New school year and a new job

#1748 - #1778

- Books on every flat surface of our apartment
- lunches packed for work and school
- coffee for early morning day shifts
- rides to work =)
- finding commonalities with new friends
- time to read and journal
- inserts for my shoes that make my foot feel better
- seeing friends who return after the summer
- talking with a PhD student whose wife is also an ICU nurse. (i didn't meet her, but just talking to him was like finding someone that spoke my language in Theology Land)
- a coffee and doughnut, no alarm clock morning

- healthy, local food gracing our table

- being part of two house blessings
- good food made by good friends
- planning fun things for the fall (canning and a trip to a quilt museum)
- a 2 year old's giggle
- being welcomed by new people at work
- acknowledging that I am a little anxious about the responsibilities of my new role
- praying
- finishing some sewing projects - gifts (we have several friends who are pregnant)

taggie blanket. my friend's request

burp cloths. i am in love with that fabric (but not so much with the chenille I used on the back)

- text messages from my husband, telling me he is coming home
- evening prayers
- giving Loki a hair cut and he did so good which is not always the case
- good sleep
- giving and receiving forgiveness
- tomatoes from my plants on the patio
- Christopher's creative, frugal meals
- taking some time to slow down after a busy summer
- an honest conversation with Christopher about what it takes for me to be involved in discussions about school related things
- learning about Constintine
- iced mango tea

Summer in Whitnall Park

We live right next to Whitnall Park, a beautiful, huge park complete with a nature preserve, lots of deer, a golf course, botanical gardens, bike trails and even a little red barn. Today I walked Loki over there often and took my camera to capture the beauty that is - literally - in our backyard.

The waterfall from this post is just a wall of rocks with tiny bit of water trickling through (and it was totally un-photogenic). The brush is tall and the trees are green, ready to lose their leaves. The parking lot was packed with a dozen mini vans, the families wanting one last outing before school starts. And the day is cool enough to wear pants - all signs that fall is near.

One Year

some thoughts about various things after almost exactly a year living in Franklin:

Work. It turns out that I really enjoy working in a tiny hospital. I love knowing that the radiology tech makes honey from the bees in his back yard and the details about a co-workers Germany trip with her Opa. I love that my co-worker brings me fish that he caught a few days before and that another co-workers makes pancakes for the whole hospital in the middle of the night.

It would be nice if we were busier ... which doesn't necessarily mean that I hope that people get sick ... it just means that I hope they come to our unit instead.

This week I am orientating and transitioning to the nursing supervisor role. I will work two shifts a week (still nights) as the supervisor and one in the ICU. This new role will technically makes me "nursing leadership" and the first person the other nurses will call when they need something ... anything - a prospect that both excites me (the problem-solving/nursing resource part) and makes me anxious (the "ummmm .... i think we have a patient in labor in the ED" part). However, I think that both the excitement and anxiety makes me eager to learn.

Life. Shortly after we moved to Franklin, Christopher and I took some sort of stress inventory and scored off the charts, which is what happens when you get married, leave your job and start another, move while your house is still on the market in a town 300 miles away and your husband starts doctoral school, all in about 8 months. It goes without saying that life now is easier and that the stress response has dwindled. We enjoy our apartment and have made some good friends here while still being able to see our family and friends in MN. I am thankful that we have worked to maintain and grow relationships over a distance and, at the same time, have been driving down roots with the people who will be by our side for the next several years.

It took some time to adjust the expectation that life in Milwaukee would be the same as life was in Rochester and, once I stopped looking for the same things, I became fulfilled with the new. We have lots of "couple friends" now and the habits and dynamics of "couple friends" are vastly different than our large, fairly fluid group of friends in Rochester. (that subject maybe deserves a whole other post.) We have settled on a church to attend after searching around for a church situation similar to the one we left. We have exchanged the numbered road system of Rochester for memorizing the streets that cross through Milwaukee and the suburbs. We have grown to love our multi-generational Bible study and fellowship after leaving Salt and Light.

And now we enter another school year with a better understanding of what to expect ... what we need to do to keep our relationship strong and fulfilling, how much work Christopher has to give to school work, what Loki needs from us to be happy and what it takes for us to grow and maintain relationships.

I have learned that when I am tempted to pack things up and run back to the familiar, it is best to go in search of the beauty that it right in front of me. And to give thanks for everything, new or familiar, challenging or comforting, difficult or routine.

simple beauty

#1725 - 1747
- scripture memorization (Colossians, if you are wondering. yep, the whole book)

- time to hang out with my sister-in-law ... and knowing what makes her feel special
- e-mails from my brother with songs he has written
- enjoying friends
- a day with my hubby all to myself
- cool water in my cup
- actually doing my household tasks
- tall sunflowers
- twin deer crossing the road
- a bike ride on a cool evening
- waffles in the morning
-sunsets on the drive West
- the "snowflake" flowers (weeds) all around
- after dinner kisses
- silly kids dances
- listening to Eva talk about life and church
- walking down familiar trails
- sitting on the lazy-boy with Loki next to me (his absolute favorite place to be at the Brenna's home, maybe ever)
- looking forward to seeing my Netzer family this weekend
- family pictures in the back yard
- reading a good book and collecting a pile of books from my mother-in-law
-  having no pressing agenda for the day

Sometimes vacation looks like this and sometimes it is in the beauty of everyday ... amplified by the fact that I don't have to go back to work for 5 days still. =)

Photo Dump

So I am on call, the cleaner I just used to clean the bathroom says "wipe, leave for 10 min til dry" so I'm leaving it. And adding a few pics of our recent adventures.

Food. Christopher posted more about food over here. 

tacos. tofu stir fry. spinach pie. eggplant parmesan and pork with cabbage and dumplings

WI Dells.

 

 The only pictures I took. Fitting though, the kids LOVED the bumper cars. 

Crooked Lake

 Downtown Milwaukee with the hubby's family

yep, that is Loki in the basket. After running half way, he decided this was the way to travel.

trying to fly a kite. I am in LOVE with the city-scape in the background

My Little Garden

just because it makes me so darn happy

Well, I'm still on call, the bathrooms are now put back together and I chatted with a friend. 

Happy Monday Friends!

About: theology wives

It's the time of year when the new doctoral students and their families are moving to Marquette so we've met several new students and their wives. It just so happens that the female students are not married - so I am not simply ignoring the husbands. =)

I realized today that I have categories for theology student wives, and that I don't consider myself part of any group. It was strange to realize that I was viewing myself by what I have not done. I don't have any sort of advanced degree. I don't work at a church. I don't proof-read Christopher's papers (hahahaha!). I can't really tell you what he is working on; I can tell you what I think he is working on but those two usually aren't the same thing. Most of the time I have absolutely no idea what the other students are talking about. And I think it'd be fun to sit in on one of Christopher's classes someday (one he is teaching) ... and make a list of the words/phrases/concepts that I don't understand.

But I'm not really sure that any of those things are the point. I could spend a lifetime comparing myself to others and never be satisfied. Or I could be thankful for what I have and realistically work to strengthen and improve my life.

I choose the latter.

And I know the truth - that I was made to be here, working by Christopher's side, being a supportive wife who happens to work at the hospital down the road.

And that is good.