LOVEly Week

I had the whole last week off of school, and it was really nice. Here are some pics to recap the goings on. We took a walk around a lake with lots of ducks at sunset:

Dave got his new sleeping bag (that's mateable with mine):

I made lots of sugar cookies with Emily's family recipe:

David made me some special pancakes:

It was a wonderful, relaxing time that felt surprisingly short. :-D

It's not goodbye... It's hello?

I just got off the phone with my aunt. I haven't talked to her in awhile but had been thinking about her.... So we talked about everything under the sun, and it really warmed my heart in a melancholy sort of way. She told me that one of grandpa's neighbors in Willis (Tommy) told her that the week grandpa died, grandpa had visited him. He told Tommy that he was so tired that he could barely get out of the car and make it into the kitchen. This is unlike Grandpa because he was always very spry. It just indicates that he had been struggling with heart blockages for the better part of the summer; many stressful things happened, and he trudged on. Tommy told Grandpa that he should go to the doctor because he had two heart attacks and recognized that Grandpa was probably having a heart problem. Grandpa said that everyone has to go somehow...

As hard as it was for Grandpa to have died so suddenly, I am glad. I'm thankful that he did not recover only to be confined to a nursing home. He was not a man who could tolerate that after such an active life in the open outdoors. I think Grandpa knew his time was coming soon, and he had enough warning signs to get help. But it was his way of making sure he was able to live his life as the man he was until the end. He hoed to the end of his row, then passed away.

Since he died, I haven't been to the rescue squad at all. And I think it is partly because of this (other reasons: because it is very inconvenient being an hour away now and I don't have that kind of time). I don't know how I feel about trying to save people when it could be their time to go. I know that if it's their time, they will die no matter what. But I hate thinking about saving people just so they can be ill or less themselves for the rest of their lives. I understand that rescue squad is good, etc - but I don't think I can deal with it right now. So I have chosen to resign. It's a tough decision because I have invested lots of time into my training and certifications. And it was a big part of my life for a few years. I loved the adrenaline rushes and the thrill of helping people. But for my wellbeing right now, I do not think it fits into my agenda. I'm at peace with resigning and am so blessed to have a loving aunt who lead me to this peace without knowing it!

I do want to find some other way to serve my local community, soon. Any ideas??

Oh, the warmth!

This morning the skies were so blue and wonderful and the weather was so warm and balmy!! Dave and I were able to enjoy breakfast out on his deck for the first time in months. Birds were chirping their praises, and bees were buzzing about to see if, indeed, spring had arrived. Unfortunately, it has not but the weather does promise a respite this week from the cold, snowy days of the last few weeks.

This afternoon, we had a picnic in Purcell Park. We ate Jimmy John's subs, flew a kite, and played colorku until dark.

It really was a blissful day. I love the promise of spring and can't wait for it to arrive this year.

TLC :-)

Procrastination

It's snowing outside, and I cannot stay focused. I have a test tomorrow on the developmental milestones of pediatrics (gross motor, fine motor, oral motor, etc)... While this is a very enthralling subject, I am finding way too many distractions to get into. I would love to count on having a snow day tomorrow, but I know I will not be fortunate enough to have that happen two weeks in a row... Plus I get next week off of school (except Thursday) because all of my professors will be in Vegas at the national APTA conference. yay!!

So anyway, I figured I would write an update about Dave. I think it has been an emotional couple of days for the both of us because we realize just how fortunate we are that his injuries weren't as severe as they could have been. But at the same time, that does not lessen the pain and frustration he's experiencing. He saw an orthopedic NP today who seemed to be rather knowledgeable. She says his back will heal with conservative treatment. I don't understand how exactly because the bone will not reattach... but he didn't ask all the questions I would have. haha... Maybe I'll get to go to his next appointment and get the whole scoop on the matter.

Time to get back to my studies. I'll post something more crafty soon!!

~ Terisa

Painting Voodoo??

Yesterday, my boyfriend and his sister (Dave and Ellen) went skiing/snowboarding at Timberline in WVa. I was working at the Youth Development Center and couldn't go. But I was thinking about them all morning, so when it was craft time with the kids I decided to paint a picture of Dave skiing. I painted him going off a jump toward two trees despite a caution sign...

So I get a phone call from his sister at about 4:00. I knew it wasn't good because I knew they should be on the slopes until 4:30... She said she was following an ambulance with Dave in it. Apparently, he was going over a jump too fast and landed wrong, so he slid off the trail toward two trees. His skis hit one, which caused his back to slam into the other one... In the ER, they determined that he broke his back. He has displaced transverse process fractures from L1-3 (and maybe 4) on the Left. Fortunately that's all it was - no neurological damage.

He is going to an orthopedic doctor on Monday, hopefully. But now, he's in a bunch of pain - he has the most trouble sitting/laying down and standing up... And he's definitely getting the royal treatment (including breakfast in bed - pork roll, egg, and cheese!!).