If you plow it...

Dear Maintenance:

People will want to come to work, since they won't slip on ice in the parking lot.

Some of us can't wait until next week when it warms up, since we have patients to take care of now. And most of them don't need to be traipsing over all that snow and ice, either.

That is all.

Yours sincerely,

RehahRN

TGIF!

Yes, I'm glad it's Friday. The heat and stormy weather may be back, but the weekend is here.

Hooray!

Stay tuned...who knows what fun Bubba will find this weekend.

I'm sure you're jealous...

Yes, I actually had a couple of people say they were jealous of me today.

I am terribly lucky. I have a job I love that has intermittent idiotic things happening. That saying "you can't fix stupid" really is so true in my day-to-day life. I just strive to work around it. My favorite idiot this week: our surly office secretary. Yes, she's supposed to answer the phone, file, sort mail and process time cards, but heaven forbid she do any more than she has to do. Her job includes providing customer service to phone callers. She's so useless in that regard, and I'm tired of the complaints, that I'm asking all those wronged to file formal complaints because that's the only thing she seems to understand. (Reprimands are expensive at Madison...)


On a beautiful spring day, I headed up to our mother ship, Washington and was working on a site-wide demo with the kids (our new techs) from the SU. It was fun. I got to meet one of my nursing counterparts who works in another rehab unit. A. got me plenty of marketing materials for one of our programs (and hers) so I worked it over and put it out at the Hotel. She was thrilled.

I took my time on the way back. The sunshine-filled day had me taking the back roads to the office, so I made sure I called my favorite restaurant and picked up lunch for Dahey, my travelling partner and me.

Happy Friday all. Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are.

Out of the mouths of babes

I always call myself an "amateur mother" because, with only one kid, I feel that I am. I do not have to manage the chaos that is two or more kids vomiting at the same time. I call WildDog my furry kid, but he's pretty self-sufficient. I guess it's that herding breed or something.

Bubba and random kids have given me much food for thought lately.

"Mom, what's your favorite kind of cherry: the tart ones or maraschinos?" Bubba
Translation: I really want you take me to Bobby's Famous Frozen Custard for that ice cream you get me. I did get him distracted by arguing the merits of Rainier cherries.


"He won't come down when you call. Why?" Little girl at McDonald's recently about Bubba
My answer: He will when I tell him I'm leaving without him. He thinks climbing to the top of the play land and hiding in the tallest part until he gets threats is fun. Crazy boy.

"Mom, I think there's a storm watch. Do we go to higher ground?" Bubba
Somehow, I don't think the recent severe weather practice drill was as informative as when I was in school. I remember the bad old days: teachers had everyone in the central halls, all the classroom doors closed, and everyone was crouched with our heads tucked to avoid flying debris.

Luckily, after that first big hail storm in kindergarten, things were pretty boring at school after that. All the exciting weather, like the blizzard that closed school for a week, happened when kids were at home.


"Dad, do you know you were alive when the Super Bowl started?" Bubba
My child loves math and if you give him a few facts he starts calculating. Ah, like my parents, I have delusions of grandeur: chemist, biologist, pharmacist, engineer, doctor. In reality, Bubba is lucky: all of his aunts and great aunts have done those jobs. (The uncles are the docs.) Or even a nurse (or nursing professor) like his cousins.

What better role models for a boy to have? Aunts, uncles, and cousins in interesting jobs they find fun. That a dream I hope everyone gets to see reality. My job may be crazy, but despite Manglement's perverted view of promoting nurses' work to the "highest level of practice" by denying any education opportunity THEY might have to pay for, they can't take the enjoyment away.

From 0 to 60

It sure seemed like my day went like that this morning. I got in, started and away I went. I even volunteered to judge a contest at work. (Thankfully, I won't be judging my coworkers.)

The weather was unseasonably warm in our neck of the woods, so I was enjoying every second of it.

Ice and snow surely will be lurking out there somewhere...stay tuned.

That's more like it!

Weather: Sunny, with hot and muggy temperatures.

Air quality: the fine smell of charcoal is wafting around the neighborhood as people grill. Not as much as usual, though, since everyone's getting those gas grills.

Mood: Bubba has taken a break from playing outside. All is good.

All the ingredients of a great holiday weekend, which ends for me tomorrow. Back to work for the holiday. I can't complain.


Stay tuned.

Smiling Saturday

Yes, we have a budget! I like the sound of a paycheck.

Despite the downpour early this morning, the weather is pretty. I visited with a friend, too, which capped it off.
Now I get to go back for another round as charge nurse today, with a break after that for a while.  It should be fun.

Stay tuned...

Go to Plan B

Decide you're going to clean out the garage today. Look at weather forecast. Notice large chunk of rain heading your way.

Too late to go hide under the covers! Now it's time to go to Plan B. We'll see what happens, so stay tuned.

A weekend scene at the Hotel

Full house (with a couple of empty beds 'cause no one else can go in that room...).
Nothing going on for entertainment (That happened Friday).
Beautiful weather. (Translation: everyone who can be will be outside smoking, since they froze the last few weeks).

And I'm stuck at the Hotel when I could be washing the thick crystals of salt and grit off my car with the millions of other people thinking the same thing....priceless.

I'm so glad it's not a full moon. Maybe someone will get discharged soon, so we can have some quiet.

Stay tuned!