John’s thoughts, rants, and crazy ideas
When you hear the term “The Right Stuff” it brings to mind astronauts. Those brave men & women had qualities about themselves that made them do what needed to be done which most people would find difficult to do. Venturing into space where no one has been before. In my mind, the same would hold true for the pioneer who moved west through the United States. Not knowing what laid in store for them but searching for something better for…
I’ve shared before, I’m a numbers guy. When we had our business, I loved the bookkeeping, payroll, balance sheets, sales, projections, and anything related to the numbers of the business. So it was natural for me to put Suzanne’s illness into a format that I had some control over; a medium that gave me a quantitative value for our life together both now and the future. If you have been reading along since the start, you’ve seen the numbers I’ve…
Her sixteen day journey in patients now changes into a lifetime of hope. Nothing moves at a farmer’s pace in the hospital. Decisions have to go up the ladder and back down before actions occur. Boundaries, a chain of command, job authority, territorial responsibility, and all the other descriptions of how individual employees in such a large organization are forced into little boxes, make it tough for the common person to deal with things happening at such a snail’s pace….
Just another typical Saturday in a Chicago Hospital. Unfortunately, we have enough experience now that we can say that. I went home last night to re-load, hopefully for the last time. Got my birds fed, did a load of laundry, discovered I have a critter eating cat food in the barn, found Suzanne’s embroidery, packed and on the road I was. Arriving at the hospital, Suzanne was more than ready to see me. Sharing her stories of what all happened…
There’s a big difference between ‘Killing Time’ and ‘Time Killers’. When you could be productive but choose to do things that just take up time, that becomes a time killer. When you are away from or unable to perform your normal routines or tasks because of the situation, you end up just killing time. Here in Chicago, I’ve been forced into the killing time mode. Waiting 14 hours to hear about Suzanne’s surgery outcome, just killing time. Every morning, waiting…
Calls & texts were the first part of my morning as the inner circle of family and friends wanted to hear a voice. I was unable to visit Suzanne until Noon because my attempt to get an early exemption failed. Amazing how questions in your mind clear after some thoughts. I realized this morning that the fright I saw in Suzanne’s eyes last night is just like a movie plot we have all seen. The patient wakes up after a…
I just can’t comprehend how much the lives of the Apostles changed in just one day. A man, walking along the seashore stopped and asked these men to follow him, follow him across the lands as his associates. For each one that did, their lives changed that day forever. Mostly fisherman, one day these men were casting their nets into the sea and the next day, they were on a journey that would make history. What moved them to make…
Been to the bank lately? Hope it was to make a deposit. I took Suzanne to the bank today, the voicebank. We are working to have her voice saved in a voicebank in case she is unable to speak in the future. Recording words, phrases, and sentences that can be analyzed and create a virtual voice that sounds like her is the goal. We are working on this from two different directions. First, I have put together a large number…
Here’s a cliche question: What would you choose to eat if you only had about 50 meals left to eat in your life? That’s only 18 days of breakfast, lunch, and supper. Suzanne is facing that exact question before surgery on the 23rd. After that, it’s questionable whether she may ever eat solid foods again. When her surgeon told her to enjoy life on February 4th, food and lots of variation have been on her plate. This is the first…
Noun: The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. So what is it to be in communion with someone? It’s that relationship you have with a spouse, good friend, or neighbor that takes it to ‘the next level’ of a relationship. You are at that point that you can share almost anything without fear of losing that relationship. In the Church, Communion takes on a different meaning, it…