Fun in New Jersey

This past weekend, Danny and I were FINALLY able to go to New Jersey to spend the weekend with my oldest sister and her family. We've been trying for a few months to see them, and it was such a blessing!

About six months ago, Danny commented on the fact that we have never spent any significant individual time with any of my siblings. Most often in my family, when we get together, everybody is there. While this is an extreme joy, and a great time, it can tend to make good conversation a little bit difficult, with between 4 and 12 kids running around. So, we've determined to make an effort to spend time with each family individually.

This past weekend, Danny had off on Friday, so we left on Thursday night for a much needed time away from Baltimore. We got to Jen's house around 11:30, and collapsed into bed! Friday morning, Danny and Doug (brother-in-law) went out to breakfast with the boys, and since the girls had a sleepover, Jeni and I actually got to spend most of the day out by ourselves! It was such a joy to have uninterrupted conversation with my sister. We wandered through an antique shop/flea market type store, talking about decorating, dreams, and plans. Then we went to McDonald's for lunch and wandered through Michael's a little bit before heading back to meet everybody at the house. The four of us adults went out to dinner on Friday night, and then came home for a movie night with the kids.

On Saturday night, we went to a concert at the church. A group called The Annie Moses Band was there, and they were phenomonal! I had not heard of them before, but it was a wonderful time! The group is comprised mostly of one family. The parents and their 5 children are all amazingly musically talented. I've never seen violins played so well. I look forward to buying some of their music, and hopefully seeing them again someday, although they are not near us anytime soon.

We were amazingly refreshed coming home, and I was reminded again of how blessed I am to have a family that enjoys being together, and while we may have our issues, we truly do love each other, and love spending time together. Thank you Lord for that blessing.

Sometimes I wish...

I didn't know everything I know.



Sometimes I wish I could turn off a "medical knowledge switch" and play the idiot when it comes to people I know and love.



For example, when my mom fell down my stairs and for weeks afterwards I had nightmares of what could've happened, and how much worse it could've, and probably even should've been. Or a few weeks ago, when my husband had an eye infection, and before the doctor even said anything, I knew that the risk for meningitis was high.



This week at work, I added another "wish I never knew" to my list. I'll spare the details for the rest of you, but I had a beautiful full term baby pass away Friday night on my shift. I spent the day helping the family come to terms with their decision to withdraw support, and spent their final hours with their little boy that they tried so hard to have. It was an emotionally and physically exhausting time.

Working in the unit that I do has been a great experience, but I can only imagine all these experiences and situations that will pop in my head when it is our time to have children, and I will wish I didn't know.

If only I could turn it off. I love what I do - but don't always love having this knowledge when it comes to my own life.