Laura, you kicked me off! I can't view your blog now... Not invited I guess. Can you fix that?

This week has been a long one. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a little like I want to be a kid again. I want to play all day and go home and ask my mom whats for dinner instead of going home trying to make dinner. I guess I've been thinking about past times with family and friends and really being reminded of life and the joys that I had.

I get these thoughts, random shadows of memories.. today I remembered that I had my hair cut short when I was a Junior in highschool because I wanted to donate it to locks of love, and I haven't really had it long until now. It's getting passed my shoulders and that's a biggie for me.

I remembered that Anne and I stayed at Kirsten's house in Bozeman one summer, before we met Saba and Emily, and we didn't really know anyone. We met this one girl, she was naughty. Anne and I played with her for about a week, I remember we hid another girls shoe up in the house rafters, and the little girl's dad came out looking for it. I remember sticking around so I could tell him where we hid it because I wasn't able to stick up for the girl when we stole the shoe in the first place. (Hazy memory... do you remember that Anne?)

I think about highschool memories and wonder where life has gone. What is happening with the time we are given? I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but I've been married for 9 months tomorrow. Kirsten, over 10 years! Becca, over 7 right? Even Anne, you've been married for 2 years right? I just can't believe how time flies, how I want it to slow down because at times I enjoy it too much, and even when I don't enjoy it, I just want to to stop so I can rest and take a few breaths.

I love all of you, I love looking at your blogs and wondering how your lives are going. I think about everyone often... I have dreams about you, (my family) my mind continues to think of Ben and Nathaniel, because I don't hear much of them. Hope your all doing well.

I am now officially a member of the "Certified Nursing Assistants" at Sunshine Terrace. I was in their housekeeping department for over a year and decided I wanted to move on to a different department with more pay and more responsibility. I'm finishing my final testing this week, and do the state test at the end of the month. Then my pay goes up about $2 or so. That will be good. I'm excited to start this new job.

For those of you that want to know what it's like:

2pm I go to work, make rounds (visit each of the residents rooms and see if they need to use the restroom or have to have a diaper changed).

3pm Answer call lights and little favors needed done

4pm Get people up for dinner until 5:30

6pm Help feed dinner to those who can't feed themselves. make conversation with those that need a distraction from a boring life. :)

7pm dinner is still going... takes a while

8pm get everyone ready for bed, brush teeth and tuck them in.

9-11pm answer final call lights before going home and getting to sit down for a few minutes.

It's interesting being able to see so many that that can't do things for themselves. Those things we take for granted like brushing our teeth, getting out of bed, or going to the bathroom. it's surprising the smiles that you can put on someone's face when you encourage them to take 20 small steps through the hall before them have sit and rest. I think of getting old and what I can do to keep my mind in the present instead of the past. Often it's someone's birthday, and you ask, "How old are you Mildred?" and she says 10 years old, and you have to smile and say, "wow, your growing up." then you ask the other nurses how old she is and laugh when she's 105 years old. I hope that I can be a friendly person to be around, one who says thankyou and keeps a smile on even when life is going down hill. So many show me a good example and I want to learn from them that I serve. I really am glad to experience this kind of job. I enjoy it so far, Even those stinky diapers and giving showers is not so bad when you get to experience so many other good things. Lis