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Just shooting the poop with Lori |
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He travels the world on the backs of others Insignificant in his stature and size His journey carries no mission Randomly roaming at the will of his host Sated enough to never question his trek Life is an open adventure without worry If the excitement of his dusty trail dulls Another bus awaits to grant passage With a furry friend to carry him home Ah the wonderful life of a flea |
| There are days when I return home from work that I just want to cry.It is comparable wanting to kiss the ground after being marooned on a Giligan's island for months at a time. The tension is often unbearable, never knowing what is coming next. You keep your emotions in check while working but the dam wants to burst when you reach the doorstep of safety. After washing, eating, sleeping, and hugging loved ones in my social space, the tension is released, but will be resurrected soon. I had hoped that writing would be my healthy mental outlet but folks the exhaustion is real. I stare at the computer keys hoping to put down on paper the roller coaster view of my days, but the emotions refuse to be encapsulated. I am proud to be a nurse and it gives me many moments of joy along the way, but there are times when I feel like a cowardice. It the fear of being infected or worse carrying it to my family. It is the constant threat with each new patient encountered, just one mistake (missing symptoms) places them and me in extreme danger. It is the thought that in a moment of stupidity I might forget one step in the difficult road map of my PPE placement. It is the giddy nervous laughter and jokes shared by my co-workers that remind me they are in same fight as myself. I see the hospital housekeepers cleaning rooms and I can't help but thank them for their dedication. I see dietary delivering meals and I have to resist hugging them for doing their jobs. Patient Care Techs willing to stand along side me without the social acknowledgement being given to nurses makes me want to shout. I see teachers redesigning a whole new way of learning. When I drive home from work, I am often overwhelmed by the sight of a semi, carrying a trucker just doing his job, but supplying us with the needed items essential for life.If there is one message I will carry away from this pandemic, it is that America has good people doing good things for good people and good reasons. We are all in this together! |
| Isolation, the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others, and the reality of our daily lives at the moment. It is a lonely state in which to find oneself. The freedoms that we once took for granted have become our future goals Picnics in the park, laughter with our friends, concerts that fill the night air with gentle song, and shopping in the local markets with kids in tow are just a few of the absent pastimes. Congregating in church with our faith family and sending my child off to school with a light and hurried breakfast in his belly are the things I miss the most. I have faith that life will return at the scurrying pace I once knew, but I think the kindness of others and the unity of spirit will linger. Maybe, just maybe, that is the message of our days of quarantine. The good Lord has granted us the the gift to smell the beautiful scent of our roses. Use the time wisely! Isolation is a state of mind more than physicality. Mail the cards to loved ones, wave at the neighbors that pass by, skype with friends, write letters again, walk the dog, and give many virtual hugs to the elderly. Refuse to withdraw into your isolation, but live and be present in the moment of someone else's need. There are so many things to learn about one another in this frozen moment of time. Be the answer to the question of how to improve society. |
| Life is definitely interesting these days! The many ways that life has changed so rapidly is mind boggling. From the challenges of finding food and toilet paper, to the currently low gas prices, to restaurants serving curbside, and to staring at the same faces of isolation day in and day out. I love my family but 24/7 of quarantine tends to dim the luster of my loved ones. I have no doubt that the feeling is mutual and that my luster is dim in their eyes as well. Having said that these people keep eating my last cookie and my son refuses to put a new roll on the holder. This too shall pass! From a nurses view, life has a different look. The feelings of uncertainty of what might be heading our way is palpable. Not being an ICU nurse, I have minimum contact currently with the Covid patients. All patients presenting with symptoms are sent to ICU until ruled out. The floors that I work on then get the negative resulted victims. In the back of my mind, I utter a prayer for the quality of the testing but always I pray for my colleagues in the ED and ICU. With the elective surgeries and non-emergent admissions being suspended, our floors are slow with nurses being called off.I see that changing soon as the numbers climb. Even the sick people with different maladies are avoiding the hospitals, where at one time they showed up for broken toes in the middle of the night. The news each day delivers a sobering message of increased numbers, so I wait and worry. My two college kids work in the food industry and are unemployed for the duration. The financial strain this puts on us and them is hard. But in this we are not alone, it is happening all over the country.The thought of kids going hungry or trapped in isolation with abusers depresses the hell out of me. I pray that we can soon rebound from this soon. My financial concern weighs less heavy than the life and death scenario playing out daily. My high school senior is missing out on memories that will never be recaptured, It hurts this momma's heart but he is strong. He was born in January 2002, in the aftermath of 9/11 and he along with his classmates born in 2001 and 2002 will be remembered as the COVID generation. They were born to be resilient and will carve a new and stronger path for a future. They are survivors and I will forever be proud of them. |
| My children, like others across the country, have been called off school for the duration of Covid. They do not need babysitters so my concerns are minimal. I can continue to work and know they will survive with the social distancing in place. I feel for the parents scrambling to find reliable sitters. My youngest is a senior in high school and will miss many of his last day moments because of cancellations. But I would rather have him and the thousands of other kids at the school be safe. He will go on to make other memories. My daughter is a performing arts major and all productions have ceased. It is heart breaking for the people who have been working so hard to pull plays or recitals together. But there will be new opportunities to shine. My oldest is a senior in college and set to graduate in May. I am hopeful that the work needed can be completed online. I worry that it might impact all of our student's grades and learning experiences. But again safety is the first priority. My main message through all of this, is that we can ride the storm together. We all face challenges throughout this period of time. Remembering that I am not the only one facing worry and hardship is the key to survival. Be kind, give love, and respect, have faith, and treat one another well. Washing your hands is a great idea, but practicing patience and kindness will determine how we feel about ourselves after the storm. |
| It is getting very scary out here with the Covid restrictions and cancellations. Compared to the possibility of death of anyone, my inconvenience is minimal, but with the retreat of all social gatherings it is alarming. I understand the rationale, but it doesn't make it any easier to know that I will not see my friends and family for an undetermined amount of time. Keep safe folks and remember that kindness is always the better option In the other corner of this pandemic are my worries as a nurse.We are inundated with germs on a daily basis, to do our job of patient care the germs are unavoidable. Even with safety procedures in place and incredible hand washing, it is just a matter of time before each of us comes across a patient who unknowing carries the virus. Healthcare workers are committed to caring for their patients and will remain on the front-line for the duration. Having said that please be mindful of the reasons that i cannot just pop into your room to give you a soda or microwave your food from an outside source. And please understand that the masks and gloves stocked in our cubbies are not to be passed out for the general public, they are intended as a first line defense for healthcare workers caring for your loved ones. Nurses have long been known to have an odd sense of humor and the ability to carry on very gross, stomach turning discussions. We eat while talking about the maladies of humanity without batting an eye.The potty humor and ability to joke about all body fluids keep us sane. We need occasional chuckles in this storm that we face. So keep those COVID memes coming! Some of them are hilarious. |
| Hello, peeps. Checking into see how life is treating you? My Monday is wet and cold in these parts. There is nothing better than climbing into a warm bed with a good book(either reading or writing) on these kind of days. My bed and my book kept calling me by name all day but other things intervened, It was a painful whisper that blew through the windy halls luring my desires. The scent, an inviting airborne whimsical aroma of snuggled delight floated through the air. A silent bell tolled in my ear calling me for respite from the weary tasks of the day. Alas, it was an impossible dream. I fought the lurid calling and stayed true to the deed of immediate need. Sad, though it may seem my laundry is complete and our under-drawers are tidy and white. It is the little things that make you smile. At least until someone throws the clothes they are wearing in the basket.I did manage to snuggle up in clean sheets with my book this evening. Personal rewards are the greatest. |
| How did the days since my last visit to this blog pass so quickly? It was a busy week filled with family pursuits, working, and life. The week seemed to travel at the speed of light. I did squeeze in some writing but the blog suffered in my absence. Sadly, no one took me up on the spider stories of my previous entries. I wonder sometimes if people are reading this blog or if they are just as busy with life as I am. Time is the leash that binds us. I am gearing up with my headphones to block out the political ads and programs being thrown at us. it will be this way until November. So my family knows not to ask me a question of importance unless I visualize them. The pandering and lying on every spectrum of this arena drives me crazy. I will read the needed data to keep me informed. I do not need the screaming masses to educate me about the issues facing our country. There are many, the first of which and most harmful is our division. Until we come to accept one another in our differences the many other problems will remain. It may seem like anarchy to say that the entire government needs to be redone, but I have come to trust no one in this climate of he said... she said. Everyone is scratching someone else's back while our willingness to openly discuss the differences disintegrates. Okay off my soapbox for a moment. Just roll your eyes...like my kids do. I am a nurse in a large hospital. We were informed this week that we have limited availability of N-95 masks needed for certain cases isolation. They have locked up the masks and we must request them from administration for us to access them. Now I work nights, so hopefully they will be able to get them to us if we need them. but I understand the rationale. Just yesterday in my small town, nowhere near the outbreak, I saw three people wearing masks while they drive. It is getting crazy out there! |
| I am a spider, the creeping, crawling arthropod that skitters along the pages of your nightmares. My legs, with their fine bristle-like hairs, slice into your flesh as I creep along your body while you sleep. In the darkness of the night, I explore the caverns of your anatomy ready to inject the venom of my fangs. I slither along seeking an open orifice to deposit my prodigies. They will complete me in my work. Is there more to the story? Like a build-a-bear we go! Let's hear from you. |
| The Web I needed an opening for the story, one that would pull the readers into my web. Writing an alluring tale is quite similar to the fly being drawn to the doom offered by the spider. There is enticement in each word written. Treachery is the needed element. Planting seeds of desperation is another tactic to be deployed within the plot. I must lure the reader, bit by bit, into the fabric of my story. They must be vested in the outcome. Will the woman get her man or will the fly fall prey to the spider? This is a question spawned by every novelist to ever walk the earth. The tale’s ending is the revelation. I had a tale to tell, but I wasn’t sure of the direction. Ideas circled in and out of my mind’s nebula, constructed much like the spiders web. It serves to filter the food of thoughts for immediate use or a tantalizing desert. Shall I be heroine or evil-doer? My mind searches the possibilities, as I sit curled in front of the computer. I begin researching the makings of a web and I become the spider. It is an intricate network of design spun lovingly. I crawl upon the outer edges waiting for the victim to materialize. Alright, peeps where does the story go from here? Let's have some fun with this one! |
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