Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Traveling Pharmacist

I am a traveling pharmacist, more specifically, I am called "Floater." I float within eighty miles of my home each day and I encounter life so interesting that I don't know if I want to find a job which is in one location with same people.

In the technicians (support staff) I encounter the vastness of human difference, in socio-economic limitations or boundaries. I grieve at today's youth and their freedom which ends up into a trap; bearing of children out of wedlock. Even in that situation I am happy when the couple is committed and working towards their marriage and healthy future.

Then there are technicians who are students. They are full of ambition, how and when they will finish school and what they will do with life.

Sometimes there is mix of both.

Yesterday I met K, a nice young man. During quiet moments we have conversations. He has worked at this store for several years and working at pharmacy has caused a desire in him to go into health care field... maybe a male nurse. He is a father of eleven month old child and the child has his last name. Both his girlfriend and he wanted it that way.

He told me that his baby was quarter Korean. My attention span went up ten fold. His girlfriend T has Korean mom and dad is German descent. Here is a couple who could be my own children. Yet as he continues his stories I am held in disbelief. T has suffered or rather tortured by her mom during her years at home. During the pregnancy with T, the mom intended to abort the child. T's dad begged his wife to give him his baby. So T was born. Her mother had older daughter and T. It was T that was picked on and beat up all her childhood. Often dad would scoop up two little girls from the anguish of the mom and he would get bruised.

T found K when she was 18 (now she is 22). Last year T had a baby and now she is graduating from college with straight A average. Her plan is to be a neonatal nurse.

T's mom and dad are divorced now. Dad is in depth of depression. K tries to encourage him to let him know that both of his girls are making something of themselves and now he has a grandchild and he needs to look to the future. K tries to awaken T's mom's conscience that she needs to see what wounds she has embedded in her girls. T has forgiven her mom and for the last eleven months, T's mom has been cordial around her grandchild.

I invited K and his girlfriend T over for dinner... with the baby of course.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Men Talk and Women Talk

Yesterday I told Tom that when I am with women, they get carried away with women talk. Sometimes I think I must be a man. I just don't fit in with these women talks. Oh the husbands, they are so sloppy,...to pick up after them...their cleaning is not thorough... style, balance, coordination...missing...oh husbands. Then time factor. Most of my lady friends stay home. They are so busy. As I listen, I just have a pasted smile on my face and have nothing to say.

My husband is perfectionist in every detail. If he is cleaning, he is so thorough that I feel like my cleaning brain has never developed. His eye for style and balance is much superior. He is one for detail and I lose detail in everything. So I smile and listen.

So when men get together they must have more loftier things to talk about. Not really says Tom. Men are into sports, home repair, and politics. I(Tom) follow all of them but not really interested in delving into them. I miss Everett. We were really able to discuss deep topics of biblical matters. That is what I love to talk about.

Life is interesting. Now Tom is physically out of commission and is not able to clean our home, I try to pick up yet I know I miss fine & detailed cleaning. So I will hire a cleaning friend and together we will do detail cleaning. I have a good excuse. I work outside of home.

My friends and I must occupy very different stratosphere of our world.

Sunny Day

Oh what a beautiful sunny day outside! It is Saturday. I told Tom, it would be so wonderful to take a walk in the woods. The crisp winter air and the beautiful sun ray enveloping us as we stroll along would be so pleasant. I looked at him. He is still in pain and bent side way and forward. Oh we are just too young to be crippled. To wait for that day when he is normal and healthy....Come soon!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Exercise

I have exercised daily since November, December, January. Now it is February. In Tom's memory he has never seen me so healthy during winter time like I am experiencing this winter. It is wonderful. I always knew exercise was good for a person. Yet I never even considered it during winter time because I was way too weak and sickly. I would exercise as energy returned which coincided with more sunlight and warmer weather.

When I started to exercise I already had my winter health. I was battling sickly feeling that is so familiar. In November I discovered that my sugar level was high even though I ate well. I need to try exercising and see if my sugar level would go down. Sure enough within two weeks I started to see my level go down to normal. But the surplus of energy was not anticipated. I eagerly embraced my health and I looked forward to my daily thirty minute exercise.

Super Bowl

Last night(Saturday) I came home exhausted. I left home to go to Huntington at 7am and I would work there all day. I came home at 10:30pm. I ate dinner and wanted to go to bed and collapse. Tom said Henna really wanted us to come up to Chicago for Super Bowl the next day. Our schedule would be; go to church and pick up Sammy (our little Bichon Frise) and go to Chicago, visit, watch Super Bowl, and go back home to arrive home by 1 am Monday. All This sounded too much since few hours later I would drive 2 hours to go to work at Peru.

So here we are in Chicago for Super Bowl. Every one is cheering or grunting in the living room based on what their team is doing. I am unwinding. I exercised for thirty minutes, caught up on e-mail reading, requested some time off so I could get together with Tita my cousin. And best of all I get to write.

This is a visit well worth my time. Mateo is growing up so fast and Henna is eager for us to capture his moments. I joined the family during intermission to watch Madonna. She is one talented woman exuding youth, beauty, talent, and energy and she is my age. Amazing!

I work the next three days and on Wednesday I will host a bible study at our home. It is so wonderful to be so busy with activities and have energy for them.

Time Escapes Me

It's been twelve days since I last posted. My plan was to write something daily no matter how small or how insignificant. Yet I would let go of writing to spend a little more time with Tom.

Last week I took a week off so I could man my friend's pharmacy in Topeka. It was a wonderful experience. I loved working in a small drug store where every one coming in was a friend to the pharmacist owner. I loved the fact their little deli would make me a delicious sandwich and brought it to me and I did not go hungry like I so often do at my regular job because I am too busy to eat or drink anything. Pharmacists do not have break or lunch time; we eat only if there is time between serving customers.

Last week I had lunch with Deb Garcia. It really is fulfilling to be able to keep connection with friends. Often life gets so busy relationships are put in back bunner. She loves and looks forward to a lunch at my home. Our lunchs are brief since she has to go back to work in time.

Just this past Thursday I had lunch with five friends from Goshen Painter's Guild. They came over for a simple chili and corn bread. It really is easier to invite friends now that I have such a wonderful kitchen.