up! i will try to get some pics up here or on facebook... but that's only if i can pick up my internet signal from the ball park :)

my hot date

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to work at the Area Wide Residence Council... it is a function where all the Residence Councils of local nursing facilities (that's the pc term for a nursing home) get together to honor one another, have a great meal, and play a mad game of BINGO. Every local facility brought 1-10 residents... so there were A LOT of people there.

I hadn't planned on helping with the event, but a last minute email of desperation changed my mind and I volunteered. Driving there on Thursday I prayed that the Lord would help me be a little bit of Jesus to the people that would be there. That He would help me to take time out of the busyness to sit down, have a conversation, look these amazing folks in the eyes, and let them know that we really do care about them. They are not forgotten. They are valued.

The morning started off with assisting people into the building. Walking along with sweet ladies and their walkers, there was plenty of time for a conversation. Pushing wheelchairs there was always something to talk about. And when everyone was in there was certainly time to sit and chat with people from all over the area. There was an award presentation (one of the awards is incidentally named after my uncle- Kenneth Talley- who was a pretty cool cat on the nursing home scene in his day!). Then a yummy meal. And then....

drum roll please.........................................................................

Elvis entered the building. Yep. Elvis (ie Bruce Borders). And there are really no words to describe how much these people love Elvis. Suffice it to say they love him a lot.

I was standing in the back of the room watching the fun when this gentleman in a green cardigan wheeled up to me.

"How old do you think I am" he asked.

If you ever find yourself in this position, shoot at least 15 years below their actual age. It's a trick of the trade. "Oh, I don't know.... 72???"

"Nope! I'm 89 years old!!! Will be 90 soon" clearly delighted that I was so horribly wrong.

"Well goodness gracious! You're getting around great! And still as sharp as a tack!" I replied with great gusto and enthusiasm.

"I can walk, want to see?"

At this point I start to stutter and make eye contact with his aide, standing directly behind him. Sometimes it's not safe for people to hop up out of their wheelchairs, and that's what this fella was in the middle of doing... her lack of concern indicated that it was okay, so I offered my hand for stability... and sure enough, he stood up, took a few shuffling steps, turned to me and said...

"Want to dance?"

Weeeelllll, now.... The smooth sounds of Elvis... a distinguished older man in a green cardigan... OF COURSE I WANTED TO DANCE!

Taking his hands I told him that of course I'd love to dance. And dance we did. No slow dance either, we were dancing to "Don't be cruel". He led me around in circles, arms going up and down with the beat of the music. It wasn't a long dance as he tired quickly... but it was so much fun.

And it made me cry. Because I'm a nerd like that. I made him promise to come back next year, because I'd never danced with a 90 year old before. So it's a date. Don't tell Jim ;)

This is the interesting thing... All the while that day I had asked God to allow me to be a little bit of Jesus to someone. And it turns out... this fellow was a little bit of Jesus to me instead. Isn't that how it always seems to work?

i love my job.

I know you probably get tired of hearing this from me, but I had a really great day at work and just want to share how blessed I feel... especially against the realization of how miserable someone CAN be at work [Bev, Jim], today I was again reminded of how specifically God tailored my job for me.

Today I got to meet for the first time

• the sweetest couple, married 60+ years, who were so appreciative of the help and just joys to visit. To see them interacting, exchanging thoughts and ideas between them without a single word spoken, I knew who I wanted Jim and I to be when we grow up! There she was with her polka dot shirt, bracelets, and hair neatly coiffed and him in his WWII Veterans hat and jeans. She honestly offered me her home delivered meal! I obviously didn't accept it, but her offer was so sincere, I was taken aback!
• An elderly woman who asked if I could get her a lifeline [yes I can]. She loves going out in her yard and working with flowers, but sometimes can't get back up. She doesn't want to stop living her life because she's afraid she can't get up- and that little button around her neck will keep her from having to do so.
• A 93 yo woman who was as sharp as a tack and shockingly matter-of-fact in our conversation- and I LOVED her. I heard about her past, her family, her son who was "a little retarded" (did I mention she was matter-of-fact?), the cabinet she paid about $663 for twenty years ago... a life nearly a century long.
• A woman in her 80s, deaf since birth and initially nearly impossible to understand. A short prayer and I realized... her speech patterns are very much like Zach's, just a lot thicker. It wasn't always easy, but we managed to have a nice visit, and I learned about her 11 brothers and sisters, her family home, her neice... and as I left she said "thank you for listening". Wow.
• A widower living alone out in the country. His wife passed away about five years ago, and we talked about that and what it was like without her. He was pleasant with a great sense of humor. Can't wait to see him again. Brought tears to my eyes as he talked about how much he misses his wife sometimes.
• A woman recently discharged from a nursing home, so happy to be in her own apartment. She told me all about her new church family and the amazing people she had been meeting there. It's great to see hard work pay off, and my mom (the best case manager I know) worked hard to help her get out of the nursing facility.

Yes. Some parts of my job are excessively frustrating... but for the most part there are these amazing people, stuck away in apartments, nursing homes, and country houses, with incredible stories to share and tell... just waiting for someone to listen. And sometimes, I'm lucky enough to be that person.

And I get paid for this? Praise the LORD!

I love my job.

Not many people can say that... I love my job... today, as I packed up my files, paperwork, pens [the necessary tools of the trade] I realized that I was actually excited about the day facing me.

My job is not perfect. But it's perfect for me. It's a gift from God, tailor made for who I am, and who He wants me to be. I get to help people. I get to work from home. I get to work outside of my home. I have the opportunity to meet some of the most interesting individuals. The other day I got to spend an hour and a half visiting with an elderly lady (nearly a 100 years old!) who had been a missionary in foreign lands most of her life. Modest, independent, strong in her faith... she shared with me the stories of her life. They pay me for that! I walked from her home thanking God for this gift.

There are frustrating days. Frustrating clients. Frustrating vendors. Frustrated coworkers. There are times coming, I'm sure, that I'll wonder what kind of blessing this really is... and I'll have this blog entry to remind me of the good. The amazing people I get to meet. The sweet old lady that tears up because she knows the help you have will keep her out of a nursing home. They pay me for that! Visiting with the lonely widow who just needs a little company. They pay me for that! The freedom I have to run Tali to dance class or Zach to speech therapy. The ability to work from home when school is cancelled due to snow. In the big scheme of things, I'm not that important... but to a few I am, and I get to be there for them. Meet them at their point of need- my clients who want to be in their own homes, and my children who need their mommy's time.

God is faithful to His faithful. I don't deserve this blessing, but I'm so grateful for it. I know how lucky I am to be able to say, I love my job. And you know what else I love? The fabulous teal and brown Vera Bradley bag my sweet husband got me for Christmas.

Life is good :)

Tryin' hard to treasure it.