Work, Chief Cookout, Cookies, and Lessons from a patient or two

Lately it seems that all we are doing here is working. Brandon is gone a lot these days. They are in the midst of a couple of big inspections so he has lots of overnights and weekends to work. We lucked out last weekend and he got to be off on Saturday ALL DAY!!! We had a great day of unscheduled time together. He got up early with Reese and took her out to chase squirrels while I slept in a bit. I think that she was in heaven as her favorite thing to do is chase squirrels and he let her stay out there for an hour. We ended up heading out to Cracker Barrel for brunch. We both wanted breakfast and I didn't want to cook. It was delicious and we were so full. We did a little shopping and then just stayed in and watched a movie. It was a great day together. Sunday was a work day for him and I started a major clean sweep of the house. It's just time to get some stuff cleared out. If we haven't used it in 5 years I think it's safe to say we probably won't any time soon. And someone else can put it to good use. Then back to the grind on Monday.

Other than work, I did a few cookies over the past couple weeks and have some more coming up. The cookie money is making a nice vacation fund for us. We will figure out where to spend it one of these days. Here are a few pics of the latest ones.

We did take a break from work to have a cookout for all the Chiefs who helped Brandon get to his pinning. We had a really nice day although it was REALLY HOT! Too hot for the end of September. Now Brandon is on the push for another party. Maybe next month. A couple of pics from the party as well. We discovered that the Craftman tool bench doubles as a nice bar! I have had to convince Brandon not to make the garage over into "Mantown" so I can have my elliptical back and functioning. On a more serious note, I was reminded today again at work just how precious life can be. I schedule surgeries for a lot of suspected cancer patients and many of them make wonderful recoveries. It is always sad, and I always feel badly for the patient and their families as they start out on their journey. Today it was a basic ear tube procedure that I scheduled. One of the simpler cases we do that takes about all of 5 minutes and usually helps children out with hearing, speech and chronic infections. Today I met a little boy who at 3 years old has probably endured more than many of us ever will. He was in a car accident almost a year ago where he sustained multiple skull fractures requiring him to be placed in a drug induced coma. He had to have a shunt and feeding tube placed, and has a permanent traumatic brain injury. He is absolutely adorable, and he does miraculously well. He does speak and understands you. And like any 3 year old just could not wait to "Go Home" and "See Grandma". I can not imagine how these parents had their lives change in an instant with that accident. The child they knew was changed forever. However, the mom pulled out her scheduling book and we fit in his ear tube procedure in between his PT, OT, Speech and other therapies. This is their life and they do what needs to be done for their son. How quickly life can change on you? How petty the little things that I get annoyed at seem when I see something like this. So I am yet again reminded to take a step back and regroup when overwhelmed or frustrated because there are many things I have to be thankful for. And on a bit of a more positive note...I also saw an 82 year old spunky little lady through her completion thyroid procedure. She is just so full of life and sweet. This job is draining at times but I sure do have some of the best patients in the world!