Filled with Emotion

I am so full of emotion. I thought I should get rid of a bit of it by jotting down my thoughts/feelings.

I walked through the nursing home doors this afternoon anticipating a "normal/routine" hospice visit with "Chick" (little did I know).

I ended up spending 3 hours sitting by his side as he grimaced and moaned in pain, holding his hand and offering my thumb when my hand was too much to hold.

Chick is new to hospice as of Monday, and new to his lung caner diagnosis as of 8 weeks ago.

This little, frail, thin, pale man was quiet and didn't have much to say. Come to think of it, I still don't know anything about him. What I do know, it that when he was in his deepest most anguished pain, I was there to offer all I had. My hand.

Through the pain, Chick looked at me and with a half smile said, "you have kind of a whacky sense of humor, don't you?" Another time after releasing his tight grip on my hand he said, "you have nice hands". "Thanks" is what I managed to say.

Countless times I asked him what I could do to ease the pain. He looked at me with sad eyes and said, "just being here for me".  My eyes welled up on more than one occasion. There was nothing I could do for him, but wait for the pain medication to kick in. So, I sat there an offered my hand to a perfect stranger.

Around 4:00 pm, I said to Chick, "think of it, today when I walked in here we were strangers, and now look at us, we're bonded". He smiled and said, "you're my thumb" as he shook my hand.

After his second dose of pain medication,  his eyes began to close, he smiled and said, "thanks".
"It's my pleasure, truly" I replied.

As challenging/emotional as today was for me, it reminds me why I get up everyday and go to work. In between being yelled at by families, the phone calls and paper work and the constant smell of poop, there's that one moment that makes me step back and realize how fortunate I am to enter someone's life at the end and give them my hand.

"Elementary, My Dear Watson"

We recently toured the Gillette Castle in East Haddam, CT, it overlooks the Connecticut River. We first heard of Gillette Castle on a steam train/river boat excursion to Essex, CT last October, found here.

We finally made our way back to tour the actual castle this time. Our journey began as normal, until the sweet voice of GPS said, "in 400 feet, board ferry". We both exclaimed, "What?! A ferry? I thought we took the route to avoid the ferry?" Adam then said, "did you change the settings on GPS?" I looked and sure enough, I hadn't checked the box for ferry, under the tab "Avoidance's" oops!
In a panic, Adam continued to drive forward. I yelled, "stop driving, I don't want to pay $30 to take a ferry!" Adam yelled back, "what should I do?" Using my hawk eyes I scanned the nearby sign that read, "walk on $1, car $3". A nice calm came over the vehicle and we drove on to the ferry.

A quick 5 minute ferry ride across the Connecticut River, and we were back on the road. 

On to the fun! Almost. First, a quick history lesson. Gillette Castle was built by William Gillette, who was a famous stage actor who was most well known for his role as "Sherlock Holmes". In his lifetime, Gillette played the character of Sherlock Holmes more than 1300 times. Also, he added the characteristic deerstalker cap, curved pipe, magnifying glass, and phrases such as "elementary, my dear Watson".

Gillette built the castle in 1919 as his regular home to reside in.

The view from the ferry

Entry way

there are 40 something hand carved doors throughout the house

no two are alike

this guy had a thing for cats, there were cat figurines everywhere!

The view from Gillette's terrace

Pretty cool, eh? You need to check it for yourself. The house is very interesting, with it's secret passages, and trick liquor cabinet, and strategically placed mirrors in order for Gillette to observe his guests (from his bedroom) entering the house, and trying to access the liquor in the the trick cabinet! The stories about this man are pretty hilarious! Go check it and spend time talking to the friendly castle workers, they are full of fun stories and tidbits about the house and Gillette.

Utah...People Working Together!

We finally made it back to Utah after leaving to RI one year ago. And now, for a photo synopsis of our my trip.
Adam and I went our separate ways after 2 days. Meaning, Adam stayed in Idaho and I stayed in Utah.

First item of business, cupcakes from Dippidee!

Not sure what this large white area is...I hate blogger sometimes.

Went to my 10 year HS reunion. It was lame! (these ladies aren't lame, but it was)

Kelli taught us how to look skinny in photos.

I don't think it worked. I look fat in both photos.

Hung out with Haylee, the little chatter box!

Met Carter for the first time, love him!

Had a family gathering and rode the giant slide. Forgot to take a family photo (lame). 

Hung out with Ethan who didn't talk much when I left, now I think we're BFF!

Went to Idaho for 1.5 days, dropped Adam off, saw the in-laws and went to a "zoo".     

Went to the Sweeet's Candy factory in SLC, with my sister her kids and mom.

Went boating for Pioneer Day with the family.

Had a few hang outs with Giffie...ordered every "small plate" at Tin Angel Cafe, and had fun at Snow Bird

Girls night out with mom, sisters and sister-in-law, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at Sundance. A very pleasant surprise...see Megan in the background  left hand side, middle)

Got lost trying to "hike" our way back to our car after the show. Good times. Felt like a pack of lost sheep.

 Ate some Cafe Rio! And rice pudding, thanks mom!

 Hung out with many girl friends,

 in between hanging out with my sisters and all the kiddies (best part by far!)

Hung out with Alex a million or more times and still didn't get my fill. Love that little guy!

I may or may not have cried the night before I left. I realized how much I miss all the nieces and nephews! I sure can't wait to see them all again and see how much they've grown and changed!

Tall Ships

Let's go back a month or so. . .Tall Ships Festival in Newport

Here's a brief synopsis of what Tall Ships is. This was taken from the official Tall Ships America website. No, I'm not going to properly site this source. I'm not is school and no one is grading this blog.

"Founded in 1973, Tall Ships America was created to encourage character building through sail training, promote sail training to the North American public and support education under sail. Today, over 200 sailing vessels are members of Tall Ships America, and it continues to act as the hub for tall ship expertise, information and activity.

Tall Ships America launched the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE series in 2001, an annual series of Tall Ships races and maritime port festivals that informs the general public about tall ships, our maritime heritage and the incredible power of sail training to change lives. Ocean State Tall Ships brings both a vibrant history and educational opportunities to all Rhode Islanders."

And now, for a few photos of Tall Ships.

With a name like "The Peacemaker" you would imagine a crew of hippies. Which is a correct thought. I imagine to be a crew member, one has to have facial hair, long hair/dread-locks, not wear shoes, and give off a 'hippie' vibe.

This is an Officer's room. The crew all sleep in a large room with many bunks. They keep their belongings in rubber maid containers.

Did you know the deck was painted red so the crew wouldn't realize how much blood was on the deck of the ship during battles?

There was no break from the hot sun, so I made my own shade with the Tall Ships map.

A tiny bit of shade.

 

It was a hot sweaty day in Newport. Everyone had wet hairlines! If you want more information about the ships, you can go here.