When the Gyms are Closed

The rec centers, gyms, and many establishments are closed. We get back to basics to still stay active with the few material things we have. 

Colorado is not in a lockdown yet. We can still exercise outdoors as long as we distance ourselves from others. We cook more at home, order take-out, and work to help others.

I still have my health to work for the sick in the intensive care unit. My son started helping to deliver food. 

I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my co-workers. I thank the people who donated food to us at work. I thank everyone who prays for us. 

Podcast Transcript: COVID

Today, I share with you my week as a nurse during the Coronovirus scare.

What is COVID-19? It is Coronavirus Disease discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and as you know, it has spread in other countries, including Japan, the Philippines, Italy, and the United States.

How am I affected as a head of household? I had to stock up necessities to last 30 days. I made time to do this last night, avoiding the crowd, and at the end of my work week.

As a nurse, Two nursing events are canceled, one here in Denver, the other in Indiana. The one in June for the Philippine Nursing Association of America is not canceled yet.

One nursing event of only 25 people is not canceled. This is my Philippine Nursing group in my state. We were able to do some fundraising to benefits, nursing students.

At work, many of us have to pitch in working extra hours to accommodate the already busy season without COVID. Our masks are running low.

As a resident in Colorado, I am affected in the sense that many places are closed. Rec centers, parks, schools...temporarily for two weeks.

The store shelves for antimicrobials, paper products, and baby wipes are bare. Yesterday, I bought the last dozen eggs the store had out.

You have heard of this social distancing and avoiding crowds to slow down the spread of COVID. The threat is real. We all need to pitch in to slow it down as we are already busy in the hospital.

We cannot afford a rapid spread and a big rise in hospitalized patients. So far, we have resources and help to care for the sick now. The threat will not only affect respiratory patients but also other hospitalized patients be it surgical, cancer, heart patients and the rest.

Keep healthy. Keep clean. Wash your hands. If you are strong but have the symptoms of a cold, cover your mouth and distance yourself.

Let’s be thankful it is not so bad yet here in the US. But we can do better and fight the spread.

Mother

You are the one, my mentor, my mother, my mom.

You are my guide, my anchor, and the one I will forever admire.

Under a rainstorm or darkness, you went on with your routine as I have grown mature in mind.

You were a
R-EGULAR
O-RGANIZED
U-NEXCITING
T-YPICAL, but
I-MPORTANT
N-ORMAL
E-VERYDAY kind of mother, so I thought.

How silly I was as a young lady tall enough to be an adult, yet very short in mind to wish you were just like other moms wearing business clothes, high heels, and makeup?

Now I still have many more years to be half as good as you, mimicking your routine as a great nurse many look up to.

COVID-19 Season

After going back and forth with events cancellation, we went ahead and did the Wellness Challenge Kick-Off for 2020. We are a group of 25ish not 250 crowd. It is part of our fundraising, so it is important to us. We had a good time raising money, collecting from participants for the challenge to benefit nursing student scholars. I feel grateful for the smooth event.

Here is the rest of my thankfuls.

• A guiding quote from one of our team members in the PNACO nursing association inspiring us to move more.
• A late-birthday gift from family, a comforter set, so warm and soft.
• A group-texting app for my work-team. There are probably 100 of us, too many. This Group-Me texting works smoothly. I named it St Joseph Intensive Care on my phone not realizing I changed it for the whole group. Nobody complained to the so-techy me though.

• As the antimicrobial soaps and gels run out from the stores due to panic buying, thank goodness we still have running water. We can wash our hands. Don't expect bottled water still being available, though. That is too much to ask.
• Charity Miles app for letting me donate my miles.
• My cute grandchildren pics.
• My grandson loves the reusable feeder pouch with baby food in it. He can feed himself with hardly any mess.

• My city closed our recreation centers and parks through the end of the month to slow down of the COVID-19 spread. I am not ecstatic about that but thank goodness for the open spaces we're still allowed to go to.
• Recumbent bike to exercise indoors.
• A late Filipino Ube cake for me with macapuno strings. Macapuno is similar to coconut. Yum.
• I learned how to podcast. My therapist recommended considering podcasting. If nothing else, it serves as a great stress reliever for me, similar to journaling and blogging.
• We have masks left for working with patients in isolation. I had to save a single mask for the whole day but I am so glad I had it.
• We, care providers, are not required to stay in the hospital yet. Remember we are both the band and the rescuers of the sinking Titanic. Please do not forget us, and pray for us too.

Oh, COVID-19. You are old. It is 2020. Leave, now.

Happy Birthday to Me

Each year my birthday comes, I remember waking up to the sound of my mother singing to herself when I was young, "Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, ha. . . " She was singing to herself on her birthday morning.

Before I opened my eyes, not sure if the sun was up, I could hear her. Those were the days of my childhood. I doubt if she does it anymore. Or maybe she does. I will find out as she celebrates her birthday this year with me and my sister. She will be flying in from the Philippines.

But this week is my birthday week. It's my week. I turned 49. I received flowers, a plant, and an organizer. My daughter, not pictured, gifted the organizer box to me. I think she is suggesting something. :)

Family time on my birthday

I went back to Dutch Brothers to get some "kindness." They got my coffee right this time, "dairy-free." No surprise visit to the bathroom after. They were being kind.

I got my little grandson as a handheld walker to assist with walking. He would not stand upright with it though and literally act like a noodle with it. But when "mom" or "dad" pull it up to be his swing, he loves it and giggles. Oh well. I am grateful they use it. :)

Oh, and I learned how to Podcast. Thanks to Anchor.

Six Sentence Story: Green Coat

He tore my green, soft, favorite coat, the one I wore so much.

I felt I was not the one he wanted me to be, not anymore. 

All good things must come to an end, or should it be just the bad?

Clutching my torn coat and shutting the door in front of him, tears shed from my burning eyes.

I said goodbye.

It is his loss, not mine.

Six Sentence Story: Slice of Cake

"Do you have any plans for her birthday?"

"I got her a cake, and then we’re supposed to go out but she’s still on her pajamas in bed."

It was 7 pm, and apparently, she was on the phone with her father who was upset that she did not do some chores for him. 

"Let’s go out for dinner, my treat."

He said he would pick up some meds first from the pharmacy to drop off to her dad.

We went out to celebrate her birthday and ended the evening with her giving each one of us a slice of her favorite carrot (birthday) cake.

Leaping

We're leaping and keeping

This oh-good feeling

In our reclaimed "home"

With happiness, peace, and joy we own

It is the end of February

The month of love

It's great to end the month

With the people we love

Here's my gratitude list, ten items, it consists:

• My daughter and his nephew dressing alike, so cute.
• Josiah crawling around exploring and getting stronger.
• A celebration night before Josiah's mom's birthday ends. One of the great Mexican restaurants was still open to serve us.
• We had a good carrot cake. Everybody liked it.
• A quote from Oprah I shared with my children.

• Josiah eating green peas. Such a good boy.
• An excellent beginning-of-the-year review from management and peers.
• A thank you card from the adult children of my patient. How sweet. As an intensive care nurse, we don't get this very often.
• A happy work anniversary card and a gift card from work.
• Gratitude from two men the night I decided to pay forward someone for the blessing of peace in my home. 

I heard a cashier telling an older man before me in the pharmacy that there's a co-pay that must be paid. I did not hear the details. The old man went back to the waiting area with no meds on his hands. I could not help but ask, how much cash does he need. I had to insist that he takes my money and gets his meds. He finally did and gave me the change. He thanked me and shook my hand. He said I was an angel. Another unrelated older man came to me and ask to hug me to say thanks for what he saw. He had tears in his eyes. Wow, I felt so happy. I was in the right place at the right time. I got back from that evening more than I gave.

I have heard about people "paying forward" by randomly paying for a strangers' coffee in a not-so-cheap coffee shop. While it may be convenient and a nice gesture, I doubt that the people who go to these coffee shops really "need" free coffee? I think giving a hand to those who need help makes "paying forward" more meaningful. I find that this gesture makes me feel rich in my heart.

Prayers Answered

More pictures, more gratitude. I did not post last week, so I am doing a make up.

I am thankful for more than ten things, I am sure. Here they are:

• Desserts in a local nursing convention along with valuable learnings I picked up from many speakers. I can use them at work to improve patient care. The breakfast and lunch were tasty as well.
• My grandson looks so cute with his dad here. They were taking selfies.

• A music-filled night watching a Beetles tribute concert on a Valentine's night with friends. Guess where the group are from? Las Vegas, lol. They fooled us talking with an English accent all along until the end when they announced they are Americans. :) They were pretty good singing the popular songs of Beetles, though.

• A Valentine's dinner before the concert in a new restaurant with all-you-can eat sushi. It is a new branch in our city called Sushi Katsu. 
• Free champagne in red glass. We finished it fast and Paul might be too drunk making silly faces with it. :)
• They have Taro dessert, an Asian cake, I like.

• On a serious note, my auntie passed away after years of battling cancer. She is survived by one lucky son, and three lucky daughters who were blessed by her care, love, and support overy many years.
• The flowers are from the gym my daughter and I go to. We exercise there and take our stresses out. It means a lot especially the week of the event that is best not to describe in great detail.
• My son's trouble is over related to the event.
• My daughter's trouble abruptly ended related to the event.
• My prayers were answered related to the event.
• The common denominator aside from the event is removed from our house. We will have a home again.
• I thank God and the legal system for their assistance.
• I thank the medical team who helped us.
• I am happy and thankful beyond words. We celebrated with a family favorite cake--tres leches--for our freedom.

The lesson I learned here is not to take in any homeless person again. I should help some other way but to offer a spare room. It was not easy the last two years, to say the least. Thank God, it's over.

Have a good week, you all.

Flowers for February

It's my first post for the month. What comes to mind in February are red flowers. I did not get any flowers yet this month so I bought them for myself, as I do most of the time :). I love them, I get them. I am not fancy, either. Almost any flower would do. They brighten a room and my day. Even little Josiah perks up when he looks at them.

My co-worker gave me an of-season scent candle--peppermint. I actually use peppermint scented oil whether it is the Christmas season or not. I love the sweet mint smell of it.

I bought little Josiah a special pacifier to put fresh fruits in. He loves it. What a great invention. Here he is sucking a strawberry.

Don't you want to put a kid on a penny a ride horsie in the grocery store?

Little Josiah did not care so much about the Superbowl last weekend. I sure enjoyed watching him though.

Here, Josiah entertained himself with an inflatable ball. He did not care so much about the other boy's 3rd birthday celebration and gifts. He did enjoy the birthday cake though.

I read an old book The Power of Habit. I did not like it before but rereading its summary from the StoryShots app caught my interest. I might apply its suggestions for building good habits and make it automatic kinda like brushing our teeth.

I just had a Zoom video meeting (a free app) for short meetings. It is convenient to meet this way with my nursing volunteer nursing group. The road is not so bad but it is still icy in some areas (like my cul-de-sac).

That is my week on a ramble. I am thankful for another smooth week.

End of January Gratitude

I am just getting used to the year twenty twenty and then it is the end, of the month that is. January is over. By this day, Americans should have received their W2s from the (snail) mail if they did not opt-in for a digital copy online. Also by this day, I should have restarted budgeting with my laptop. I have a few hours left. Between budgeting and doing school work, I chose neither one.

So here I am, writing my gratitude list. This is more fun. Perhaps after being inspired by my list, I will gain enough energy to eat the frogs.

What am I thankful for this week. Let me list ten!

1. Little Josiah tops the list. My 10-month old favorite grandson (I only have one) learned to use my exercise band. I didn't realize he was watching.
2. He is my number one fan, well, he is the only one who likes my winter sweater. He is so easy to entertain.
3. He just makes me smile whatever he does. He had his arms up with a book in one hand. I thought he would throw it away. 
4. And then, he calmed down and start "reading" the book. I think he likes that baby version of The Secret Garden.
5. A baby shower cake a coworker baked for our boss. It was delicious.
6. A baby shower gift-card-bouquet arranged by a co-worker on light duty. She did it with one good arm. 
7. The coworkers who all contributed. My boss will have her own bundle of joy. Her and her husband's first!
8. The flight of choice that the nurse convention group booked for me. All paid.
9. The hotel of choice booked for the convention with a kitchenette and a free hot breakfast daily. I am set for the May nursing convention.
10. A smooth week in the house. No drama. 

That should be all for now. Till next time.

Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Oh What a Beautiful Week

Hello. It is a busy happy week. I have many things to be thankful for. Here are some:

• Free audiobook to listen to from Denver Public Library. This week I have The Grateful Life on my virtual shelf, accessible anywhere with my phone.
• A smile from seeing a book for kids, however odd. It is a book about butts. Speaking of butts, I fixed baby Josiah's constipation. He was screaming in pain as he could not pass the darn, you know? His mom was crying too as she handed him to me. My daughter (auntie), said, "Thank goodness, he has a nurse grandma!" 
• The after picture of Josiah, already smiling after "the incident."
• Baby prune juice and food to prevent future constipation.
• Church service online for the times I do not go. Today I virtually attended Alamo Church Community Church service in Texas.
• Date night with Paul trying a different restaurant. I had shrimp tacos with Baja sauce. Yum.
• This is a big one. I won a scholarship to a big nursing convention in Indiana. This is for the largest nurse specialty group I am proud to belong to, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

• A walk in the park. It is 52 degrees. Warm enough.
• Laptops to get school and work done. Is it a blessing (or not) that we can take "the work" home? This week it is a blessing.
• Window stick ons for easy, clutter-free Valentine's month decorating. We needed to replace the Christmas decor and our windows were looking bare without replacements.
• I smiled when I saw some beers in the store named after me! Sour peach beer, anyone?

Strength

It is cool outside but sunny. It's pretty much the same all week--nice enough to go out but too cold to spend a long time outdoors.

I met up with a friend for a quick lunch at the mall. We walked around and looked at home stuff. She bought a block of knives for her new apartment with her husband. I did like a lot of stuff but decided not to buy any. It took a lot of will-power but I succeeded to control myself. I mean, I do not really need a set of cutting board with pictures of animals (cow, chicken, pig) telling me what kinds of cut each portion is, nor I do need a special cutter for loose leaf salads, a small, red, heart-shaped dutch oven, a Monday through Sunday printed mugs, etc. I mean, maybe I should not use a Monday mug if it is Saturday but early pre-coffee morning is not a time I can make intelligent decisions. They were all so cute though.

My friend did recommend an Asian grocery store close to her area. She is not Asian but I am. How could I not have gone to this store before she did? :) Anyway, I went and got a case of persimmon, so sweet that I do not crave other sweets for dessert after. I have one fruit for almost every meal.

This week was worse when it comes to family problems. But it is nice to get out. And focusing on gratitude really makes me feel better. So, here is my gratitude list.

• A new Asian store, H-mart, to get frozen seafood and produce like the persimmon above.
• A book I heard from Reese's book club. When I was feeling sad one morning, this book made me laugh. Some parts are funny.
• The chapel at work I can easily visit for short prayers for my family and to calm my anxiety.
• A visit with my therapist who gives me coping tools tailored for me.
• New wellness app from my work where we earn points for tracking healthy activities.

• Spending time with my obedient grandson. He is 9 months. I stopped him from going to the bathroom. He listened(but came back to me unhappy). You mean I could not play with the toilet grandma?
• Having a cute grandson. I can write this same line every day. :)
• My son, his dad, finishing a required class required after his ticket.

That is all for now. Like little Josiah, who gets stronger each day and learning to stand up, I, too CAN DO (with) HIM giving me power.

I pray for strength and resiliency.

Have a good weekend.