My Favorite Things - p.40

Life has been a bit crazy lately. Cooking has obviously taken a back seat to other things. And I really do have all kinds of intentions of getting back to it sooner than later. But the schedule thing is still working itself out. Crafting isn't happening at all right now. Really and truly, life outside of work and being at the house isn't happening. So in order to keep myself motivated and accountable (and to prove I do in fact have some more stuff in the works) I decided to dedicate my favorite things today to my coming attractions!

Crock Pot Chicken Curry - I'm actually making this one today for everyone in the Pastoral Care office. We'll see how it goes!

Crock Pot Philly Steak - This could be humongous flop, or one of my best ideas ever. We'll find out soon enough!

My first University of Alabama football game - No, I'm not switching allegiances, but seeing as how ours is a mixed marriage the least I can do is make good use of a free ticket to the VIP section! I'm a good wife like that!

My next vacation - Yup, I already have something planned. I'll reveal the details when I start the six month countdown! I'm honestly starting to believe that the planning and preparation for a vacation is more exciting to me than the trip itself!

A CPE update - I'm going to have to be careful with what I say about CPE so as not to violate the privacy of patients, family members, or my classmates but I'm going to try to share some of my reflections about my own "stuff".

So, um...

I was all set to post a lovely entry tonight on the Southern Women's Show. I had a wonderful time last year and have been looking forward to it. I was actually pretty stoked when my hospital schedule worked out for me to be off Friday and I figured that would be the perfect chance. My mother-in-law wanted to go with me so we were all set to have some girl time, but sadly other things got in the way. Plus, I felt pretty awful Friday and really didn't get off the couch much.

Saturday I was on-call at the hospital. It was a really great, affirming experience that I absolutely needed at this point. I cam home after my 12 hour shift very tired, but the good kind of tired. Not the "oh I was miserable and now I'm exhausted" kind, but the "I worked hard and was very productive and now I need to rest and re-charge" kind. I like being that kind of tired.

Today I figured we'd re-schedule girl time after church. It would be a good way to keep me in town because tonight I had *dum dum dum* CHARGE CONFERENCE! Well, by the time we finished with choir practice (because I had to run the sound board) and were starving, Jeff wanted to grab lunch. We did, and at that point it was almost 2pm so I really didn't feel like fighting my way around the civic center and paying for a ticket to the show since I wasn't after anything in particular, didn't really have money to burn for myself, and knew all the good freebies would be gone anyway!

I decided to waste my afternoon at Books-A-Million instead. It's been a long time since I wandered into a bookstore and made myself at home on the floor in one of the aisles, but it felt really nice! I probably spent a lot more time than I should have with the children's books, but I didn't give a rip. I relived a lot of great memories. I've got to get a new copy of the Pokey Little Puppy! I also decided to be productive and get a few more Christmas gifts. I'm almost done!

Charge Conference went well. Still, I'm glad it's only once a year!

So that's been my weekend! Hope yours was a bit more exciting!

Friday Five - Fall

Today's Friday Five is all about fall and word association, so here are a few of the things I think of when I think about fall.

Sweaters - I love good, warm, fluffy sweaters. And unfortunately I don't live in an area where I can wear them all the time. So wearing my sweaters is a treat! My favorite sweater right now is a dark purple that is kind of a looser knit and has a hood and a kangaroo pocket on the front. It's perfect. I will probably break it out next week!

Changing Leaves - I love watching the leaves change colors. Whether it was the Japanese maple in our yard or the huge tree that turned yellow. I love watching the changes and the colors. I can't really pinpoint what it is about it except for the promise of changes to come.

County Fair - The county fair was always HUGE in my hometown. We had a parade. We got a day off from school. There were quilts and canned goods and pies and animals and produce. I always said I would enter a photo but haven't ever done it. Maybe one day...

Pumpkins - I loved going to the pumpkin patch when I was young (like pre-school or kindergarten) but for most of my elementary years and beyond, we grew our own. There are several old photos of my brother and me posing by these pumpkins that we probably could have hidden inside if we hollowed it out! I also have a special place in my heart for the tiny pumpkins that are too tiny to do anything but look cute or maybe be painted!

Brunswick Stew - This was always my mom's "famous" recipe that people asked for all the time. We typically only made it in the fall because it's warm and hearty and a lovely food for watching football games! There's nothing special about it why it can't be made all the time, it's just sort of what we did! I'm going to make some in the near future, so stay tuned for the recipe!

My Favorite Things - p.39

I have been hunting for inspiration for some new favorite things, and since that seems to be the only thing on my mind lately, I decided that I would give my favorite things that inspire me!

Nature - More specifically, nature in motion. Flowing water, leaves fluttering in the breeze, a hard working ant, flowers as they bloom and grow. It all seems to prompt me in new and unique ways of thinking and experience that can then inform what I think about whatever else is going on in my life.

Conversation - It's pretty obvious to the people that know me that I enjoy talking. But I also really enjoy listening and observing. I love to have conversations, but I also love to simply be a fly on the wall for the conversations of others! Sometimes it is the particular subject matter that inspires me, but often it is simply the interaction as a whole that gets my wheels turning!

Passion - Seeing someone do something that they feel strongly about is inspiring to me. Perhaps because I need a little bit of that fire before I am able to really create, or maybe simply because the world seems to lack so much of that these days. Whether it's a child trying so stinking hard to sell something, or a person standing up against injustice, it's hard not to be inspired in the face of that kind of energy!

Memories - especially photographic ones. And not all of them are pleasant. But sometimes it is the memories of those experiences that we require to be able to work towards something better or to learn from that experience. As much as I love to think of inspiration as something warm and fuzzy, the simple fact of the matter is that some of the greatest inspiration in life came from something that needed to be changed!

Where do you find your inspiration? Perhaps one of your inspirations will also become one of mine!

Scheduling

I have determined, after only one week, that the schedule of a chaplain agrees with me. Particularly the whole "changing it up" aspect. I have always thought of myself as a creature of habit, but I have recently come to realize that I enjoy a certain amount of flexibility. Actually, it keeps me focused and it helps me to thrive.

I have gotten spoiled by the schedule of a student and then that of a part-time pastor because I have freedom during the day to get things done. I can grocery shop while everyone else is at work. I can run by the post office without a second thought. But this whole working 8-5 Monday - Friday thing gets old fast. And that's why the chaplain schedule is beautiful!

I generally work most days. But I have at least one day a week where I change it up a little. I may not come in until the afternoon one day. I may have a Friday or a Monday off because I had to work a weekend shift. And it absolutely rocks! Yes, it makes planning a weekend getaway a little more of a challenge. It requires a little more coordination, but it's totally worth it! I like breaking it up. And I even like only having one day off at a time!

We'll see what I think about 16 hour shifts and getting off at 8 am!

Reflections on Week 1

This week has been a bit on the crazy side. But it's been a generally good kind of crazy. You remember the craziness of going back to school? The excitement of new friends and new stuff and reuniting with the friends you've missed like crazy over the summer? The anxiety around being in a new place and having new teachers and new classmates and not really knowing what to expect? Yeah, that pretty much sums it up!

I got a cool new "bookbag" for CPE from my step-mom that has my new monogram on it, so my church and CPE things don't have to share a bag now! I know, only I would be that big a goober as to want different bags for my different things, but it helps! Because I'm a little nuts and felt the need to revisit my elementary school days of getting a lunch box to match my book bag, I also got a cute lunch bag. I also got a badge reel that is green and white polka dot fabric with a pink "S" on it. So with my perfectly perky and coordinated accessories, I was ready to tackle my new adventure!

Day one was general hospital orientation. I understand the necessity of it, but I could probably have given some of the speeches, I've heard them so many times! I had also forgotten how exhausting it can be to sit in a classroom all day! I did enjoy getting to meet the other residents and our supervisor. I think we're going to be a great group. I am really looking forward to getting to know all of my classmates!

Day two started with a benefits presentation which was a waste of my time and then went to our department. We met and talked about some basic stuff, got our pagers and keys, talked about the possible unit assignments, met some of the staff chaplains, and took a tour of the hospital. During the tour we got to not only see the helipad, but go out and walk around and hang out on it! I was tempted to go play on the giant "H" but I figured it would be my luck I'd lay down in something gross and then I'd look up and see a helicopter and be traumatized! We also went to decedent affairs (you get a treat if you figure out what that means) and talked about our role there. We had to leave our beepers to get a few things changed, and also put in our requests for our unit assignments.

Day three we started with a pastoral care staff meeting. It's going to take a little time for me to get used to being with my whole class all day, every day. This is definitely new for me because before I only saw my class twice a week! I'm sure that will probably change at least a little once we start working different shifts and visiting our units and whatnot. I like my classmates, but I also miss my Nashville friends. We got our pagers back, got a brief intro to what the code team does (and how we fit in as a part of that) and were supposed to get to watch some code training, but it didn't happen so we'll just have to wait for the real thing! We also got some information on security, the use of the chapel, worship services, baptisms, bereavement care in the WIC, and our vacation time. Also, I get UAB business cards, just like a real employee. Isn't that nifty? I have to turn in my form at the end of the week for those, once I get my hospital e-mail set up!

Day four we started out with a tour of the pre-surgery and PACU, then had presentations from Risk Management (ie, avoiding lawsuits) and the Eye Bank. We had a longer lunch break during which I went to the benefits office to sign up for health insurance (which is a long story). We also got to go down to the ER and see part of a trauma and learn more about that department. We had some nice "bonding" time in the afternoon where we could explore or read or whatever, but my classmates and I mostly sat around and talked. We're a pretty diverse group, but I think we're going to have a great year!

Day five we learned a little about charting, which I have a feeling will become a pain in the rear sooner than later. We couldn't get any of our computer stuff set up, so we will have to do that next week. We learned about the Alabama Organ Center (stay tuned for more on that!) and after lunch went on a scavenger hunt of the hospital. We didn't get the whole thing done (it'll take a while!) but we did get to meet a lot of people and see a lot of different places which was the point!

I still have one more week of "orientation" in the pastoral care department and I'm really excited about that. I like being able to ease into everything and not be thrown into the deep end! We will start shadowing the chaplains both on the units and on-call next week. We also start our first solo calls next week, but we have phone backup of staff chaplains so even "solo" we aren't totally alone!

Friday Five - Just a Job

Today's Friday Five is all about looking at the fact that, although ministry is a calling, it shares many characteristics with any other occupation. Particularly the fact that there are aspects of the job that are fantastic and there are things about it that are less than fantastic. This week has been a good exercise in both for me as I live into my new, dual role as both pastor and chaplain! (I'll leave the student piece out for now!)

What are a few of the tasks that you find tedious/energy sucking in your ministry position? CHARGE CONFERENCE REPORTS! I love to believe that, in a larger church with more staff and committees to handle these that it's a lot less of a pain, but part of me knows that isn't necessarily true. I haven't found anything exceptionally tedious or energy sucking in CPE, but I'm guessing that charting will probably be up on that list!

Is there anything you could do to make one of them better? Unfortunately, not that I know of. Charge Conference is all me for now. I don't know that charting will be that bad, but I'm guessing that keeping good notes and doing what I can on the floor will help (but again, I really don't know for sure!)

What are a few of the tasks you find energizing in ministry? Talking and listening are often the most energizing. Learning new things (especially as part of a group) and seeing others get excited about learning are very rewarding. And I am learning to value self-care as an important task of ministry!

If given a quarterly spiritual day, how would you want to spend it? Going up to camp to spend the night and get away, to read and journal and perhaps go to some sort of workshop. If I couldn't do that, I would want to simply attend a worship service at another church where I can worship without the duties of leadership.

If given a quarterly spiritual day, how would you actually spend it? Probably still working, or as an extension of a family vacation. Because I don't work from a regular office (at least as far as church work goes) it's hard for me to draw those lines between personal and professional

Bonus: What would your Dream Ministry job include? A flexible schedule where I have a day somewhere in the middle of the week to either come in later in the afternoon or do some work from home; definitely have some colleagues who can take care of responsibilities for me when I'm not at work. I would love to have at least one Sunday a month where I don't have to work so that I can attend worship services that I don't have to lead. I would love to be able to work in more one-on-one situations, preferably with young people.