Noises and God’s creatures

The humming of the oxygen machines, the snoring of the sleeping and the coughing of the ailing lung victims. I notice our “creek” is gone. Or at least I haven’t heard it for a very long time. Heck I can’t remember when I heard it last. It came from above the ceiling in the hall just before one of the rooms not all that far from the nurses desk. If I didn’t know better I would swear there was an upstairs with someone jumping on a bed or “having fun”. “Squeak, squeak”. Once in awhile it would sound like tree branches brushing up against the building. Wait….there are no trees that close to the building to be brushing up against. Whatever it was/is, I think it is gone. Maybe it was a spirit what wanted to help us on the night shift stay awake and let out mind run wild. Maybe it was to help guide us. I dunno and don’t think I ever will. Not that I will loose any sleep over it.
I will just chalk it up with the noises we hear from the empty rooms from time to time. Guess that is what makes working here an adventure from time to time other than it being the patient or the patient’s family.
The other night we had the pleasure of watching some deer search for food and then feeding off the bird feeders right outside the many windows. We first saw the doe come up the walkway and periodically look right at us while we were sitting in the window watching him/her. You could see how cautious it was due to it looking each way when it heard a noise. (The next morning I learned that one of the noises that the doe was hearing was wind chimes in the distance) It jumped over the fence and as we followed around the corner we were delighted to see a total of eight doe feeding at the birdfeeders outside the patients windows. They sat there for what seemed like a very long time just feeding and playing amongst each other. Then they eventually went their own ways and us to our own. Back to work :::sigh::: Wish I would have had my camera with me! Maybe next time. All I know it was a delight just sitting back in awe watching one of God’s creatures.

Long nights

As I lie here trying to fall asleep I find that insomnia has kicked in. I am tired but unable to fall asleep for the second night. Is it the stress that is preventing me from falling asleep I ask myself? Try thinking of other things that aren’t stressful. Try clearing your mind I tell myself. Then the sound of the clock becomes dominant. The tick is making itself known with each second. Funny how I have never noticed the clocks tick noise like I do tonight. I try drowning the sound out with focusing on listening to Dan’s breathing. Try closing my eyes and hopefully drift off. The thing that comes into my mind is a dark door and the ticking starts again. Trying to ignore all that is in the mind and the noises that surround me I give up and get up. I have to find out which clock it is that is driving me nuts to night for some reason. I pin point it down to the clock in the dining room. Okay I can live with this now, even though I would like to take the battery out of it to stop the ticking. I make my millionth trip to the bathroom. As I sit there the clock on the wall above the sink seems to be ticking unusually loud. Louder than it normally does. It appears to me that it is ticking louder and louder the longer I sit in that room. I came to the conclusion…. The clocks in my house are not my friends tonight. They are trying to make me feel like I am losing my mind. Is this because my day started off so bad? I was able to sleep for three hours last night and was on the phone for three hours this morning with the Michigan and Wisconsin unemployment trying to see if Dan can still get it and all that. As of now we think we can. Unsure of when it is going to start back up since we are no longer dealing with Michigan and having to start a claim with Wisconsin. All I can do is rely on God to get me through this. He will. I just have to keep my faith and trust. Now that is a concept, Trust….Maybe that should be what I work at this year. Learning to trust people….hmmmm……Will have to think about that one. Well think I will give the clocks one more chance to invade my mind before they find that my aim from the bedroom is a good one and they find a shoe coming at them.

Til next time

~T

The end of the Christmas season…

Another year coming to an end and another Christmas season has ended. (well in my thinking). Christmas all in all was a good season. It will be another one that will go down as a memorable one. Along with the only “lumping job” available that provided us with a Christmas tree many many years ago. The only down fall of the holiday this year was that we didn’t see hardly anyone that we really wanted to or should have. It did feel like we weren’t as rushed like previous years and we were able to enjoy being home and having a more relaxing time. Weather everyone got what they were hoping to, I dunno but knowing my kids they were happy with anything they get considering they didn’t have much on their want list if anything.

I even ventured to the mall a few times this season (or should I say year). The first time was a bit nuts and believe it or not when the girls and I went on Christmas Eve it wasn’t bad at all. I actually enjoyed it then. According to Tyler I think everyone was at Walmart instead of the mall.

Now that the Christmas gifts have been put away and the tree and decorations have been taken down, it is time for some “normalcy” around here. I hope. I am so ready for some kind of routine for all. This last semester has been over the week of Christmas. We have off until the 14^th of January and it feels good to be able to sleep in and not feel guilty watching a movie or reading a book that wasn’t a text book. One of my goals was to start and finish a book that I had bought back in September when it was first out. I was able to start and finish it yesterday. It felt good, and with no guilt. I have one more book that I want to read before school starts up again. Two if I am lucky. I am also hoping that Dan will be able to find a full time job within the next couple weeks. He will then be able to tell his current employer HE QUITS! With no notice. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful that Dan had that job and I know it is wrong for him to not give a notice (which I am sure he will) but I think it is wrong for them to mislead him and then end up only using him when they need a “fill” in driver or when the weather gets back you know the phone is going to ring to see if Dan can work. Well hello! Of course he can and they know he will. So you can bet as long as he is with Dunham he will be driving when the weather is bad or expected to be bad.

There is something about after the holidays that makes me want to “refresh” the house. I only get this way three times a year. Beginning of spring, beginning of fall, and at the end of Christmas. The kids and I straightened up the basement, not totally to my liking, but I can actually walk through the washroom to the rec room now. Today the kids are working on their bedrooms. They will get done today if it kills me!!! So don’t be alarmed if you hear screaming.

Stay warm and safe…..

Hugs!

Until next year,

~T

Results are…..

The grades are finally all in and the results are…… 3.70 !!!! Not bad for my first semester back to school after millions of years out if I do say so myself. ANyway wanted to share….off to bed, have to get some sleep before I do a mall run with the kids in the morning and then wrapping and cleaning and nap before work. Night all 🙂 Sweet dreams ………T

And the breathing continues….

As of just a few minutes ago, I officially am on winter break. Just submitted my last assignment. Yah I know I would have been done a few days ago if I wasn’t such a procrastinator. But what the heck, that would take away the excitement in life now wouldn’t it???!! So far my GPA is a 3.67. I am kind of anxious to see what it is after all my teachers are done entering their grades.

So now that school is done til the middle of January, and the tree is up and decorated, and the presents (well they aren’t wrapped and they aren’t even bought yet, but I guess that is what the next couple days are for. To enjoy the hustle and bustle of the holiday season J Tried getting Dan to go to the mall with me the other day. That was definitely a NO go! So I will have to venture out there with one or both of the girls within the next day or two. Oh wait, I have to wait til Thursday to go shopping. Maybe I will go right from work.

So far the family is all happy and healthy. Cayla went with Tyler and Linzy to her families Christmas gathering and then Sunday morning they went snowmobiling. Cayla did awesome according to Tyler. Glad I wasn’t there. I heard something about 60 miles an hour?!?! Glad they had fun. Brooke and I went bumming Saturday night for a bit and then came home to watch a Christmas show. That is one thing I like about this season. The Christmas movies on Lifetime and Hallmark channels.

Well that is about it for now,

Stay warm and healthy,

~T

Mr Winter is upon us!

Well between Mr Winter and Mother Nature they sure liked playing with us.  Mr Winter came in with a huge “I am boss” kind of storm this past week.  I for one was glad I didn’t have to work that night.  Dan did though.  I believe we got about a foot of snow or more :::Shrugging shoulders, I don’t know, a couple inches is more than enough for me:::::: Between  Logan helping with plowing and shoveling the neighborhood and Tyler running here and there plowing people out the two have been exhausted the last couple days.   Of course winter near Christmas can’t be the same without something happening to add a little stress.  Dan is working on an on call basis at Dunham and it just so happened that they needed someone to drive down to Chicago the night of the storm.  (Imagine that!) On his way home in the van he gets stuck on Washington st and Mason.  He called at 6:15 and I woke up Logan and sent him down there to help dad get unstuck.  Once the task was accomplished he sat by the front of the house until we were able to clear enough of the driveway to get in.  In the meantime while he was waiting the van died. Yup, stopped running. Would not start back up.  So between Dan, Logan, and two of the neighbor guys and myself we got the van in the driveway.  Long stressful story short, John called me the next morning to deliver the best Christmas gift I could have ever have received.  “Trisha, it is the battery”.  AMEN!  New battery in van and off and running. 

School continues, one  week left before break for me, Cayla and Ty.  I have a bunch of work to catch up with one class and an exam in the other three and I will be done til the middle of January.  I can’t wait.  Not that I don’t like school, cuz I do, I just missing having time to putz or read a leisure book and not feel guilty it isn’t a school book.  I am anxious to get my gpa for this semester.  First semester back to school after being out for many many years, lets see if college is any different from high school since I wasn’t to good there and just squeeked by there.

 As the cold continues this week I will be working and studying this weekend thru Wednesday and after that I will focus on getting my house back in order and thinking about how we are going to handle Christmas this year.  There has been alot of stress in the home about the Christmas holiday coming up by everyone in the family.  Most of it is due to the change in the economy in our house. With reassurance to the kids and Dan it will be okay (at least I that is what I keep telling myself ) and that this is a Christmas that we will forever remember.  Just like the “Christmas tree” year with Dan lumping the only and last trailer down at SC Shannons so we could get a tree that year. This Christmas, my family will know what the true reason/meaning of Christmas is really about.  Not that we don’t already, but we will have a different appreciation for it all together. 

Until next time (probably when I get my final grades)

 ~Trisha

The dang bug have decided to visit!

The little sick bug has infected the Rawlings’s home. Started with Brooke last week with her throat hurting and producing to a cough and just plain old not feeling well. Then it decided to jump to Logan last Thursday with a fever for a short time and then the dreaded cough that doesn’t go away. He finally went back to school this Thursday. For him it was more of the cough. If the cold air doesn’t hit his lungs he is alright. I think the little bug has been deciding if it wanted to invade Cayla for a couple days and so far it hasn’t decided to. Just giving her a wheezy tummy. I think it decided to jump to Tyler since Cayla wouldn’t cave to being sick. She is like her mom and just doesn’t get sick. J I am thinking Tyler will be hit harder then any of the kids. So far he has a fever, not feeling well and coughing and feeling weak. Kind of sounds like that stupid H1N1 huh. Well even if it is not much can be done for it at this point. Triage is telling people that unless they are having high fevers of over 104 to just continue to take Tylenol, rest and lots of fluids. I will see what he is like in the morning when I get home and if he is bad I will put a call into the doctor but I feel confidant that I am having him do the right things at this point.
Besides the kids having those crappy germs, the atmosphere in the Rawlings’s feels a little stressed these past few days. Just typical things mainly with the stresses of a decreased income and everything that comes along with that.
I am slowly getting into a routine to balance school, home, kids and work. Kinda I think.
I panic the day before and day of exams enough to make me feel sick to my stomach. After the fact I take the test I find myself asking why I was so stressed about it. The last one I took this past Tuesday I was fretting over a lot. Mainly due to having to code a program with more things that I felt I wasn’t comfortable with doing. After I got done I felt I did pretty well. Will find out after the weekend. All in all school is going good. Actually doing better than I did in high school and somehow keeping “A’s” in all my classes so far. Starting Monday we register for the spring session already. Hard to believe isn’t it. I have decided that I will just add an extra semester to my schooling to end up with two degrees. Both degrees have similar classes and there is only a semester difference to get the extra degree so I figured I might as well. After all my goal is to make a decent wage when I get done and I am sure having more knowledge will help with that.
Dan continues his search for a job. Not much out there that is local and that doesn’t consist of being out weeks at a time.
This Saturday is Tyler’s last football game of the season with the Vipers. As of right now I don’t think he will be playing due to him not feeling well but with his Kaufman/Kiley/Rawlings bullheadedness yah just never know.
That is it for the update in Rawlings’s home.
I do want to thank all of you that have kept us in your prayers. They are greatly appreciated. Please continue.
~Hugs to all J
~T

Fall is here!!!

Fall has arrived. To some of us it is very welcome (my favorite time of the year)and to some of you it isn’t. I love the feel that fall brings. The feel of the crisp air (even more so this year), the smells that are more noticeable this season and some smells just fit it this time of year. I love the cinnamon smell the most. Oh wait I also love the smells of pumpkin, cranberry, caramel vanilla….oh I guess there are too many to even mention. The house has a different kind of atmosphere. One that I can’t explain but I can feel the difference. I am sure it will change as the winter approaches. I do have a few things that I have to catch up with outside with planting and getting plants ready for the winter and I am hoping that the weather will hold off till my next weekend off. Then we can also tackle those things that continue to fall even when you think there is no way there could possibly be any more to fall. I believe that the Fall is Gods time to teach us how to share by having all the neighbors leaves blow into our yard. It has happened at any place where we have lived so far and this place is no exception. No big deal. Just more family time well spent together.
School is going good for pretty much everyone here. No complaints from the kids and too much my surprise I am doing good in my classes. I am not only passing but I am also passing with all A’s and only one C. Not too bad if I do say so myself. Some of the stuff comes easy and some stuff doesn’t. Guess that is kinda what life is also like. I have also learned that I can get sidetrack very easily if I am working on something that I really don’t like or just don’t really care about. It is funny how the mind wanders and you find yourself cleaning the bathroom or putting dishes away when you were actually doing homework or studying for a test.
Dan is working a little more at Dunham. He has worked tons last week and this week and it is looking like next week also. We will see what happens in the next weeks after that. I am just hoping that if they don’t keep him busy like forever or til he finds a new job it doesn’t mess up his unemployment. I know, selfish of me but oh well. He sent out an application to the town of Combined Locks. We will see what that brings, but I am not holding my breath on it one.
That is about it at the Rawlings home.
Til next time
~T

Catching up

Well the adjustment to High School is going better than I anticipated. To my surprise it seems like there is a little maturing going on also. Life here at the Rawlings is all adjusting to all the different schedules also. The sad thing is that not everyone is home at the same time to all connect together. Dan still is in search of a job. He did have an MRI of his knee with results of just a strain on the knee with some bursitis. No torn meniscus, so that is good. It is just going to take time. I never thought I would admit this or even think I was a routine kind of person, but I sure would love to have my old routine back. If not that one, some other one. It is as if I am just going into each day by the seat of my pants and just surviving. On the positive note, school for me is going good. I actually got high grades with my first two assignments (50/50 and 50/50) in one of my classes and I will have a test in another on Monday. We will see how that goes since I don’t do well on tests! Studying will be in my weekend I can tell you that. Specially since it all sounds like a foreign language! Enjoy the weekend and will chat with you later J ~T

Resuults of the first day…..

Well today went very well if I do say so myself. Was able to get two tests done in math today, both of which I received “A’s” on. My Computer concept class was boring and we got out 45 minutes early. Have a little homework for that class which is making me feel really stupid! They are talking binary and decimal numbers and these decimals are nothing like the decimals I am dealing with in the other math class. So as of right now..it isn’t making sense.
Tomorrow is a couple new classes, we will see how those go.
Tyler actually enjoys the leadership class he had today. They must have been talking about personalities and such and found out which one they had. He thought it was pretty neat that it came up with something that was so close to his that he felt. He brought home the website for me to do. I took it….I got the same one as he did! Imagine that! If any of you are interested it can be found at: http://humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
Anywho….that is how the day went 🙂
Til next time
~T