I am writing tonight inspite of not really being in the mood. I have come to realize that I am often a dreamer and not nearly as often a doer. I want to write all the wonderful things that come into my head. I want to process my life lessons so that I learn from them on a deeper level. I just don't often "get around to it."
Jenna and I got a letter in the mail today from some old friends that moved away a few years ago. We miss them terribly. We talk often about it. We talk about writing them, calling them, taking a vacation to visit them. We never do. Anyway, the letter we got was their yearly Christmas letter that came a little late. Hearing all about their busy year and natural progression through life made an impression on me. We all live so many experiences. Days become weeks and then months until you just lose track of it all. Trips, experience, funny stories...can so easily come and go. If I don't write some of these things down I'm afraid that I'll loose them.
In my family, time is a robber. My grandmother is sitting in a nursing home. She has been robbed blind. I have watched dementia take a slow toll on her memories. She is now to the point where she has no memories left. She knows no one. I now fear that after having taken wonderful care of her for the last twenty years, my mother is now suffering from the same dementia. I secretly fear that I also possess the same genes that contribute to this terrible disease. I can actually feel myself slowly slipping. It is so insidious...almost imperseptible, but it's there. It makes me sad. Anyway, enough pitty party. I am gonna live while I'm alive. Achieve as much as I can and try and be diligent about writing down what I can.
Here are some things that I want to remember:
Stories from my childhood
Dad and Bill Smith
Camp
Neighborhood kids
School, teachers, friends (most of this stuff has already been erased from the data bank)
Stories from college
Drinking, pranks, parties, great quotes and one liners
All of my places of employment
Promotions Plus,Michelle's greenhouse, AutoWorks, MDOT, Spring Arbor, Idyll Hour, Temp jobs, Zondervans warehouse
HV Construction stories
Getting hurt, awesome houses, Pettibone stories, more getting hurt
Hunting stories
Nearly drowning in the frozen marsh, hunting with Troy (turkeys in my tree), my first duck hunting weekend and the near death experience (come to think of it, I should write a post of near death experiences)
Traveling
Italy, Mexico, Texas, Florida (including childhood stuff), Colorado (including skiing)
Recent stuff like nursing school and clinical experiences
(Postpardum, L&D, Primary Care, Psych, MedSurg 1 and 2- cardiac and burn)
Hospital cases
Wounds, crazies, kiddos, delivery, etc.
Wow, quite a list!
