I haven't written lately because there have been two options. The first is short. Everything is good. The second requires a bit more explanation, which I don't feel needs to be explained for this type of media.
Lets just settle with this. Life is going well. We have been having more times together, being silly, joking around, snuggling, watching fun TV series, playing with our puppy love and just being young newly weds. I find it funny that we get to this point 11 months into marriage, but it is just now that we are finally settled into our house. Our little Peach is finally letting us sleep late in mornings. I only work 40 hours a week most weeks and have most weekends free to relax and just live our little domestic life.
We go to Disney soon!!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Up to the Mountain
"I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere
Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to
Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so
The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go"
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere
Sometimes I feel like
I've never been nothing but tired
And I'll be walking
Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down
No more can I do
But then I go on again
Because you ask me to
Some days I look down
Afraid I will fall
And though the sun shines
I see nothing at all
Then I hear your sweet voice, oh
Oh, come and then go, come and then go
Telling me softly
You love me so
The peaceful valley
Just over the mountain
The peaceful valley
Few come to know
I may never get there
Ever in this lifetime
But sooner or later
It's there I will go
Sooner or later
It's there I will go"
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Life if Life
Sometimes its nice to just do nothing. I find in the periods of doing nothing that I am peaceful and happy with life. I'm relaxed. I have a wonderful husband and a cute but annoying dog. We have a great house that is a work and progress and always will be. We are blessed with great friend and an even greater family. We have so many things to be thankful for. Sometimes, in the stress and hurry of daily life I forget this and get caught up in "white people problems." But life is really great. We are healthy and have each other to get through things with and what more can a person really ask for?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Here vs. There
For those of you who don't know, I recently transferred from my job at Shore Memorial Hospital to Bacharach's main campus outpatient department in Galloway. It's the same company, so nothing as far as compensation, time, benefits, etc has changed. What has changed is my location, caseload, boss and coworkers.
For anyone who wonders what the difference is between my jobs, continue reading...
Acute care is a world where patient care is centered around how well a person can move, what assistive devices and assistance they need to move themselves and deciding where a person goes once they are medically stable enough to be discharged from the hospital. For some patients, like joint replacements, spinal surgeries and pretty much anyone with rehabilitation potential, acute care is like the kindergarten of therapy. This is not to demean acute care in any aspect. But it is the place where patients learn the most basic of functional skills in a setting that is nurturing, caring and based around compassion and comfort. Acute care starts the process of teaching patients how to move their bodies the best they can, with family and friends there for support.
The next step would be sub-acute rehab which is like elementary school. It builds on what you learned in kindergarten and gets you to a point where you can safely cross a street by yourself, add, subtracts, read and perform other simple life skills with a little supervision from family/ friends as needed.
Outpatient PT is like the high school/college of PT. Its where people who are generally fully functional in society go to heal problems they have. For some people, they have gone through all three types of therapy in a sequence, and for some, they skip right to outpatient. Patients in this setting require plans of care specific to their problems. Goals for each patient are different. One person may want to be pain free, one may want to return to golf and one may just want to be able to walk around without loosing their balance.
Leaving the acute care world for a different setting was a decision I made a few months ago. If you know me at all, you know I hate change, so this was something I had to really think about. After spending 9 months or so getting to know acute care, I felt there was no room for me to grow as a entry level therapist. I knew most of the acute care answers, and if I didn't I knew who to ask and where to look them up. I knew what to expect from patients, where they needed to be and how to get them there. I felt I needed to develop my outpatient skills when I was new to the field to give myself some confidence as a therapist and the experience I feel any good clinician needs.
I won't lie, I thought leaving Shore would be easier. But like a first love, a first job is hard to forget. It becomes so routine and familiar that leaving that place feels strange and scary. Leaving a place that allowed me very flexible hours, lots of overtime and the ability to make patients instantly happy still makes me nervous. I didn't have a lunchtime gang of people who know all about my life and care about what happens in it. I don't have the same easy-going easy to approach mentors. I don't have paperwork time anymore. I can't shift my work schedule to have a day off, I have to use personal time. If I want to leave early or some in late, I have to find another home for that scheduled patient. I can't stop in the middle of my morning to type notes and regroup before returning to cranky patients.
At Bacharach, my life is very scheduled. Every hour, I have a patient or two that expects to see my game face. They expect me to know why their bodies hurt and how to fix it. They expect me to know answers and get them promptly. Their paperwork must be finished promptly so insurance will pay, but is not always done by the end of the day secondary to time constraints. I'm overwhelmed and bombarded but I love every minute of work these days. No one ever wants to get out of bed in the morning, but I don't mind going in to work. There is always a new patient to see or an old one who is so enjoyable. I get to spend more time with people now, I don't have to "speed date" and interrogate them to figure out what the real issue is. Sometimes I feel like the outpatient moves so slow. I'm used to seeing 10 - 15 people a day in 15-20 minute intervals, but now I spend an hour with each person. Did I mention I get to see kids and babies as patients too? This is just the icing on my cake.
I cannot one is better than the other, because my time in acute care was great for me, but I'm happy I was brave enough to make this move and try something new.
For anyone who wonders what the difference is between my jobs, continue reading...
Acute care is a world where patient care is centered around how well a person can move, what assistive devices and assistance they need to move themselves and deciding where a person goes once they are medically stable enough to be discharged from the hospital. For some patients, like joint replacements, spinal surgeries and pretty much anyone with rehabilitation potential, acute care is like the kindergarten of therapy. This is not to demean acute care in any aspect. But it is the place where patients learn the most basic of functional skills in a setting that is nurturing, caring and based around compassion and comfort. Acute care starts the process of teaching patients how to move their bodies the best they can, with family and friends there for support.
The next step would be sub-acute rehab which is like elementary school. It builds on what you learned in kindergarten and gets you to a point where you can safely cross a street by yourself, add, subtracts, read and perform other simple life skills with a little supervision from family/ friends as needed.
Outpatient PT is like the high school/college of PT. Its where people who are generally fully functional in society go to heal problems they have. For some people, they have gone through all three types of therapy in a sequence, and for some, they skip right to outpatient. Patients in this setting require plans of care specific to their problems. Goals for each patient are different. One person may want to be pain free, one may want to return to golf and one may just want to be able to walk around without loosing their balance.
Leaving the acute care world for a different setting was a decision I made a few months ago. If you know me at all, you know I hate change, so this was something I had to really think about. After spending 9 months or so getting to know acute care, I felt there was no room for me to grow as a entry level therapist. I knew most of the acute care answers, and if I didn't I knew who to ask and where to look them up. I knew what to expect from patients, where they needed to be and how to get them there. I felt I needed to develop my outpatient skills when I was new to the field to give myself some confidence as a therapist and the experience I feel any good clinician needs.
I won't lie, I thought leaving Shore would be easier. But like a first love, a first job is hard to forget. It becomes so routine and familiar that leaving that place feels strange and scary. Leaving a place that allowed me very flexible hours, lots of overtime and the ability to make patients instantly happy still makes me nervous. I didn't have a lunchtime gang of people who know all about my life and care about what happens in it. I don't have the same easy-going easy to approach mentors. I don't have paperwork time anymore. I can't shift my work schedule to have a day off, I have to use personal time. If I want to leave early or some in late, I have to find another home for that scheduled patient. I can't stop in the middle of my morning to type notes and regroup before returning to cranky patients.
At Bacharach, my life is very scheduled. Every hour, I have a patient or two that expects to see my game face. They expect me to know why their bodies hurt and how to fix it. They expect me to know answers and get them promptly. Their paperwork must be finished promptly so insurance will pay, but is not always done by the end of the day secondary to time constraints. I'm overwhelmed and bombarded but I love every minute of work these days. No one ever wants to get out of bed in the morning, but I don't mind going in to work. There is always a new patient to see or an old one who is so enjoyable. I get to spend more time with people now, I don't have to "speed date" and interrogate them to figure out what the real issue is. Sometimes I feel like the outpatient moves so slow. I'm used to seeing 10 - 15 people a day in 15-20 minute intervals, but now I spend an hour with each person. Did I mention I get to see kids and babies as patients too? This is just the icing on my cake.
I cannot one is better than the other, because my time in acute care was great for me, but I'm happy I was brave enough to make this move and try something new.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
To baby, or not to baby
That is the question.
Don't get too excited friends, we are not having a baby in the near future and we are certainly not pregnant. But as I see Facebook blow up with news feeds about new babies and new pregnancies, underneath my extreme happiness for all of our friends enjoying this wonderful event is my jealousy.
I am the quintessential baby hog. As soon as I even hear about a baby, I want to hold it. I want to rock it and feed it. It seems so creepy, I know. And who knows what made me this way, but it seems to have been almost my whole life. I've always had a thing for baby dolls. The smaller and more lifelike, the better. I remember having a regular water baby, but she wasn't small and cute enough when I saw the mini-water baby.
I feel like since we got engaged people have been on the baby topic. When do you think you will have kids? How many? Etc. Etc. Well, since we got married it has only gotten worse. Now when people I meet find out I'm married they assume I have a kid or then ask when we are having one. (OR they say "wait a really really long time." You can always tell happily married people from unhappily married by their reactions to marriage. I guess the same is true of babies. People who are happily babied want everyone around them to procreate too.) I feel like people are always looking at me to see the telltale baby bump. I know how movie stars feel sometimes. You gain a few pounds in the wrong place and guess what, you're expecting and you didn't even know it.
So this brings me to the discussion of when in a marriage to have a baby. My research tells me the two most important factors in this decision process is....when you and your spouse have a solid marriage and are financially ready. Well, thanks Google, but unfortunately I need more to dissuade me because when it comes to those two things, we've got it under control. So what else....
So of course I WANT a baby. But are we really ready for one?
I can't wait for the to come when we can get on that band wagon, and I know that now is not the time, but I still can't help but impatiently wait for the time to be right. And so the thought process continues...to baby or not to baby...
Don't get too excited friends, we are not having a baby in the near future and we are certainly not pregnant. But as I see Facebook blow up with news feeds about new babies and new pregnancies, underneath my extreme happiness for all of our friends enjoying this wonderful event is my jealousy.
I am the quintessential baby hog. As soon as I even hear about a baby, I want to hold it. I want to rock it and feed it. It seems so creepy, I know. And who knows what made me this way, but it seems to have been almost my whole life. I've always had a thing for baby dolls. The smaller and more lifelike, the better. I remember having a regular water baby, but she wasn't small and cute enough when I saw the mini-water baby.
I feel like since we got engaged people have been on the baby topic. When do you think you will have kids? How many? Etc. Etc. Well, since we got married it has only gotten worse. Now when people I meet find out I'm married they assume I have a kid or then ask when we are having one. (OR they say "wait a really really long time." You can always tell happily married people from unhappily married by their reactions to marriage. I guess the same is true of babies. People who are happily babied want everyone around them to procreate too.) I feel like people are always looking at me to see the telltale baby bump. I know how movie stars feel sometimes. You gain a few pounds in the wrong place and guess what, you're expecting and you didn't even know it.
So this brings me to the discussion of when in a marriage to have a baby. My research tells me the two most important factors in this decision process is....when you and your spouse have a solid marriage and are financially ready. Well, thanks Google, but unfortunately I need more to dissuade me because when it comes to those two things, we've got it under control. So what else....
- loss of husband wife 1:1 time
- loss of sleep
- loss of individual time
- addition of 30+ pounds
- additional expense
- loss of flexibility to do whatever, whenever in our free time
- Peach baby training
- figuring out raising a baby with a full-time job
- and I am sure many more....
So of course I WANT a baby. But are we really ready for one?
I can't wait for the to come when we can get on that band wagon, and I know that now is not the time, but I still can't help but impatiently wait for the time to be right. And so the thought process continues...to baby or not to baby...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Urge for Going
"Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go
They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I'll ply the fire with kindling now, I'll pull the blankets up to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going and I guess she'll have to go"
Joni Mitchell
And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go
They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in
I'll ply the fire with kindling now, I'll pull the blankets up to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going and I guess she'll have to go"
Joni Mitchell
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Our Christmas Poem
Six days to Christmas, we were running out of time,
Living each day, making sure puppy is fine.
We’d wrapped all our packages, tied up with bows,
But we’ve still got a mountain of dirty, stinky clothes.
And what of the Christmas card making Mora loves best?
She found it more important we go to work dressed.
With household chores and working lots of hours,
We’ve had to make time to stop and smell the flowers.
On May 15th of this year, on a perfect sunny day,
Mora married Brian and he swept her away.
They frolicked with Minnie and Mickey Mouse,
Returning in time to move into their house.
They removed smelly carpets, and painted the walls,
Moved lots of furniture and decked the halls.
Since we needed a break, we set off on vacation,
To New Hampshire and Maine, it was quite a sensation.
This year we were blessed to have our brother (in law),
To stay over this summer and make us guffaw.
Mora was given a beautiful puppy,
So when football began she wouldn’t be grumpy.
Brian returned as a head coach for the Knights,
Improving the youth of America night after night.
Brian continues to work as program assistant, administration,
For the office of Development, Alumni Affairs & Foundation.
Now halfway done with his MBA,
And still playing video games day after day.
Mora works by Stockton and also at Shore,
Her bosses can’t ask her to do much more,
But dragging injured or bed ridden patients from bed,
Is why she went to college and crammed so much in her head.
She gets a day break when she has had enough of Shore,
And heads over to do pediatrics to learn lots more.
Princess Peach Pluchino has become our fur child,
She’s a pretty Golden retriever with a temperament mild.
Don’t misunderstand, she is sometimes quite crazy,
She keeps us on our toes and prevents us from being lazy.
Our cute little lady has taught us a lot about living,
And she really is a gift that keeps on giving.
We’ve had a great year and could not ask for more,
And this leaves us wondering, “What’s in store?”
We hope your year has been bright and merry,
And that this holiday season is just the topping cherry.
BMP~2010
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