The Cyst-er

January 23, 2013

The quick and unusual onset of my condition caused the normal functions of life (walking, showering, cooking) to be more difficult. Although my range of function has been improving, the process of doing all of these things is quite exhausting. Not one that asks for help easily, my mom offered to come down for a while and help and I didn’t refuse.

In the past, I have had issues with a cyst that appears in the tailbone region aka a Pilonidal Cyst. Because of my other condition, I have been laying down a lot, which caused my little cyst-er to flair. I have managed this in the past with a heat treatment. Well, this one reared the ugliest head yet, as a trip to the ER was called for to get it drained.

During this time, I wasn’t really feeling the pain in my legs as my bum-chum trumped it all. The draining process took it all to another level!

During one of my wound-repacking sessions, a doctor told me a story about a woman who went through the same thing I did shortly after the birth of her child. She said that when she compared the two experiences – delivering a child and cyst slaughter – the pain during the draining process was much worse.

So, as I waddled slowly out of the doctor’s office I thought two things: as my mom had both me and my sister naturally I always figured I could do it too. Now, I knew that I could.

           

God’s hand was definitely at work in this as while my mom came down to help me recover from one condition, she was there to walk with me through another one. Thanks mom for being there!

Awake My Soul

January 16, 2013   

        

For Thanksgiving I went to PA to visit a friend. While there, she told be of this book she wanted to write that would take 52 pieces of her art work and compile them into a journal allowing people to sit and reflect on one painting per week for a year. Looking for a creative outlet, I jumped on the chance to offer my help by doing the layout for the book.

            So for the past month and a half emails have been flying back a forth between us as the project progresses to completion. Finally a printed version was ordered to start the editing process. Here we are going through the edits via skype. My mind baffled by what technology allows us to do these days!

This has been an awesome learning experience, as it has pushed my creativity and caused me to continue learning and stretching. The deadline is fast approaching. I look forward to its day of completion! 

Start the New Year in Bed

January 3, 2013

             

The New Year did not start out as I thought it would. I thought I would experience a new sense of freedom as a debt free woman (eat that student loan!). Instead, I find myself unable to stand up or walk without feeling unimaginable pain. The cause has yet to be discovered or pin pointed. All I know is that before this, I only thought I knew what pain was. 

2012 Stats

Heading South for the Winter

December 23-17, 2012

My favorite Shark's tooth

 I hit a first in the Christmas realm this year – I headed south. Joining all of the other snowbirds, I headed to Florida for a short break in the cold winter months. As my Dad was there for the winter, I spent Christmas with him, my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. Did it feel like Christmas? Well, I had a closer glimpse at what it might be like to live in the Southern Hemisphere in December: we went to the beach to look for sharks’ teeth, borrowed the neighbor’s gulf cart to go on a Christmas Lights tour around the park, and even made to the pool on one occasion.

Dad on the bridge of our canopy walk

Still the regular traditions shown through the unusual atmosphere: classic Christmas movies, amazing food (yeah Uncle Erv), and a special time with family. 

Blankets with Sleeves

December 18, 2012

I saw this on pinterest and thought it was absolutely hilarious....

Then, low and behold, what does my boss get me for Christmas?

Bless.

Peppermint Shake Hunt

December 8, 2012

            On November 13^th, I found the following ad in my email inbox:

On Decemeber 7^th, my Chick-fil-a milkshake buddy, Laura Messerly, was passing through Durham on her way home to Maryland. I had decided I was going to hold out until then to have my first peppermint shake of the season.

December 7^th came. She arrived, and we headed up the road to Chick-fil-a. We even invited a third person to enjoy one of these wonderful shakes for the first time. Tragedy struck 3.2 seconds after we walked in the door. The ice cream machine was broken! As it was nearing closing time for the store, we were rocked so horrifically we didn’t quite know how to cope.

As we headed outside, we determined we didn’t have enough time to make it to the next Chick-fil-a before it closed. Shakes still needed to happen, so we headed down the road to Cookout.

The next morning, we rallied our spirits and decided to give it one final effort. After all, we both had waited 25 days for this. Success was achieved. That peppermint goodness was well worth the effort.

The Christmas Season

Christmas has arrived in Apt A. 

The garland is hung. 

The tree is shimmering. 

A cold chill is in the air. I love this time of year! This year an added bonus exists in the form of my roommate. She is from Taiwan. I love telling her about the crazy traditions that Americans have around the holidays. For one of them, I decided to show her instead of just tell her. And here is the result:

Paper Snow Flakes!

Plenty to be Thankful For

November 21-25, 2012

The Irving Berlin song “I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful For” runs through my head as I relive this year’s Thanksgiving experience.

1.             My car got me there. I have been having issues with my car for almost a year now, and she is still holding in there--enough to make the 6.5-hour drive to PA. I took a chance. It panned out.
2.       Realizing that I have somehow made myself an honorary member of several families. The fabulous Schmidt family was one that I got to spend Thanksgiving with this year! A shout out to Kara for the table decorations. Nice.
   
3.       Great friends that love ice cream as much as I do!
4.       Dessert Crepes!
5.       and the great opportunity to see friends live by holding nothing back!

I got to help Aletheia sell her merchandise at an art fair.

A Quick Turn-around

November 9-12, 2012

Michigan and North Carolina aren’t exactly close together. When the opportunity arises to catch a ride up to my birth state, I ask, “when are we leaving?”

Some might think it is silly to spend two days in a car just to see relatives for two days. In my mind, it is totally worth it! Plus, I have always been a big fan of road trips. When I travel further than 5 hours in a car, the rest of the time just blurs together as I lose track and get lost in my thoughts or a great book I brought along for the ride.

This road trip had an awesome bonus in that I didn’t have to drive at all! When you can find someone who finds driving a car just as therapeutic as you find riding in one, you know the trip is going to be good.

Whenever I go back home, time has a way of slowing down. As some signs of change are evident in the changing of store fronts or those who were once small children are on the verge of graduating high school, I also love to find those timeless things from my childhood that haven’t changed.

Sitting around a table, enjoying true moments of laughter is one that I will cherish always. Thanks to family and friends for etching those moments into my memory time and time again.

Nice to Meet You Mr. President

October 29, 2012

Yup, it is official. Dr. Todd Voss is now the president of Southern Wesleyan University. Although he has been in power for over a year, the inauguration to commemorate this great event took place just 3 days ago. I can’t claim to be invited by the president himself, but his daughter-in-law, who just happened to be my roommate from college, extended the invitation to me.  At the last minute I accepted, as hurricane Sandy rolled in to cancel a trip I was supposed to go on.

The whirlwind weekend started with the ceremony, 

followed by the President’s Banquet complete with ice sculpture.

The next day provided a 5k run, 

blow up games, delicious food, and gut-busting laughter, as we were entertained by the hilarious Indiana Wesleyan crew that journeyed down especially for the event.  Unfortunately, I got to see all of that food again, tossing my cookies several times the next morning. Alas, I mustered up the energy to drive home feeling a bit weak but completely content on my choice to witness this momentous occasion. Thanks the Voss family for always making me feel welcome and a part of the family. 

Long Awaited Visitors

October 15-18 & 19-23, 2012

Within the past week and a half, a curious thing happened. I had two relatives come for a visit. This may seem normal to the average person, but for me a visit from my dad and then my mom within a 10-day period is very abnormal. As the essence of this blog demonstrates, for the past 7 years I haven’t stayed in one area for all that long. Some previous housing situations have made it very difficult to entertain guests. When each parent discovered that I now live in a 2-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen they requested to penciled in on the calendar.

Naturally I was at a loss on how to entertain. As I was so used to be the one going to other people’s houses, I struggled to know where to begin.

Fortunately and unfortunately, my dad had a mission to complete on his visit. My car has been on the fritz. So together we worked on that during the day and managed to squeeze in a tour of campus with a volleyball game in the famous Cameron Stadium.

Fans rushing onto the field as Duke came back to win it!

My mom happened to come to campus the same weekend as the biggest football game of the season– Duke vs UNC. As I already had plans to go with some friends, I offered the other ticket to her. She went with an open mind as I dolled her up in as much Duke gear as I could find. The weather was perfect for a football game, and, on a couple of occasions, I even caught her being pulled into the excitement of the game!

After an organ recital in the Duke Chapel, my mom rounded out her weekend with a tour of Duke Gardens.

On Duke's West Campus, this little farm was added to Duke's Garden in September

I have to admit I enjoyed their visits; however, I can’t deny that I was a bit stressed out about them. Nevertheless we were blessed with beautiful weather on all accounts and just the right amount of activity. And thanks to Dad my BYOB (bring your own bed) policy has now been lift for future visitors.

Afterwords

September 16, 2012

I walked out of the library today carrying not a single book. As I dropped two books into the return slot, the goal I had set out to do two years and three months ago was complete.  As I read the Newbery winners in no particular order, I had decided a while back what book to read last. The capstone of my literary adventure was the 2012 Newbery Medal winner Dead End at Norvelt.

Now as I sit and think about the journey I can’t help but go from story to story in my mind recalling all of the places I visited without boarding a plane: Vermont during maple syrup season; Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri during the Civil War; Poland; England during several different centuries; China; Korea; New Mexico among the sheep herders; battles of World War I across Europe; voyages across the high seas on several different ships; Florida; New York City; villages in the Alps; Holland; Denmark; Alaska; Georgia; Tennessee; Texas; Wyoming; the Middle East during the time of Jesus; and many more with the last pin stuck in Pennsylvania.

At times I was invited into different worlds created by the author like an island full of diamonds or a utopian society. Names such as Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Louisa May Alcott, and Johnny Tremain I have heard of before; however, now I feel introduced to them on a different level, as I have learned more about their lives through their joys and hardships. New introductions were made as the life of Amos Fortune or Mr. Bowditch unfolded on the page.

I am greeted by a mixed sense of accomplishment and sadness. So much of my time has been committed to reading page after page that I hardly know what to concentrate on next. Fortunately, the library is filled with an endless supply of books unread. And yet, the “Afterwords” of my Newbery journey has yet to be written. As a new winner is announced each year, I can only look forward to the annual continuation of my literally adventure as one more “distinguished contribution to American literature for children” is added to my list.

Last Stop: CA – Land of Lauras

July 28 - August 6, 2012

As my summer adventures are coming to a close, I can’t help but pat myself on the back for this final stop. As Alaska was a great experience, I have found in the past that intense jobs like that need some time to decompress. I could not have picked a better location!

This stop in CA I affectionately call the Land of the Lauras. The reason: the two people I went to visit are both former roommates and both named Laura. Oddly enough, they live 45 minutes apart. With a week out in the San Jose/ Santa Cruz area I couldn’t help but visit both. 

On my first stop, I reunited with Laura from Graduate school. The last time I saw her was Christmas as we made gingerbread houses in Maryland. Her place of employment opened the door to some unique opportunities. Among them: sleeping in a sequoia tree.

Yup, I just woke up

In the middle of the week, I hopped in Laura’s car and drove to San Jose to the house of Laura, former roommate from Arkansas. I hadn’t seen her since 2008! A span of 5 years had passed leaving our 3 days together full of great conversation on all that had been happening in our lives. In those 5 years, Laura had two adorable children that I got to spend time with as well. Whether playing on the beach or in the backyard, it was wonderful to see Laura in her current stage of life as wife and mother.

Couldn't help but snap a picture of Westbrook St. in Downtown Santa Cruz

The week ended back at Laura’s with a trip to her co-worker’s house where we got to sample some of the local California fruit.

After 5 weeks of being around people that had only the smallest hint of who I really am, I find myself encouraged and rejuvenated in the Land of Lauras. Both have been and continue to be a great blessing in my life no matter how much time passes between visits.