Category Archives: Day to Day

It was nice to get our and take a walk down our street along the river.  There is still a lot of snow and walking was done with care as the ice still makes a thin layer over the pavement that looks deceptively like water.  But it is smooth as glass and slippery as oil.

As I turned at the end of my walk and headed back home, the air over me resonated with the sounds of the returning geese.  They don’t come back in the great flocks that they leave in, but rather in groups of nine or ten, sometimes only a lone pair.  I don’t know where they were going tonight.  Maybe there is a warm corner they are searching out.  The river remains solid and still they come back to it.

This week has been one of those ordinary non-descript weeks – life pretty much going on as usual with no great events to speak of.  Well, I guess there was the car accident.  It all just seems a long time ago already. 

It is interesting what the lack of a car does to the activity level around here.  There has been a lot more staying close to home this week.  That is not a bad thing, I don’t think. 

And that reminds me that I have to go and renew my drivers license too since this, my birthday month, is almost over.  Funny how it is easy to put this sort of little chore off till the last minute.  That is typical of me – a very reliable procastinator.

Today was a day off for me.  With my extra job overseeing the school dental program, I don’t get many days off where I have a whole day to do whatever I need to do.  So today was nice.  I actually slept in – something I don’t usually do.  Snuggling up to my spouse knowing I don’t have to get up but he does is awesome!  looking back on the day, one might say it was a waste of time but that was mostly what I needed to do today.  And I did do some grocery shopping, went up to the hospital with some information for the couple with the cleft palate baby, had lunch with my hubby, did some reading and then coffee with Randall.  Now, after I pick up my dancer, a movie and maybe a glass of wine should nicely round out my day. 

Tomorrow I promise to be more productive – maybe.

Tonight we went over to friends to help celebrate a significant birthday.  It was fun to get together with them.  And there was another couple there too that we know fairly well since he is a physician and she is also a soccer mom – in fact the manager for Sara’s team.  So we had a great time.

And B got some very interesting gifts as only a guy of a certain age will get !  And a snazzy tool box!!  I will not say more since I would not want to offend those who might misunderstand Randall and Lauralea’s intentions 🙂

And since the other couple visiting at the time were of the medical persuasion, I was informed that I have a consult awaiting me tomorrow.  I take care of making the first feeding plates for the cleft palate babies.  So tomorrow I will go up to the nursery and take impressions.  So much for my intentions to attend the Lenten luncheon during my noon break.  I will probably be doing other things.  Oh well!

And now, since I have been up for a long time, I am heading to bed. 

Good night!

This morning at Gatecrashers prayer I got to share Psalm 77 which I read and thought about in my devotional time yesterday.  So I had carried this Psalm around with me on my pocket PC (I love this little tool) and had been thinking about it. 

¹I cry out to God without holding back.
        Oh, that God would listen to me!
²    When I was in deep trouble,
        I searched for the Lord.
    All night long I pray, with hands lifted toward heaven, pleading.
        There can be no joy for me until he acts.
³    I think of God, and I moan,
       overwhelmed with longing for his help.
⁴    You don’t let me sleep.
        I am too distressed even to pray!
⁵    I think of the good old days, long since ended,
⁶     When my nights were filled with joyful songs.
        I search my soul and think about the difference now.
⁷    Has the Lord rejected me forever?
        Will he never again show me favor?
⁸    Is his unfailing love gone forever?
        Have his promises permanently failed?
⁹    Has God forgotten to be kind?
       Has he slammed the door on his compassion?

Then Asaph, the Psalmist goes on to say:

¹⁰    And I said, “This is my fate,
        that the blessings of the Most High have changed to hatred.”
¹¹    I recall all you have done, O LORD;
        I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
¹²    They are constantly in my thoughts.
        I cannot stop thinking about them.
¹³    O God, your ways are holy.
        Is there any god as mighty as you?
¹⁴    You are the God of miracles and wonders!
       

And so when I get down, I know that it is essential for me to remember to look back at all that God has done for me too, like Asaph does in this psalm.  And to remember not to just consider what God has done for me but for his people throughout history.  Sharing of stories of God’s intervention in our lives reminds us of the fact that God does not abandon us.  And having friends that we can share stories with provides tangible evidence of that fact.  Together we remind each other of the greatness and faithfulness of God.

My day started out just great.  The first patient of the day didn’t show up.  He had called wanting to talk to me on Friday but I was not feeling well and left without making the call.  So when he didn’t come I thought I’d better phone him and find out what the trouble was.  No answer.  But a while later the office did get a call back – his son called.  Over the weekend the patient passed away.  He was a bit of a crusty old guy but sort of an old friend – I went to school with his nephew.  He was due for some major heart surgery and we had been in the process of getting his mouth in order for this.  sort of startling news to get first thing Monday morning. 

Then, I had just started in on my next patients when in came my son – CK himself.  He should have been in school by this time but they never made it that far.  He and the girls were on their way when they were in an accident. CK’s car was broadsided by a car that failed to stop at a stopsign.  The impact was centered just back of the door on the rear wheel so I think most of the impact was absorbed by the wheel without crushing the passenger area.  No one was hurt but the car I’m afraid will be a write-off.  And my car – well it will be borrowed a whole lot more than I will probably like.  It will however be a good thing for me to get out and do more walking.

As yesterday was the first day of spring – and we are just digging out from the heaviest snowfall of the winter, I just want to pass on a couple of things that have brightened up my last couple of days.

There is nothing quite like having a son with a Bobcat.  I arrived back at home yesterday wondering if CK’s car would make it up our driveway and there was David in the driveway with his Bobcat plowing it out.

The other item is that is indeed spring.  The geese are back!!  I saw the first ones yesterday and three more flew by my window this morning. 

This morning I got to the office pretty much expecting the day to go as planned.  So surprise – nothing stays the same for long!  We seem to have a flu bug that is working it’s way through the office.  So yesterday Annette went home, today Penny and Amy were sick and I have been feeling fairly lousy myself throughout the day.  With 3/4 of our office staff sick, we had to contend with a rash of cancellations due to the big storm – which seems to still be going on.  And two of the four assistants were stranded. 

I headed up to the hospital with my one assistant that made it to work.  Our patients ended up having trouble making it to the hospital – but called.  While we were waiting for them one of the anesthetists (the one for our cases) decided to go and help another anesthetist who was stuck at the end of his driveway.  He didn’t come back for an hour.  Needless to say we ran a bit behind schedule.  We were fortunate that no other cases were scheduled after ours, so we just kept on working till we were done.  And that made us get behind a bit for the afternoon.  – but a lot of cancellations – so by 4:00 PM we had caught up to ourselves and I was done for the day.

Tonight is very quiet at my house.  Christian and friends did take off with my vehicle for Regina – after thoroughly considering the risks brought on by the weather.  Sometimes it is hard to just let them go!  Grace and the youth from church also set off this morning for Strathmore.  They go with lots of prayers.  And Leo is working a relief shift over in Melfort and also made it there safely.  Sara is away at a concert for Peace put on by her school – and probably the Catholic diocese. 

I picked up Bruce Almighty.  I have been wanting to see it for a long time but movies aren’t real high on my list of things that I absolutely must make time for – so I haven’t had time to see it yet.  I am so glad I did.  It was fun and since I am still feeling a bit under the weather, I needed to watch a fun  movie.  I loved the way this movie portrays God – with an excellent sense of humor – someone who likes us.

I just came back from returning our grandson to his parents.  They have both been so sick today.  Kieran was sick yesterday so they have had a tough couple of days.  They called to see if we could look after Kieran for a couple of hours so they could both get a bit of rest.  So I volunteered us to do it – I did call Leo and ask him first!  I had some plans for the evening so I knew that Leo would be on his own for a couple of hours. 

When I left, Kieran was crying and didn’t seem to be enjoying his restricted diet of water and cereal (he’s not supposed to be on milk for a few days to let his stomach settle).  When I returned – there was Kieran sitting on Grandpa’s lap – sipping orange juice.  He had a big grin on his face – so did Grandpa.  Seriously, you’d wonder what was in that juice!!!  I can just see those two in a few years.  They may make a wicked pair!

Tonight we are having our heaviest snow storm of the winter.  And Spring officially starts on Sunday!  The snow is coming down so heavily and the wind is still blowing it around.  Visibility is down to a few hundred meters.  It is hard driving even in the city.  Tomorrow our youth group leaves for Strathmore,Alberta – Grace will be with them.  And then in the afternoon, Christian and friends are to drive to Regina for “Francathon” – a Saskatchewan French cultural youth event – mostly music.  I sure hope this storm has moved on by tomorrow.

Today is a day off for me.  I booked it off a long time ago thinking that I could take off on my own somewhere for a bit of peace and solitude.  Then as “fate” would have it, I ended up spending most of my weekend in Regina or driving back and forth for the Provincial Soccer playoffs.  I am still very glad I booked off this day.  It gives me a chance to catch up after a busy weekend.

The girls played hard at the tournament – won two games then lost the semi-final match.  But it was a good game and Sara played well. 

One of the reasons Sara wanted me to take her was that Sara is probably the youngest member of the team this year.  She thus doesn’t have as many close friends her age – it is just the way her birthday falls in the spring of the year and it makes her cross into the over 14 age group before September.  So, she didn’t feel like just going by herself, staying in a hotel room with one of the other team members families when she isn’t that close to the other team members.  But the under 14 girls were also there playing and so she spent some time with those very good friends. 

All in all it was a good weekend – Sara was also happy when one of Leo’s public health collegues suggested she talk her father into letting her buy a new pair of pants for the wonderful goal she scored.  Sara was 100% in favor of that so she asked and she received.  (I’m not sure that this kind of reward is at all needed – Thanks Pat – since she plays for the love of the sport, and since it hurts my bank account!)

I also took some time to visit some friends and that was great.  I know we need to work to keep close ties strong and this was a good opportunity.  So we shared a cup of tea and talked of stuff important to both of us.  She has learned a lot of lessons in life and I hope will be strong enough to help others learn from her story. 

I got home in time last night to meet with the group of women who have been getting together to study Yancy’s book, The Jesus I Never Knew.  We finished it last night and are now contemplating where to go from here. 

We were talking at one point about the incarnation and what it all means in light of the crucifixcion and resurrection.  It is incomprehensible that God would choose to become human – but he did and am I ever grateful that he loved us enough to do this.  The discussion reminded me of a poem I posted here a while back – The Coming by R.S. Thomas.

So yesterday we were promised a storm. I was concerned since I had to travel the long road between Prince Albert and Regina.  Last weekend, the driving conditions were terrible – enough snow and 60 to 80 KM winds to make for a deadly combination.  And it was – deadly.  I don’t think that even Provincial soccer finals risked taking those kind of risks.

I picked Sara up from school early and we started out in what seemed to be relatively nice weather.  The road all the way was clear.  We arrived in time and checked into our hotel room before heading to the soccer centre.

Regina is in dire need of a new soccer centre.  Their’s is in pretty bad shape.  The washroom facilities are so bad that the girls try to avoid having to use them.  I think that it is an old hockey arena somewhat hastily refurbished with a tile floor to become an indoor soccer facility.  Not a whole lot different in size than the one in Prince Albert, but the big difference seemed to be the temperature.  Yesterday, the temperature  inside was almost as cold as outside minus the wind! 

But, in spite of the less than ideal playing conditions, Sara’s team won!  1 – 0  And, best of all – Sara scored the winning goal!! (and she plays defense) 

So here I am in Regina blogging from the public library, waiting for the next game to start.  Sara had to be there an hour early so I whipped back here quickly to do something more interesting than standing in the cold arena waiting for her game to start.