Go to the Water

  O n Friday, I drove up to a drugstore, walked in and got my Bivalent Covid and flu shot. I chose to have the Pfizer again and that was the only decision I had to make.  Other than filling out the form incorrectly which is something I am challenged with, it went flawlessly.  I was struck as I walked into the store by the fact that in Canada you can simply get vaccinated with no cost involved and very little effort on my part.  A site is already set up and thankfully, it is now a simple process to just get vaccinated if you so choose to.  Some very smart people have done the research to determine what would be the best vaccine to offer the people of Canada and how to make that happen.  Looking back to the start of how Covid Vaccines were administered it was chaotic to say the least.  There were guidelines starting with age, vulnerability, communal living and other specifications that were deemed important.  For those of us, that had made the decis...

  I am writing this from my hotel room in Swift Current.  Yesterday I left Okotoks to beat what I though was a storm hitting Manitoba on Monday.  As I traveled down #1 highway, conditions just got worse and at Gull Lake I was in a long line of vehicles behind a semi going 60-70 kms.  The snow started to blow the closer we got to Swift Current and conditions were deteriorating fast. In all my travels I have never been storm stayed other than with family.  I joined the long line up at a hotel to secure a room.  As people like myself came in, I heard someone say they are full.  So, out with my phone to book a room.  In the past I have successfully booked hotel rooms with my phone, but for some reason it seemed like I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Nothing would work, and no one was answering my calls at the hotels. So, I did what I usually do and stopped the mania, it was not meant to be booked online.  By this time the lineup of...

Entitlement: believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges  or special treatment. People with this mindset believe that the world owes them without ever giving anything back, the rules don't apply to them. Not sure how many saw this Facebook caption, but for me it was a wow moment of clarity. I have always thought no one owed me and I had to work for what I got in life, but obviously not everyone thinks like that. The word "entitlement" is becoming a much-used word and it sparked some wisdom chat for me today.  It is a fact that parents want more for their children than they had. Research indicates that one of the reasons for entitlement is getting everything that you wanted as a child. It is rare to see a house with adult or organized kid zones.  Houses seem to be brimming with kid things, starting as infants.  I am always confused as to how many play areas and bouncy things does one baby or child need?  The market is so full of must haves, I ...

  As I begin to write, I am reminded that 1 in 8 women will hear the words "you have breast cancer". The same words will be delivered this year to 240 males that live in Canada.  To be told you have cancer, among other reactions, must be a moment where time stands still.   No one knows how they will react until they are the one receiving the news.  I have been told by several people "I just knew it was cancer before they told me".  I have also heard "I was shocked, I had no idea".   I think I am safe in saying if we have something wrong with our bodies our first response is to check Google and see if we have cancer.  Although, Google is an amazing source for quick reference, it may leave us with severe information overload and a mild form of anxiety. I received a great piece of advice from an 18-year-old patient that had just had surgery for cancer.  He said, "never read the first search item on google".  From th...

Such a beautiful reminder to be "Grateful" Today life gets back to normal after a long weekend celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving.  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend enjoying turkey, trimmings and pumpkin pie.  I didn't have the traditional meal, but I did do what I like to do on Thanksgiving weekend and that is reflect. It is a time for me to remind myself of the things I am grateful and thankful for in my life.    It is easy for us to say we are grateful for "our families" "our health" "being able to live with freedom".  Comments I call generalizations which are our very being and I hope every person can say they have in their lives.  Surprisingly or not, I like to put a lot of thought into what I am grateful for.  Being grateful to me is about the little things and the things that impact and make my life what it is. I decided in today's post that I would share my 2022 random things I am grateful for.  Coffee: I love coffee and eve...

Bereavement visits are something people can do with ease; some do because they know they have/want to and a small percentage simply say, "I can't".  Visits are really different for me since moving to the city.  Spending most of my life in a small community the food and hugs start arriving at the door as soon as the word is out that there has been a loss in the family.  In no time, the freezer is full of prepared meals and there are enough baked goods to feed a small army of people.  Not only is it a moment to be kind and show concern, but it is also a time to nourish a family when they can't even think about eating let alone preparing food.  If it is a tragic death the food, gestures and caring is beyond comprehension.   I remember "when Dad died" which was an anticipated peaceful death, and my first experience with receiving Bereavement visits. The food started in the hospital as many wonderful drop offs were made in the then Palliative Family ro...

This post was inspired from one of my most inspirational places, Facebook. At the beginning of Michael Jordan's career, he was not chosen to be part of a basketball team he wanted to play with. His mom told him "Try harder", I guess he must have listened to her as he went on to be one of the most successful basketball players on the Chicago Bulls.  My great niece recently graduated from High School and is going to university to get a degree.  I wrote in her card, if you feel like giving up, don't,  "try harder".   I had the honor of working with student nurses for thirteen years.  I have always said I would let a student care for me any day.  They know more about your health than you do.   Students were so diligent in their preparation for clinical.  I would  say to them "if you think you are prepared, prepare more".  In other words,  "fail to prepare, prepare to fail".  When I reflect on situations that didn't turn o...