We've been away from Montana for almost 2 weeks now, and I do miss it. I miss the fresh air. I miss the open spaces. I miss the sky. We've been eating amazing home-cooked food, restaurant food, Taco Bell, pizza, you name it. We shopped. We got married. We hung out with the girls/guys. We threw the biggest party either of us have ever thrown. We laughed, we cried, we drove the car about 100 miles a day. We rarely slept.
It was a pretty stressful trip for me. I'm not used to being around so many people so many days in a row. I'd gotten used to my solitude in Montana. Stephan and I sat together this morning as I was folding and packing clothes, crying. He talked to me for a while, everything I needed to hear and more. It's a hard thing for both of us to leave our families.
Anina, our 3 year old neice, came into the room with a large doll dressed like an American Indian. She sat the doll down next to the couch and started talking to her.
"There are a lot of things and it's okay for those things. No matter what else there is an important thing. The most important thing is that I love you. That is the important thing. I love you very much always. No matter what."
Monday, June 18, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
How to Visit Home
Tuesday: Leave Baker at 10pm
Wednesday: Arrive home at 2pm, get marriage license, arrive at sister's, Stephan goes out, Anna goes to sleep.
Thursday: Meet with minister and his wife to plan ceremony, put together gifts for family.
Friday: Get married, go to hotel, .... .... ....
Saturday: Buy nice clothes for parent's 50th anniversary party, attend/help with party until midnight. Crash.
Sunday: Host wedding shower for friend, go to parent's, watch frustrating Soprano's Finale, bleach & rinse & dry 120 glass bottles.
Monday: Help cook 2 cases of eggplant, fall dead asleep with 2 year old watching Aristo Cats, clean out rotting bananas from car, try to seperate clean from dirty clothes to do laundry, upload a few photos and try to summarize our crazy week.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Pants
As the partner of an RN who works in an emergency room, I've gotten used to dealing with strange things- like having to deliver more clothes to him during the middle of the day because of bodily fluids.
Last night Stephan handed me a clear plastic bag with scrubs in it.
Me: What's this?
Him: Pants.
Me: Why are they in a bag?
Him: Just put the pants in the wash... with bleach...
Me: ... ???
Him: ... and don't touch them.
Last night Stephan handed me a clear plastic bag with scrubs in it.
Me: What's this?
Him: Pants.
Me: Why are they in a bag?
Him: Just put the pants in the wash... with bleach...
Me: ... ???
Him: ... and don't touch them.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Maybe I'm the Racist
It came to my attention this morning that it's gay pride month. I overheard a few weeks ago that there is actually a gay couple living in Baker. The comment was, "They keep really low profile, which is good. Remember a few years ago when [that person] was really gay?" Whatever you feel about gay people, imagine what it must be like to be that person that everyone in the town knows.
Then I thought about the lack of diversity in general here. There is one african-american family, one mexican family, and one asian family, who owns the Chinese restaurant. And, I have to admit, the first few weeks here I thought things were really weird. It was weird that the baggers at the grocery store were regular kids, not people involved in a work program. People cooking in restaurants are all caucasion. I miss the weekends when people are working on their cars in their driveways, blasting music "hecho en Mexico" while cooking food on their little BBQ's.
It's a fact that I expect certain people to be in certain places- it bothers me that our gas station doesn't smell like Nag Champa. I like to think of myself as more worldly because I'm used to hanging out with people from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. But, if I expect to see them only in specific situations, does that make me a racist?
Comments?
Then I thought about the lack of diversity in general here. There is one african-american family, one mexican family, and one asian family, who owns the Chinese restaurant. And, I have to admit, the first few weeks here I thought things were really weird. It was weird that the baggers at the grocery store were regular kids, not people involved in a work program. People cooking in restaurants are all caucasion. I miss the weekends when people are working on their cars in their driveways, blasting music "hecho en Mexico" while cooking food on their little BBQ's.
It's a fact that I expect certain people to be in certain places- it bothers me that our gas station doesn't smell like Nag Champa. I like to think of myself as more worldly because I'm used to hanging out with people from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds. But, if I expect to see them only in specific situations, does that make me a racist?
Comments?
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The roof, the roof...
Is finally patched! Laurie and Donald and their son Cameron spent the day with us yesterday putting the ridge cap on, and adding various other essential pieces of roofing material to our house. This means the ceiling shouldn't bleed anymore.
There goes all the tourism revenue we were counting on.
Anyway, Stephan's working, I'm at home relaxing, trying to get ready to come home. Although the Codeine is NOT helping be get organized.
A word on rural health care: while it may still be lacking in personel, I much prefer the personal attention we get out here than the 3-minute office visit that's so common in the city. Maybe we don't have the most high-tech equipment, but we have primary care practitioners who take all the time they need to help you out with whatever is going on. We don't have a 3-D ultrasound, we have people. It makes a big difference.
There goes all the tourism revenue we were counting on.
Anyway, Stephan's working, I'm at home relaxing, trying to get ready to come home. Although the Codeine is NOT helping be get organized.
A word on rural health care: while it may still be lacking in personel, I much prefer the personal attention we get out here than the 3-minute office visit that's so common in the city. Maybe we don't have the most high-tech equipment, but we have primary care practitioners who take all the time they need to help you out with whatever is going on. We don't have a 3-D ultrasound, we have people. It makes a big difference.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Happy June 1st
Yesterday I was part of a discussion that started with, "I think we don't know how lucky we are to live here." I was eating lunch at the hospital with a table full of health care workers, and one of them spoke up about how unique and safe and beautiful our area is, and how uncommon that is in the U.S. today. It's true, I could walk down main street, or any street, while counting out a hundred dollars outloud, and people may walk up and talk to me about my life, but nothing bad would happen. If I needed to, I would feel perfectly safe walking around after dark here, or even sleeping outside on the sidewalk! Although, if I did try to sleep outside, no doubt many people would offer me a place to stay, a good meal, and some friendship.
I could walk up to the front or back door of any house here, knock and ask for anything (money, sugar, a power tool, keys to their vehicle, a babysitter, a tractor) and they'd be happy to help out.
Yesterday's discussion turned to the phenomenon of gated communities in urban areas, and how strange of a concept that is to folks who live in the country. Gates don't keep people out here. Gates keep livestock in. They asked me, does the gate really stop crime? Does it make the people who live inside better friends or neighbors? How much do people pay to live inside those gates?
It's still amazing how different life is here. Every day I'm grateful to be where I am. Most days I even appreciate the rooster next door that starts crowing at 5:30 in the morning!
I could walk up to the front or back door of any house here, knock and ask for anything (money, sugar, a power tool, keys to their vehicle, a babysitter, a tractor) and they'd be happy to help out.
Yesterday's discussion turned to the phenomenon of gated communities in urban areas, and how strange of a concept that is to folks who live in the country. Gates don't keep people out here. Gates keep livestock in. They asked me, does the gate really stop crime? Does it make the people who live inside better friends or neighbors? How much do people pay to live inside those gates?
It's still amazing how different life is here. Every day I'm grateful to be where I am. Most days I even appreciate the rooster next door that starts crowing at 5:30 in the morning!
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