Hero Pose

I haven't taken a major exam in years. I was originally scheduled to take the CRRN in June (Certified Rehabilitaion Registered Nurse) but due to multiple personal explosions I realized the chances of my passing were about the same as a Unicorn showing up at my house with a bag of money. The problem is it's only given twice a year - June and December so it was a very hard decision for me as I'd been studying nonstop and delaying it six months.....but as I reviewed my notes I found I could not retain any of it, my mind just went pelting in 900 different directions. And since my job is paying for it let me tell you, there is an extrodinary amount of pressure. Because EVERYONE knows you're taking it, all your supervisors, a whole department knows. And there has been only one person that failed. One.  I did not wish to be the second one to fail. 

I waited.

I scheduled for the last day possible in December as we had planned to travel to Washington state earlier in the month. I could have done it prior to our vacation but if I didn't pass what a sad hamster I would have been for our trip! Eek. I'd been studying all along but when I got back I ramped it up, Christmas found me with a review book and a list of cranial nerves. I was scheduled to take it on 12/27 at 8am in Pittsburgh so I left work a little early the day before. I had rented a hotel room about 5 miles from the test site as it's about an hour and a half drive with no traffic from my house - with traffic it's about 3 days, give or take. I located the test site, drove to my hotel and settled in to continue studying. The hotel is very close to CHP which I had not realized, but it explained why my room had a full kitchen in it. That was fun by the way even though I had not planned on cooking. 

I arrived at the test site a little early to go over my notes one last time. Since with all the fun technology people have gotten very creative with cheating, taking these tests is not an easy task. You sign in, everyone goes in a group to the room, you sign in again. When you're called you sign in again, show ID, get your picture taken, all of your belongings are taken and locked up. You are warned against talking, looking at other people, staying in your cubical, if you need to go to the bathroom there is only one allowed, you're on video monitors at all times. You're not even allowed to bring your own pencil! The test was 175 questions - certification tests to me are the most difficult. You only have to taken one, but they require you to know an ocean full of information for a thimble full of answers including Homogeneous hemiagnosia - why yes, I did panic a little, thank you for asking. At the end you hit the submit test button, I took a deep breath and made myself do it -  I could have gone over the anwers til the end of time but I know if I review them more than once I'll start changing them. And then change them again. and again. I sat there while it calculated thinking about  rescheduling to take it again in June, paying another testing fee.........

I passed. 

It prints out a sheet stating this fact and I kept thinking it should print out a Tee Shirt that says I DID TOO PASS, the relief! Followed by the elation! All that studying paid off.  I called my mentor from the parking lot and she picked up on the first ring. Then I texted my directors, then.... I went home. Because I was beyond fried. I did go to the graveyard nearby for a victory lap and then home. I am so glad that's done, 

and I am very, very proud of myself. 

Nonstop Action

The twins are two now - it's amazing how much they change from visit to visit. They talk, they run, want to help out - they never stop. Staying with toddlers is a bit like having a somewhat naughty octopus follow you around all the time.  Every time you pick something up twenty fingers need to see, they slide around your plate, slink under doors that are closed since you're obviously doing something amazing. When they want down or refuse to do what is asked they squid away and slide to the floor in liquid form. But two is such a fun age, they giggle and shriek, thank yous are solemn. When they fall (frequently) they shout OK! in those hilarious baby voices

They dress like lunatics. 

When we got to visit we spend a great deal of time babysitting - we get up with the girls so their parents can sleep in. We sent Brandi and Jackson out a couple of times for the day so they could have some time to shop, eat a meal, just sit. We spent time together, we went to the beach a couple of times between the rain drops - it's that time of the year there, we made one attempt at out to dinner but with kids it's a crap shoot at best. We lasted about long enough for the food to hit the table, then one decided she wished to go trick or treating, the other one was on board with that and they both ended up in the lobby while Papa paid the tab and Dada boxed up the food to take home. I'm glad to see though that Brandi and Jackson don't have an issue with that, Brandi said sometimes you can make it through the whole meal, other times not so much.

But I'd rather pack it up and go than subject an entire restaurant to two unhappy screaming kids. I don't get when parents do that - are you really having any fun? And what kind of point are you making to a toddler? Ugh. But it was so much fun to spend time with all of them, it goes so fast!

All In A Day

It's been hard with Jackson and Brandi living so far - but one of the things that compensates for it is I've probably seen Kim and Stephen more in the past 3 years than I have in the past 35 years. Kim and I have known each other since elementary school and have been best friends since high school. She got married and moved to Virginia when we graduated, they move to Vermont. We moved to West Virginia. Billrica for them, the Poconos for us. Oregon - Pennsylvania. We've been bouncing all over but we've never lost contact. Phone calls, letters, texts, Facebook, we rarely go more than a week without some contact even if it's just  a sentence or a call on my way home from work. 

All of our visits here they've missed just one. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate their taking the time to drive the 5 hours up to Whidbey Island to spend a couple of days with us twice a year. I know they'd love for us to come see Thieu home but they also understand how limited our time is with the girls and thier parents so they make the trek up to us. This time around they stayed in Coupeville, a small touristy waterfront town about 20 minutes from here. They did the AirBNB and were pretty pleased with it, $79 off season got them a lovely townhouse overlooking the water. They came over yesterday morning and we had a brunch with everyone. Delilah and Chloe were in their glory, all these adults paying attention to them plus all the bacon you could eat to boot. The girls are getting old enough that they remember people and were happily going from lap to lap.

After we went back to Coupeville just to walk around the village - I'm sure in the summer it's overrun with visitors! Lots of little gift and art stores, I bought a couple of things. There's a yarn and gift shop and I got a skein of hand dyed sock yarn, the owner told us the merchant community is very upset with the mayor who is allowing the street construction during the holiday shopping season. She said it's hard enough to stay afloat during the off season and now there's no parking and no through fair. After we finished shopping we headed back to Oak Harbor - you do NOT want to eat in Coupeville, it's super expensive! We had looked at one which appeared to be a local bar and grill so I pulled it up on Yelp. The reviews described it as a "local dive" and the lunch prices were about $20 a meal for what appeared to be standard bar fare. Yikes! The day was spent catching up, we literally talked all day about everything, it was wonderful. This morning we saw them for breakfast before hugging them tightly goodbye, I'm sad we really only get one day, but what a day we get. 

So Far So Good

The trip here was good - not sure if it was just a good flight or we're getting used to this routine. The only bump in the road was my phone - I had set my alarm for 1:30am to make sure we had time - isn't that crazy for a 6 am flight? But we have to get up and dressed, it's about an hour to the airport, drop off the  car at Globe Parking (that is the only place we park!) then arrive two hours prior to the flight so 1:30am it is. Right before I went to bed I checked my phone and went to respond to a text - it was stuck in No Service, Emergency calls only mode. ARRGH! It's done this before so that meant scouring the internet to remember how to get it out. The last time this happened I just took the battery out but this phone has a non removable battery of course. After about 45 minutes I gave it up, I needed to get to sleep and nothing was working. At first I couldn't sleep because it stressed me out so badly - but David has a phone and it was not the end of the world so I gave it up and feel asleep.

The Phone Fairies fixed it. 

We dropped the car off at Globe Parking and yes this is shout out to them - they get your luggage out of the car for you, completely fast and efficient, they even have oil change, car cleaning services for while you're gone, drive you to the airport and drop you off at your gate. When we get home they pick up and in the winter your car is warmed up and waiting for you - plus they're much cheaper than parking at the airport, can't beat that, can you?

The only great thing about having to get there two hours is it gives you tons of time to drink coffee. The first flight was short but fun, the plane was only half full, David and I were sitting in separate aisles - I was going to ask him to sit with me but he was already deep in his book so we both enjoyed a full row of seats. The next flight was full and very long, almost 5 hours. But I had my knitting, David had his Robert B. Parker books to keep him entertained, it was relaxing. We arrived with about an hour before the shuttle came - we don't rent a car because most of the time we're with the family and we are welcome to borrow a vehicle. It's a two hour plus ride even with the shuttle, but it's a very pleasant one. The ferry ride is the best, the lake we cross is huge and breathtaking,and of course there's coffee. The drop off is about 20 minutes from Jackson and Brandi's house, the girls were napping when we got here but it gave us time to get settled in and to see Jackson and Brandi. The best part now  is they both remember us - we video chat with them quite often too. But they came running in yelling Nana and Papa to give big hugs and kisses, worth every mile we had to fly. We're seeing Kim and Stephen tomorrow, they're driving up from Oregon and we'll spend the day with them, family and best friends - you can't ask for more,

can you?

We're Still Having Fun And You're Still The One

Do you realized we've had Molly for over six years? It doesn't seem possible that Team Molly&Reuben are about eight. I've said this a million times but we've never had a pair of dogs so wonderfully, perfectly matched to each other - he's the cream in her coffee, she's the baked in his beans. She was the dog we didn't intend to get, we weren't looking for - my Pearl had passed away so suddenly and we weren't even sure we wanted another dog. Reuben was suddenly a quiet dog, the bounce was gone out of his step. He was still our loveable Boo, but there was sadness about him now. We knew he missed his best friend Pearl so much - so did we.

Then about 2 months after Pearl passed the breeder we got Reuben from posted a picture of the last of 8 dogs rescued from a very, very bad situation. The second we saw that picture we were contacting Matt and Ruth, then Justin and Stephanie, then the Miami Valley Rescue, and then, she was here. It was fun for about ......10 seconds. It got fun again, but it took about 6 months. Rescue dogs, unlike those little videos on Facebook do not fall in love with you right away - Molly had gone from bad, to good (6 months in a foster home) to the Great Unknown. She tried to eat our cat. She had no interest in listening to us - who the hell were we anyhow? But.... she loved 

Reuben. A Lot. 

David said months later that there were times those first few weeks he was sure we'd made a mistake, that this would not work. But she learned how to live in our house, we learned that when she asks to go out, she needs to go out. And if you don't get up there will be a nice little gift for you in the center of the staircase. She learned to listen - I had one charming incident where some poor man had to sit for about 5 minutes in the road while I chased her around his pickup truck, Reuben trotting behind enjoying this new game ( actually the man was laughing his butt off). But through all of this Molly and Reuben have been tighter than Bonnie and Clyde, where one goes the other goes, a biscuit for one, a biscuit for both. 

I wish more people would consider a rescue dog - she was a lot of work but at the end of the day she has been worth it. And Reuben would tell you she's the best thing that ever walked through his door, every day he wakes up to a best friend to spend time with - and get in trouble with- and maybe, bother the cat with. We are very particular to Vizslas and it's ok to like a certain breed, it's also ok to buy them from breeders if they are responsible ones. The people we got Reuben from - and Pearl - love the breed and have only  one or two litters a year, their dogs live in the house, not out in a pen - they have good lives. And even better the breeder is part of a rescue, which for us turned out to be a very, very good thing.

Drill and Fill

So I had a dentist appointment today for a cleaning and to replace a filling that had come lose in the back.  He took a look at it and used that horrid little metal hook that twangs sometimes when it gets caught on (me)something. Well the dentist said I'm not going to bother using novacaine and proceded to start drilling I just opened my mouth- at this point there's not much on the tooth that's real, if anything. It's a crown with a root canal to boot, the type of tooth that pays for vacations. But as always I just grateful I have teeth to call my own, crooked and a little discolored they may be. It's been a long road with me and my teeth, hasn't it?

I have genetically bad teeth - one dentist told me I have what's called "soft teeth" with little natural enamel, despite my brushing religiously, even in elementary school when my friends were tryng to see how long they could go before a parent noticing, flossing, waterpiks, I've had a staggering amount of cavities and dental work. My first dentist - who shall go unnamed - terrified me. He drilled my babyteeth, then they came out and he drilled the adult teeth - it was insanely painful for me despite the novacaine he said he used, the needles almost as painful as the drilling. However, please keep in mind this is my recollection and one that was compounded by fear. 

I hated him.

Then I became an adult and I did try a few other dentists but my fear usually overcame any common sense and eventually, I just stopped going. This was a bad decision on my part but it was the one I made. I didn't go to a dentist for almost 4 years and during that time my teeth did not take a vacation. I told myself I couldn't afford it, but you know, if you need to you can, can't you? My teeth got worse. David couldn't convince me to go, people would make comments and I would ignore it thinking it wasn't so bad. It was. Then I started college as an adult and I was getting very self concious about it, I stopped smiling. I developed toothaches. And then one day the throbbing would not stop no matter what I did - a friend of my sister's told me to go to Dr. Cuba. I did because I was out of options and Dr. Cuba pulled the tooth, there was no saving it. He told me could fix this but I needed to come back. 

I didn't.

By then the pain started again and I called and told the secretary I needed an appointment to have all my teeth pulled, I was done. I heard her repeat that to Dr. Cuba and then heard him yell YOU TELL HER TO QUIT FOOLING AROUND AND GET IN HERE OR DON'T BOTHER COMING BACK". So.....I did. He knew how phobic I had become and he promised if I kept my appointments he would not hurt me - I kept my word and he kept his. My first appointments were rough, they were 2 hour blocks with breaks, if he saw me so much as flinch he stopped and gave me more novacaine - there were days when I walked out of his office you could have hit me in the face with a shovel and I would have kept walking. He pulled a few more teeth in the back and then continued drilling - he filled over 50 cavities, I stopped counting after awhile. It was a hard thing to do for me, but I got over my fear realizing it didn't have to hurt  - Dr. Cuba told me to always do what I had to, you can pull teeth but you can't put them back. And mine are not perfect by a long stretch - but they ARE mine. 

Loser

After you've been married for awhile you tend to get used to each other faults- doesn't mean it won't drive you crazy, but you get used to it. You casually throw out death threats while drinking your coffee, you can say "I'm going to kill you in a minute" just as easily as you say "I love you". I'm sure David has a laundry list of what I do that he can't stand, but after 35+ years the good still outweighs the bad with both of us. 

David decided to go hunting last week late in the afternoon, put Reuben's little vest and collar on him and loaded his excited butt into the van. He came back and got his stuff, then discovered his vest was missing - I was trying to do something at the table when he asked if I'd seen it. No, I hadn't. Was I sure and he went on to give such a detailed description that if the vest had committed a crime the FBI would have caught it right away just based on the exact likeness he'd conjured up. No, I hadn't seen it. He went upstairs and rummaged around like there was a herd of elephants assisting him, then clomped down to the basement to repeat the process. As he passed he asked me again -

I will kill you. Now. 

Reuben meanwhile (oh, did you forget about him? Bad you!)was in the van losing his shit since he'd been waiting for over 10 minutes and was now freaking out. David trotted BACK UP THE STAIRS  to rummage again - No I haven't! - and then back down to the cellar, then out to the porch - I had gotten nothing done except plot his demise - David thought this was pretty harsh but it was the only way I could figure out how to escape this hell. He was on his way out to look in his van and to make sure Reuben hadn't started to eat the upholstery in a random act of revenge. I got up and opened the basement door and there, hanging on a nail right by the door was the hunting vest. I knew this due to the magnificent description I had gotten. At this point David had started looking in my car (???) so I pitched it down to him, nonchalantly threw another I should kill you after it and sent him on his way. I'm sure we'll be repeating this again soon. 

Puttng A Face On It.

Ah, the wall - Trump has asked for 5 billion to build it, his blind followers I'm sure are supporting it. Good theory - keeping "them" out, but my question is, who are they? It's easy to lump a group together when they are not a part of your day, I've often said being a racist is easy unless the person you're being racist against is standing right in front of you - funny how things change once it goes from "they" to "you". I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing that woman with the two girls photographed running from tear gas, one by the hand and the other carried. Damn Illegal, right? Did you know what made her walk all those hundreds of miles to a country that does not want her? With such a slim chance of getting in? That she came with her 5 children, all this way - was it bad parenting? Wanting a free ride?

Where she's from is overrun with gangs and cartels, her daughter has gotten older and the gang members are starting to sexually harrass her - she cannot fight them. At best her daughter faces being forced to be one of thier girlfriends - at worst, gang rape for resisting. Ask yourself - wouldn't you run too and take your chances for the safety of your child? But then they interviewed someone else and I wish I could remember her name. But surprisingly she didn't think the caravan should be let into the country and I agree wholely, there is not another nation in the world that would allow that and we would be foolish to do so. The speaker went on to talk about a social project that was done in a city in Honduras where they took the model from a gang infested town here and used it there.

They opened a center for the kids to go, family therapy was free, they made it possilbe for people to testify safely against the gang members to the extreme of a witness being carried into the courtroom in closed box using a voice distorter for a sucessful conviction. In two years they decreased murder in this town by 63%, gang members were routinely being convicted - it worked. And maybe that's the answer - as far as cost wouldn't it be easier and more cost effective to help them fix their country so they can live there, rather then us have to support them? I loved this answer, it would not be easy but in the long run it would benefit our nation too, not to mention the best scenario financially. And before you say not my problem - did you know the flow of heroin has tripled and meth quadrupled in the past few years from south of the border? It is our problem.