Monthly Archives: April 2006

Today was one of the most beautiful days – in many ways.  It was Sunday so there was no guilt in not working in our yard or house.  Leo and I took the girls out for lunch since I forgot to get the roast into the oven before I left for church. 

Right after dinner, Leo and I took off for Christopher Lake to visit a friend who is fighting cancer.  Maybe friendship and a good visit is the best way to fight what a disease that that does.  On the way we took the old highway so we could stop and check out the waterfowl in the sloughs.  We did this both on the way out and back.  Must have counted 7 or 8 different birds – Canvas Backs, Ruddy ducks, Grebes, Canada Geese, Mallards, and a few other kinds that I, as a rank amateur bird watcher, can’t remember.  The day was beautiful. 

The old road was so bad that it is getting almost undrivable, however it makes for very light traffic and perfect for stopping. 

Since the day was so nice, our group that normally meets to study a book, decided to take a hike instead.  We went out to the Little Red Park and hiked for about an hour, then sat and talked for almost another hour. 

The combination of good friends and a beautiful day was about as good as it gets. 

I spent the evening at the Rawlinson Centre watching my daughter, Grace, as she performed in the dance competition.  This year she was in two group Hip Hop numbers, one a group of five and the other a large line group.  It was fun to see her dancing with so much energy.  Both the numbers rated Gold.  

Last year seems such a long time ago.  This same competition was Grace’s last for the year.  She was three months pregnant and she did well to perform with the high energy levels that type of dance requires.  On Monday, Zakariya will be six months old.  I really should put a recent picture of him up here – I think I will.

Here he is.  Almost as big as his mom!

Today seemed like friends and family day at the office – started out with my daughter, Rachelle, part way through the morning, a friend, and to finish up the morning, another daughter, Grace.  Then, lo and behold, another son calls me with an emergency – a piece of tooth broke.  I take home a mirror so I can check him out when he gets back into town – to really be my last patient of the day.  The rest of the patients were also friends, just not so close that I see them any other place, although you never know when a patient/friend will turn up in unexpected places.  My friend Keith, for example, was the violinist for the special Easter presentation at the Anglican church up the road.  Exchanging Easter blessings with a friend/patient was one of the special perks of that day.

University exams are over and now kids of mine are coming and going.  They show up unexpectedly, as Christian did last night.  They appear raid the fridge, use the guest bed and move on back to “their” places.  I am glad they belong here and know there is always a welcome, or at least a sense of comfortableness at our house.  I wonder what it will feel like to have an empty house.  I wonder if it will ever happen!

I hope that my guests/visitors who visit this blog space also feel welcome.  I have renewed acquaintances with some old friends here.  Thanks to those of you who contact me from far away – Gail, Seto, and others.  It is good to have friends and it is good that friendships can be picked up again even while long distances separate us. 

This has been a beautiful weekend.  The weather was great and I had the first real day off in a long time.  It was my regular Friday off but since I am usually seeing kids at the school dental program, I don’t usually get a real day off on Friday.  This Friday there was no school so no kids to check.  I slept in a bit and read.  I even did enough housework to relieve any sense of guilt associated with spending a large part of the day being fairly lazy.  The best part of the day was taking a friend to lunch in honor of her upcoming birthday.

Today began slowly too. 

Micah came over to do some yard work for me.  Goodness knows this yard needs all the help it can get!  I thought raking two sections of the yard would keep him occupied for about an hour – maybe a bit more.  He kept coming in to see if he was done yet.  We would go out together, I would show him how to really rake hard to get the old dead grass out and get the leaves out from the edges where they piled up in the winter.  Then I would suggest that he go at it systematically, sort of dividing the area up into smaller sections, doing one area well and then moving along to a new spot.  I don’t know but I think he got lost out there in the back by himself.  He came in about fifteen minutes later.  “Could I come and check to see if he was done?” 

I said, “Well, did you do the whole area like I showed you?”

“I don’t know,” he replied.  “I think so.”

“You must know if you did it all or not,” I said.

“Well maybe not exactly.”

So back we would go.  I would show him how to really rake hard again, and point out the 3/4 of the area that looked pretty much untouched.  By the end of two hours, he had done a good job over half the area I had estimated he might get done, gotten paid and was on his way home.  I think if he sticks with this job, he could keep going at it all summer.  I think he will learn what I want him to do – and get faster.  I like Micah.  But this may just not be his sort of work, do you think???

There was still time in the day for coffee with a friend.  That is always fun.  We were fantasizing about a fund raiser art show as well as getting a group of friends from the church together as a team for the Relay For Life.  Any artists out there with good work to donate?  Anyone with legs that would like to be on our relay team?

I have sent my daughter off to North Battleford to dance competition.  She can drive, she’s 18 and so I bravely let her use my car to get there.  I am driving hers.  What a deal she got!  I realized this again as Icrammed myself behind the front wheel.  Her seat seems to be stuck on “very close” as in about six inches between the steering wheel and the seat.  I can fit but just.  I don’t recall her telling me that there was a problem with the seat!  Oh well – two days.

I had to go to the hospital tonight.  Parked in the doctors parking lot.  It looked a bit out of place this 89 jalopy with peeling paint – but it has a valid parking sticker.

Wow!!!!

The call came this morning at work.  I have been accepted into the Certificate in Spiritual Direction program at North Park Seminary in Chicago. 

I have been waiting – patiently, mostly.  I have been trying to wait on God for this and have been telling myself that I would accept whatever comes.  But I must admit, God knows how much I have been wanting to do this.  I guess it is what he wants for me too.

The course begins in July.  It will be quite the way to start my vacation. 

Settle down, heart.  There will be a lot of just hard work I am sure.