Fries or Tots?

I’ve struggled with that question (and several others) since I was a wee one.  Read here for some thoughts on indecision:

http://blogs.bible.org/tapestry/michelle_jones/good_grief

Marathon Musings…

I recently posted about the power of encouragement…and how Christmas is the greatest source of it.

http://blogs.bible.org/tapestry/michelle_jones/go_total_stranger_go

Red Plastic Flowers: A Lesson in Generosity

Gifts (and life lessons) often come in the most unexpected places.  See www.blogs.bible.org

Life – As It Ought To Be…

Ever wish things were just plain different?  See http://blogs.bible.org/tapestry/michelle_jones/the_way_things_ought_to_be for my mocha-filled perfect world.

Fall-Out

There are some people in your life that you’d run through a wall for.  You know, the ones that have encouraged, fed, admonished, taught, laughed with or otherwise “been in your corner.”  A dear friend/mentor of mine from seminary has been all this and more,  so when she asked me for a small favor at the beginning of this summer, I eagerly jumped at the chance.

My assignment:  to meet her and her husband at 6:10am in a parking lot, drive her to the hospital for a minor 45 minute surgery, listen to post-op care instructions from the nurse, and drive her back home.  Simple, right?  Here’s how the morning went.  (Times are approximate.)

6:12am…..Parking lot transfer
6:30am….Arrival at hospital
6:35am….Chat, chat, chat while waiting
7:30ish….Surgery begins; I read, take a few sips of horrific coffee, and watch the Today show.
8:15ish….Surgery successful!  I’m called in to post-op room to greet patient, listen to instructions, and drive friend back home.

And that’s where the trouble begins.

8:23ish….I walk through post-op room and am hit with the icky anti-septic, sterile hospital smell.
8:24….I greet dear friend and suddenly realize I didn’t quite anticipate seeing stitches and blood when agreeing to the favor.  As one with an unusually queasy disposition, I begin to get a little ancy.
8:25ish….Dear friend and patient is calm, cool, and collected, making jokes with the nurse and thanking me for helping her out.
8:26ish….Resolving to focus and desiring to care for my friend, I listen to nurse describe the surgery, put on a bright, encouraging face for patient, and seek to ignore the slight nausea in my stomach.

8:32ish….Resolve weakening, clamminess beginning; nausea increasing.

8:33ish….I note to the nurse that I don’t feel well and stick my head between my  knees.  Find myself mumbling, “I’m going down,” and, in my desperate state, think that the only logical thing to do is to lay in the fetal position on the cool, hospital floor, despite the fact that I would be in the aisle of the post-op room.  Room…goes….black….

8:38ish….Wake up to an oxygen mask on my face, a bag of ice on my chest, and a blood pressure gauge around my arm.  “What’s your first name?“  “Marydith,” I squeak out.  “I thought her name was Michelle!”  “Yes, well…”  Being my 7th pass-out, none of this was new to me.  When I eagerly agreed to the task of caring for my friend post-surgery, I forgot one minor detail:  that darn vasovagal syncope.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vasovagal-syncope/DS00806/DSECTION=causes

I like to think that this condition is due to my great empathy for the pain of others, but really, it’s just about having a weak stomach.

The morning ended with me being carted out of the hospital in a wheelchair,  wet rag around my neck, my post-op friend walking beside me.    A third friend saved the day, arriving with blankets, bananas, and smiles.

Moral of the story:  Know your limits.  And forgo horrible waiting room coffee.

True Confessions

See http://blogs.bible.org/tapestry/michelle_jones/confessions_of_a_recovering_people-pleaser  for my latest post.

Spiritual Disciplines…

In this season of Lent, I’m thinking through a few spiritual disciplines.  Please see the attached link for my recent blog post on the discipline of simplicity.

http://blogs.bible.org/tapestry/michelle_jones/complex_simplicity