October words

rain – love it. the noise, the wetness, the hush, the cool, the clearing, the green, the growth, the lightning.

ink – lots of it. scattered all over a white shirt and my favorite jeans with a hole in the knee…on purpose ☺ In celebration of the lovely Julia Kathleen Myhre and her 13th birthday. The Phantom Tollbooth was the theme – The Senses Taker my character…a zany record keeper of sorts (in honor of my record keeping role in our work here). Now, this is not one of those beloved childhood books for me (I’ve actually never read it cover to cover), but it is for Julia, and so we celebrated.

ice cream – heavenly. any kind, anytime, anywhere. Last Wednesday night was no exception when the guys brought some down from Myhre’s who were leaving town the next morning. “I LOVE ICE CREAM!” I exclaimed as I sat in my chair with my bowl gripped with 2 hands! When I was shivering with salmonella fevers the next afternoon, this was not exactly the first thing that came to mind! 5 days down for the count, lots to drink, not much to eat, lots of time in the bathroom, my body is almost completely recovered, and only time will tell if my love of ice cream ever does! :P

movies – the silver screen. When one is lying in bed for days with fever and severe abd. pain, after the stage when all you can do is sleep comes the stage where all you feel like doing is watching movies. Fever Pitch, Outsourced, Changing Lanes, The Great Debaters, My Best Friend’s Wedding, to name just a few…the next stage is when you’ve gained enough strength to hold up a book in front of you and your eyes open to read.

poet – poem. “That young man with the long, auburn hair and the impudent face – that young man was not really a poet; but surely he was a poem.” (G.K. Chesterton – The Man Who Was Thursday) A quote from a delightful description in the opening page of the book currently atop the stack on my bedside table.

slasher – IV team. More often than not during October, there has only been one nurse working on the Pediatric ward at any one time. This week, Betty, who is a superstar Nursing Assistant, has been on her own with Scott Will and I. 40 patients and one nursing assistant…it’s unimagineable really, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So, I gave meds and hung boluses and took out IV’s and wrote discharge instructions as we went along. Now, from a few posts ago, you’ll remember that I’m not the best nor the most courageous IV stick that ever graced the floors of a pediatric ward…and Betty isn’t trained for it, so who does she call to her rescue for the line up of kids who needed IV’s for blood transfusions and antibiotics? The slasher. Cultural information: lawnmowers are not really part of the fabric of life here, so guys with sharp hacking implements are employed by anyone with spaces of grass to “slash” the grass to the desired length. This particular slasher that Betty called on is the “in charge” slasher so-to-speak, and quite good at putting IV’s in…who knows how he got into the IV placement business, but there you have it. Webaleh slashers.


pride – dark. It’s a darkness that’s quite safe though, one that keeps me from having to show my face to the bright light of the sun. The last few weeks I’ve been running smack into it, day after day after day, like a brick wall obstructing the only road. It’s gotta come down, or I’m not gonna get anywhere! But be gentle, k God?!

future – bright. But blurry. Being the Miss Practicality that I am, I have never really stressed out about my future…Wondered? Sure. Curious? Sure. Dreamed? Sure. Planned? Absolutely. I’m not sure what my life will look like this time next year. I’m not sure what kinds of words will be featured in a theoretical post such as this one a year from now. But it’s fun to dream, fun to think about all the options and possibilities. I am thankful to have such a privilege as options/dreams. Decisions are going to need to be made in coming weeks and months, will be interesting to see what comes to be on the other side!

Mumbai – Christmas. My lovely sister has FINALLY been given her visa for a year-ish long fellowship in said Indian metropolis. She leaves the States next week. Why is Mumbai connected to Christmas you’re wondering? I’m getting there…I was sooooo bummed when she wasn’t able to come with my parents in August due to her visa being held up, but now that it has come, plan B is in full swing and I’m super excited to be planning for her to come here to Bundibugyo for Christmas! We’ll both be out of the country for Christmas, so what better solution than to be together!

Nalongo – mother of twins. A dear friend at home in St. Louis is pregnant with twins and due to “produce” any day now...she will soon be a Nalongo (mother of twins)…how sad I am to not be able to be there, to hold those precious little babies and love on them and their mama. She’ll be celebrating a birthday of her own in just a few days as well. Praying for ALL of you here, dear friend!