Settling In... or Not

So I am at the end of my third week here in Meridian, Mississippi. You would think that I should be settling in but no. Monday I start at a new facility across town. The one downside to traveling...you go where you are needed. After all, they are paying a lot to use me. While I am not too excited about the change, I know it will be a challenge and I always learn a lot when I am challenged. It should be fun though. They have a program called "Rock and Roll" where they walk the patients followed by their wheelchairs with a boom box playing motivational tunes. So what tune was playing while the frail little 80 year old lady walked down the hall? Oh yeah, "Super Freak." Please someone make sure they play "Brick House" while I am shuffling down the hall with my walker.

So what have I been up to. Close enough to my brother now, so I have been able to visit and play with Laurel and Cole. I was shocked the other day when Laurel stated, "Excuse me, I need to text my boyfriend." She is five years old! I also loved her fake tattoo that she drew on her arm. When I asked what it said, she stated, "Jesus." How can you argue with that? She and I have a date this weekend. She has informed me that we will be painting our nails, going to mall, swimming and watching movies.



Last weekend I went to Mobile for a multitude of reasons. Had a dentist appointment. Was a little nervous about having to see a new dentist since mine was out for the day. Then he walked in...he was hot! I straighten my bib and wiped my mouth. Yep the day was looking up. Next I met with my real estate agent. It was very unexpected but I am selling my house. My tenant decided she is ready to buy. So we are starting the process. Hope to make enough to tuck away into an account and save for a down payment on my next purchase, where ever that may be. I still feel the happiest around mountains. I can picture it...a little cottage on some water and a little land. A view of the mountains in the background. A garden. A canoe. Hummmm. We will just have to see what God has in store for me. Friday night I drove out to the country and visited with an old friend from Mobile Infirmary. Bet is a wise woman and I always enjoy our conversations. The next day I went for a boat ride with a friend out on Mobile Bay and then docked on Dog River to eat lunch before heading back across the bay. What a great day for boating!!! I didn't realize there was light house out there. The weather was beautiful and nothing beats being on the water. Saturday night was girls night out. Me, Wendy and Monica had a great dinner before deciding we are all maw-maws and needed to go to bed.

Sunday I broke away from my baptist roots and joined the Catholic Church. Okay, so I didn't join the church, just attended. Why do you ask did I decide to do this? I drove across the bay to attend the christening of Henry, Angele's son. Angele is one of my dearest friends and I was excited to be a part of this service. After all, I am Aunt Deedah. It was nice visiting with Angele's family before I headed back to Meridian.



I have found a church within walking distance (if it wasn't so hot) from my apartment that I love. I am playing tennis at the North East Tennis Complex and taking private lessons. I truly love the game and I am very excited that my instructor helped me discover that I can hit a ball with top spin. Still trying to find someone to help me improve my guitar skills. I did find a photography class. I hope to start honing in on my skills again. Have "dinner night" once a week with the girls from work. I get to try new recipes and they get to enjoy. I just love finding guinea pigs.




Looking forward to some upcoming trips. Mom and I are going to Atlanta at the end of August for the Women of Faith Conference. We are going with some of my co-workers from my last assignment in Lineville. I am looking forward to visiting with them. Seana and I are planning to go to Indianapolis in October to visit with her friend and see Peyton!!! I just know he will be expecting me at the Colts game. Are you ready for some football?? Gotta buy a Peyton jersey now!!!

Will have to keep you updated on the new facility. Did I mention there are two buildings...one is mental health and the other skilled nursing. I am sure I will have stories!!!!

Hump back...crooked letter, crooked letter...

Is half of this year really gone? Time seems to be flying by with g-force speed. I completed my assignment in Lineville, Alabama. I made some really good friends while there and became very attached to some of my patients. One patient in particular, who provided endless hugs on a daily basis, touched me the most. With his flannel shirt, overalls and John Deer hat, he never failed to hand me a piece of peppermint after giving me my hug. I learned that saying "no thank you" would not work. By the time I left, I had three large cups full of peppermint. When he cried telling me good bye, the water works started for me.
I will miss my new friends but feel certain that I will return to visit at some point. I may even return and compete in a tennis tournament that the town is planning in August or September. I truly enjoyed my scheduled Tuesday and Thursday night tennis matches and will miss that greatly. My tennis partner, while about 25 years older than me still managed to run me all over the court.



I had no problem packing up and leaving the B & B. I had no problem saying goodbye to critters and old musty smells. While I am certain that I will always remember that experience and Virginia, it is one that I don't want to revisit any time soon. I am looking forward to having a place of my own. Speaking of that...



My next assignment will be in Meridian, Mississippi. I have been requesting an assignment close to home. Looks like I hit the jackpot. The kicker is that for the past 7-8 years, my brother has resided in Meridian, Ms. Not any more. Just spent a busy and exhausting 3 days helping clean, pack and move my brother to Kosciusko, Ms. Yep, I move in, they move out. Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor and that I am not the center of his comedy act. None-the-less, this is the closest I have been to my family in over 3 and half years. My mom is more than elated. I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and friends.



So what have I been doing with myself for the past 3-4 months. Exploring as usual. Hanging out with Seana on the lake. Visiting friends. Shooting my gun. Shopping. Playing tennis. Baking. Cooking. Hiking. Driving back roads. Packing. Dating. Reading. Playing piano and guitar. Working. Going to church. Baseball games. Baby-sitting for friends so they can have date night...I think that covers it in a nut shell. I am not really sure. I am pretty certain that I have developed dementia by osmosis and my memory is not that good any more. Let's just hope that I am pleasantly confused and not angry and aggressive as my dementia progresses. I just have one request of my family and friends. Please for the love of God pluck the hairs from my chin, roll my saggy boobs up into a bra, and comb out my bed head. I may be demented one day but it doesn't mean that I don't still want to look good.



I learned a lot from my last assignment. Nothing like life to give you a good dose of reality. Through experiences that I really don't want to get into, I feel that I am a lot more open minded. I also am more certain of things, including what I want and don't want. Funny how relationships can do that to you. That country girl that I told to take a hike three years ago fought her way back and has emerged. Yes, you heard it correctly. I like the charm of a small town, the feel of a community, and I wouldn't mind living at the end of a dirt road out in the country. My dream...lots of land with a cottage and a place to grow a garden. I want simplicity. And while I think that a man dressed up in a suit and shiny shoes is very attractive, there is nothing like a man in his work boots who is covered from head to toe in dirt. Yes, small town living took me back to when I grew up in a town with just over 1,400 people. There is something about slowing down that is calming. Now I will still complain when I can't find what I need to cook at the local Piggly Wiggly but I know I will survive.



I am looking forward to Meridian and seeing what God has in store for me. I feel more confused than ever about where it is that I am suppose to be but with that confusion also comes anticipation and excitement. I feel that I am closer than ever to settling down, what ever that means (I hope that I never lose my drive to explore). I have learned to be specific with my prayers, to pray often, and I am learning to love without limits no matter what the consequences. Okay, I will stop before I get too deep even for me. Hope everyone has a great summer.

Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...

Wow, hello May. Where did the month of April go? Shall we take a look back over the past few weeks. I went to a surprise birthday party Friday. I suppose it was was surprise for all since I really didn't know anyone. I did before the night was over. All the little old ladies made sure to introduce themselves to me and welcome me to Clay County. Turned out to be a fun night. I was pumped up for a hike in Cheaha. Mother nature however, had other plans. On to plan B...a trip to the McWane Science Center in Birmingham with a friend. What a fun place!! The kid in me definitely came out and I had a blast. I laid on a bed of nails and briefly considered a career as a magician. I forgot that and quickly turned to car and body mechanics as I assembled my very on car to race around the magnetic track. The five year old next to me looked very satisfied and delighted that his car was faster than mine. Next it was on to test my reflexes and response time as I competed with a robot. I wasn't so good at the expert level and the little girl that was watching was very quick to inform me, "You are losing. The robot is beating you." Ouch, a shot to my ego from a 7 year old. A quick break for an IMAX movie and then it was on to shopping. I was salivating thinking about lettuce wraps at PF Chang's but immediately lost my appetite after we were told about the 90 minute wait. At the recommendation of my friend Wendy, we drove along Cahaba Heights Road and looked for a unique "mom and pop" restaurant. We chose this little hole in the wall place. Mediterranean cuisine...yummy. I love that our food came out in our own glass casserole dish. I thoroughly enjoyed my food and was not the least little bit deterred by the tornado siren roaring in the background. Who knew that I was living in tornado ally? Watch the radar from now on. Any storm coming from Mississippi rolls right through here and it happens in the afternoon and at night.



The weekend before was fun filled and very much needed. My friend Seana and I decided at the last minute to go to the beach, trying to prove that we are still spontaneous as we age. My mission was to toss a mullet at the annual Mullet Toss. Unfortunately the line was really long and I preferred to relax on the beach. I can't begin to explain how awesome the weather the was. Lying on my lounge chair under an umbrella with the rolling waves before me was heaven. Until the off duty cop from Ohio showed up with his friends. Every other word was an explicative and he stood in a stance ready to pounce. He was not impressive and more like a character in Revenge of the Nerds with his swim shorts pulled up to his chest. Oh the people watching. It was wonderful. I took a book but just could not get involved because I was too busy looking around. Let's see what else. Oh yeah, we got stuck in the sand. Apparently Seana's jeep is not 4-wheel drive and the close parking space was not the rock star parking I thought it was. Lucky for us, there was an abundance of people willing to help us. I easily flagged down a big truck with two eager guys willing to help in exchange for our parking place. A quick connection of a chain, a little tug and we were on our way. Now I am forgetting something...oh yeah, did I mention all the freaks we encountered. Gone are the days of sending subtle cues "I am not interested." Guys seem to ignore those now. Just short of turning our backs completely away from this one particular guy, Seana and I finally had to walk away. I did love his pick-up line though-"It was something in your eyes that drew me to you." Looks like I will be wearing my poker glasses from now on. We ended our beach weekend by visiting some old friends in Mobile and eating lunch with some new friends at one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Mobile.



Two months left here in Clay County. Where to next? Only time will tell. Hopefully I will be working my way back closer south just in time for hurricane season.

Annie Get Your Gun and Glittered Eggs

Wow it has been a long time since I blogged. Please don't mistake my absence from writing as an indication that I have not been doing anything. It has more to do with a pact that I made with myself. I recently completed a book titled "One Month to Live" (a recommended read) which is all about looking at your life from the perspective that you are dying. What would you change? What would you do differently? The question then is why not do all of those things now? Why wait? Anyway, during one of the chapters it has you evaluate your time and determine if it is productive and purposeful. No big surprise, playing on my computer, surfing the world wide web, getting sucked into facebook, ect consumed a lot of my time. I decided then to limit my activity on the computer.

So now that I am not spending as much time playing on the computer, what have I been up to? I bought a pistol and have been practicing shooting it. After my first class, I hit three out of four targets dead on. I have almost talked myself into going back to school to get my doctorate degree and I am currently studying for the GRE. I have been playing my guitar more and finally finishing the stack of books I been meaning to read.

I have recently decided to extend my contract here in Lineville, Alabama. I know you are asking, "what would possess you to extend in a podunk town like Lineville?" Well, I like the job and the people, so I figured I could handle another three months. I am also excited to be in this area for the spring and summer...hiking, fishing, etc. Besides, I feel like a local now. I don't hear "you are not from here are you?" as often, and when I hear gossip in the office now, I actually know who they are talking about. My favorite quote here is, "I don't like to gossip, but did you hear about..." Yep, I have learned the lingo. They don't have breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have breakfast, dinner and supper. They often get "tarred" meaning they are exhausted and they cook over "fars". Forget grammer and rules of English. They really don't exist. I cringe every time I hear a double negative, slang words, or improper use of past tense or plurals. I have learned that sweet milk is the same as buttermilk and goes great on cornbread all mashed up. I also have it on good authority that biscuits are great when dropped into coffee. I am no longer shocked to see an 85 year old lady dipping snuff, and I have just about gotten used to hearing the female anatomy referred to as "pocket book or purse." I just hope that I can tolerate Virginia for three more months.





This past weekend I was able to go home and visit with my family for Easter. As usual I anticipated and welcomed the chaos that accompanies having a house full of kids under the age of six. Being the great aunt that I am, I took the kids to the playground. My instructions were "wear them out so they will take a nap." They had fun pretending Mason was a dragon and they were running from him all over the castle. After a long afternoon on the playground, we returned home to make a big chocolate chip cookie for my brother's birthday. They lost interest with baking when mom decided to let them dye eggs and add glitter to them. Not to worry, their attention returned to the cookie when it was time to lick the bowl. We had a successful Easter egg hunt. I think we only lost one egg. Mom threw a new twist on hunting eggs and put money in some of them. So instead of assessing how much candy and how many eggs they each had at the end of the hunt, they were counting their money. Why didn't mom do this when we were kids? I then endured being tackled by my nephews and loved every minute of it.
Saturday we went downtown for the race and enjoyed some music from a local band. Laurel entertained us all by dancing all around the stage, by herself of course. Yes, I adore my niece and nephews and love spending time with them. They never fail to put you in your place and they frequently say things that make you laugh hysterically. My time off for Easter was too short. Back to work.





I am looking forward to warm weather and being able to get outside and enjoy it. Hope to be able to visit with some of you soon.