New Affirmations and Accomplishments

Looking back through old posts, it looks like it's been two years since I've written up activities and experiences that challenged me.  And since it's been a REALLY big two years, I need to record the really big ones:

• Thailand.  Everything about Thailand was challenging--long flight, language barrier, meeting new family, staying with in-laws, heat, activities--and I persevered.  My in-laws and their relatives were great and I treasure all the experiences.  Big ones:  the flight, the heat, Ayutthaya, climbing stairs at various temples, trying new foods, tons of walking, staying calm when I had an upset stomach.
• Italy.  Like Thailand, this was a big trip, though not nearly as challenging.  I loved showing Mama and the kids the places I've loved.  Biggest challenge:  all the walking, especially 10 miles in Pompeii on a hot day!!
• Texas trip.  I was proud that I managed it with a messed up foot and the extreme heat.  I also was proud that I managed to do Schlitterbahn for a full day, even if all I did was float in a lazy river.
• Seminary.  I took two seminary classes in spring 2019.  Both on Christianity, which is nowhere near my strong suit.  But I aced both classes.  Balancing class and parenthood was the real challenge; last time I was in grad school I was single, with nothing else to focus on.  Not anymore.  But I can do it.  Which is good because I applied for the Master of Divinity program and was accepted!  Yep, I finally decided that I did need to pursue my MDiv to be a credentialed chaplain.  And now I am starting that part of the journey.  I'll take three classes in the fall, two online and one in person.  Very exciting.  Very nerve-wracking.  But I am a great student, a good scholar, and a quick study on unfamiliar topics.  Which is good because fall entails Islam, sociology, and quantum physics!!
• CPE.  I don't think my 1 unit of Clinical Pastoral Education made my last list of Affirmations, though it was a full 18 months ago (winter 2018.)  It was very challenging--300 hours of clinical work at hospice, 100 hours of study and engagement, my first online course, and some real conflict with my supervisor who was a very judgmental fundamentalist, perhaps even Pentecostal, Southern Baptist.  He told me that I would never know joy unless I were a Christian and then complained that I had a bias against Christians; well, I definitely had one against him!  But I finished the course and got the credit.  Whew.  And at the end of the whole thing, I was hospitalized for 5 days on a trip to NJ with severe and inexplicable abdominal pain.  Goo jumped in, along with his folks, to take care of the kids and oversee the kung fu competition; Mama stayed with me.  And this was after a trip to our local ER a week earlier, where they found nothing wrong (within 10 days, I had 2 CT scans, x rays, etc. Later, I had ultrasounds and a colonoscopy.)  There was one more instance of severe pain a few months later, but it's nothing like it was 4 years ago.  Probably scar tissue + perimenopause and a possible partial obstruction.  I've been feeling better now for almost a year.  And I know what to look for (so that when I was violently ill with a bug in the winter, I knew it was an infection not something surgical.)
• Also on a medical note:  my partially-torn tendon with resulted in 2 weeks in a boot and then 6 weeks in a non-weight-bearing plaster cast.  I had to use a scooter because I was rubbish on crutches.  Hardest part:  not driving, because it was my right foot.  Also hard--stairs and showering (couldn't stand or get cast wet.)  At least I had a parking sticker, which I only used sometimes, but it helped at the BTS concert and a few other trips.  I liked my scooter and used it all over NJ (Memorial Day kung fu tournament), Texas (our trip to see my family), and local activities, like BTS at Met Life (which was AMAZING!!!!)  I learned that people are awkward around medical devices--they would cut in front of me or stumble/bumble--but most were very helpful.  There aren't enough parking spaces--often all would be taken up by people with stickers (I never experienced being blocked in or kept out by ableist drivers.)  And many entrances and bathrooms and spaces are just not scooter/crutch friendly.  My foot still hurts off and on, but I'm working on it in PT.