Mask Here, Mask There, Mask Everywhere

Governor Polis advises Coloradans to wear cloth masks now when outside the home. It is not new to me, this donning on the mask thing, as I have been required to do it all the time at work. Our world is full of uncertainty. And I was busy at work and did not make time for daily journaling. I decided to post my gratitude today. At least I would do this. It is good for me.

• I feel grateful for the Governor for suggesting wearing the mask. To this day, many people still do not cover their cough with a tissue or something. At least with the mask, the coughers won't forget. Oh, and please make sure you cover your nose and mouth with that mask or scarf. 
• I made Josiah smile when he saw me with the mask on. It is hard to distance myself from him, so I just wear a mask.

• Some neighbors donated sandwiches to hospital staff taking care of COVID-19 patients.
• A Belgian Waffles business, Wafels and Dinges, donated boxes of yummy waffles as well.
• Two of my co-workers' families also donated food to the staff.
• One of the doctors bought everybody lunch again.
• Paul dropped off some necessities to my house. We were running out of toilet paper and wipes, especially. His store still has some so he got a few for my household.

• Exercise for the body, and mind mostly. It is free.
• Zumba on Prime Video at home. This way I could dance without anybody laughing at me but myself. It is fun.
• Speaking of dancing, my ICU team put together clips of dancing videos together to the tune of, "I'm Bringing Sexy Back." Dancing with the barriers makes it so much harder to breathe. They are great sports.

• This model above got me thinking. I thank my mentor for posting this.
• I want to be in the growth zone. I thank and appreciate everybody especially my intensive care team.
• We are still able to accommodate sick patients in ICU.
• A pregnant patient in ICU delivered her twins safely and are all stable.
• Three COVID patients graduated from the ventilator and did not go back on it.
• We were able to pull older ventilators into use. They work fine. 
• We were able to convert some BIPAP machines into ventilators. 
• So far, we still use one vent per patient and not in the position of having to split ventilator tubings between patients.
• My hospital is in the conservation mode but we still have protective barriers to use.
• All my family members are healthy, and so am I.

Another Week, Another Day

Another week has gone by. It is an okay week. We have some sprinkles of blessings and some rain here and there. There is some calm at the beginning of the storm.

• Thanks to my daughter for cutting my hair. Less hair, fewer viruses that can be trapped by it in my daily shift in the intensive care unit. Because of the stay at home order, and non-essential business closing, I could not go to the salon.
• Thanks to the great outdoors, however cold. I could walk and breathe fresh air, and be able to distance myself more than 6-feet away from everyone.

• Scrabble online is a blessing to spend time with Paul while we maintain separate households. We had been social-distancing for 3 weeks now.
• The prayer Serenity.
• Cupcakes for my grandson's first birthday. He had no idea his big party was canceled, that his number "1" candle was purple, and his balloon reads "congrats." However non-essential, the common items are in scarcity and we made do with what we have.
• I am thankful I was able to put together a care package for my coworkers. They are individually packed medicine, chapstick, and eyedrops. 
• I also put a tray of candies for a week for the staff. Each morning that I come back, it is empty. I like refilling it.

• Did I mention, I am thankful for plain, and simple cupcakes?
• A walk outdoors with family and our dog. Thank goodness my surroundings are clear and not crowded.
• Getting up early to meditate and exercise.
• After wiping my tears for losing patients and a friend's family member from COVID-19 this week, I picked up myself and express gratitude for my health. I am safe. My family is safe.

I pray for continued health so I can keep serving my patients and family. I pray that more personal protective equipment will be available to us soon at work. I pray that this virus will be controlled soon. 

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.