A conglomeration of things

There's no good way to sum up the last four days. It's been a whirlwind of activity. We took on some pretty deep topics in our parish nursing class... things like grief and loss and abuse. When we got on the abuse topic, my hair got all raised again. I always forget how awful people can treat each other. Watch out for your grandparents that they don't get taken in by some fast-talking person. Your grandparents probably aren't at that much of a risk. The worst of it is... the lonely old people. These terrible families who don't love on their old folks. A little old granny who got taken advantage of, will often say, "but he was a nice young man... and he called me every day!" That swindler was probably the only person who ever called her. DARN it peoples! Adopt an elderly person. Share your love. Don't let loneliness predispose ANYONE... whatever their age... to being taken advantage of. Women would rather stay in an abusive relationship, because "he touches me" - even in an ugly way. Humanity can't live without love, touch, care. What makes me, me? The drive to make sure that every single person I meet goes away knowing that someone cares about them. It's not just to be nice. It's to save lives.

I was just reading about a book called, "Monster". The commentary said that people don't become criminals overnight. In class, we talk about the layers and layers that cover up a person who is stuck in an abusive relationship. That person cannot begin to get out of their situation unless someone helps peel back the layers. That's our job. With the power of Christ, we can peel back layers of hate, abuse, or plain neglect... that have encoffined (new word) people in death. The gospel is a message of freedom and life! HUZZAH. Hehe... ok

Back to life. The ladies ended up being quite precious to me. They were a great group and so funny. They called me the hope for the future. (Can't wait until I get to the age where I'm telling someone young whipppersnapper that they're the hope for the future!). It was a treat to graduate with them on Friday. I actually got a little certificate... so I guess I could be an official parish nurse.... if I only had a parish... teehee.

Yesterday, my big adventure was to eat (I think they were raw) oysters. They weren't too bad! We also had shrimp, sushi, and calamari. It was quite the seafood night. It's a good thing that I figured out I like seafood as long as it doesn't taste like the sea. Today we went to the beach! :) I'm just working SO HARD. :) I've been playing a lot with Hannah. She is so cute! I'll post pictures when I get back to my computer in KS. Ok well I should probably get going. Thanks for all you who are reading this. I love you so much.

Katie