I read it somewhere on the Internet...
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| The Medieval Bestseller I read it somewhere on the Internet... |
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Friday, November 21, 2008
My shift yesterday at the hospital was eventful, to say the least. I feel like from 1:30 on that I went from crisis to crisis. The main two crises were this pregnant woman who came in bleeding and eventually they had to intubate her and get consent from her family that either they give her a hysterectomy, or she will die. So, there was a lot of time spent with that family. Then I had, actually, a very pleasant visit with a woman just a couple years older than me who is in the hospital for brain tumors. Although the conversation was pleasant, we talked about some really deep and significant things affecting her life. Then, I was paged from that conversation to go work on a trauma, and the victim who came in was a John Doe. He died immediately and, probably, was even dead at the scene (the nurses were not happy that the paramedic brought the patient in). Anyway, through some fancy footwork, the social worker was able to identify the victim and his family came in and went beserk--this was yet one more incident in a long line of incidents that makes them feel almost cursed. It was so, so sad and made me feel so, so helpless. In the end, I think that this shift at the hospital was very good for me to have, because it reminded me that although things have been overwhelming lately, the things are actually quite wonderful and that the struggle to work them out is worth it. Last night I played tennis with Colander and it appears that nothing has changed over the past 2 or so months since we've played - he is really good and I really need some work. We only managed to play one set, since I showed up a half-hour late because of the hospital stuff. On the radio this morning I heard a spot where the DJ was talking to a school principal about schools taking away Thanksgiving celebrations, and why this is. The principal (whose school was not taking away their Thanksgiving celebration) and, I guess, the DJ, too, stated that the point of the original (and subsequent) Thanksgivings was to gather with friends and family. Whereas I would say that I agree that my idea of Thanksgiving means to gather with family and, I suppose, friends (it's more heavily-based on family to me), when I reflect upon what I remember of the original Thanksgiving story, I'm not convinced that the point was to gather with family and friends - was it not a gathering of strangers, coming together to share whatever abundance they had in the bleak of winter? That is a really different idea from friends and family gathering together to celebrate their thankfulness. I think in our day and age, if my recollection is correct, we could stand to re-look at the Thanksgiving story and see how we might gather with strangers to share in our abundance. Just a thought. Glad it's the weekend (almost)! This weekend Gavin's sister Kendra comes into town, so I have a date with her and Gavin's mom, Bonnie, to go to some yarn or weaving festival or something on Saturday afternoon. Then, I'll preach on Sunday at First Christian Church in Burbank about Family Promise and then will meet up with my friends Marian, Vicky and Christina in order to help Marian plan her wedding (Vicky, Christina and I are her bridesmaids). Fun stuff! - Jenny, 11/21/2008 08:21:00 AM |
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