When I awoke this morning the sky was gray with clouds, no sun to be seen. How fitting that my reading this morning was about clouds. Without them we would have no shield from the burning sun. Without them we would have no rain for the thirsty earth. Without them we would have less spectacular sunsets and landscapes. Clouds serve a purpose even if sometimes they can make for a dreary day. I have often said that I have felt as if a dark cloud is hanging over me during stressful or difficult times in my life. Just as ominous dark clouds predict a physical storm in nature , we sometimes refer to our hardest struggles in this life as storms. No matter how dark the cloud, how raging the storm, God is in the middle of it all. God's word reminds us of this time after time.
Genesis 9:12-16 And God said , " This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When ever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
Exodus 13:21, 22...When Moses led God's people out of Egypt. "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left it's place in front of the people. In Exodus 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses , "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you."In Exodus 19:16-19 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightening, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.Mount Sinai was covered with smoke , because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up fro it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently , and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him." In Exodus 25:15, 16 "When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain and, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud."
Just as clouds shield us from the searing heat of the sun, God's radiance is so blinding and magnificent that human eyes could not withstand his appearance, so God shielded Moses and his people by appearing in a cloud. He was present, guiding the every step of the way, just hidden from their sight by a cloud.
The rainbow in the clouds of Genesis refers to a promise that God made to us . Another promise that he has made to us is that Jesus will come again. Struggles on this earth will someday cease . Matthew 24:30, 31 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven , with a loud command , with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that , we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."
Friends, take comfort when clouds threaten to overtake you and overshadow your light with the knowledge that God is within them. Sometimes the clouds can be so dark and the storms of this life seem to rage so hard . God is there, he is guiding you through the storm, he is just having to hide himself until his glory is revealed.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Jesus cheering me on
I was reading in Acts this morning. Chapters 6 and 7 where Stephan is
blasting the Sanhedrin with a whole lot of truth and verse 54 : When
they heard this , they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55:
But Stephan full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and the saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56: "Look",
he said "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God." I am not sure why the word "standing" struck me today but it
did. Scripture mentions the fact that Jesus is at God's right hand at
least 7 times.We know that the right side /or right hand meant a place
of authority .This is how God exalted Jesus above all others. At least
twice in the 7 times that scripture mentions Jesus at the right hand of
God, it specifically says "seated". The picture I have in my head as I
read this reminds me of when Ben played baseball. When he would come up
to bat or a ball was hit his way I would stand up. Standing vs sitting
did not change the outcome nor did it allow me to see what was happening
any better.I could have cheered him on just as well from a sitting
position but if there was a chance that maybe he glanced my way , me
standing and therefore becoming more visible to him let him know that I
was focused on what he was doing...I was paying attention. Jesus was
STANDING. All of his attention was focused on on Stephan. He was
cheering him on from the sidelines. He was letting Stephan know that no
matter the outcome , he was watching. What a beautiful picture this is.
When we are at bat, pressure is on, maybe we are struggling to find the
perfect stance, maybe we are striking out, Jesus is on his feet watching
and cheering us on.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
The forecast according to me
I grew up in a little town named Thurmond. I lived on what is now called Mountain Top Road although it is not on a mountain top. In fact it is really in what is referred to as the foothills. It was a dirt and gravel road that led to nowhere. I will never forget taking a friend to my house one night after dark and his comment was " This isn't really a driveway , is it? You are taking me out here to kill me and dump my body." Let's just say I lived in the boonies.Our little part of the world was named Possum Trot Valley. I still to this day do not know who named it that or why.This little section of the world did not see salt trucks or snow plows. When it snowed, you had better have everything you were gonna need for awhile cause you weren't going anywhere.
I have memories of snow that could only be measured by a yard stick. I am not good at measuring distances but just down the road from our home there was a pasture with a really kick butt sledding hill.Sledding would become a community event. The men of the neighborhood would go before the rest of us and build a bonfire , not only for light, because the sledding party was after dark at times, but also for warmth to ward off frostbite . We would all trek, dragging our sleds behind us, to the sledding hill. The adults would go down first , to pack the snow down and then it was our turn. A good run was when you had to dig in your feet to come to a stop so you didn't end up in the creek at the bottom of the hill.A not so good run was when you didn't steer just right and flipped over about half way down.
There was nothing like the feeling of flying down that hill. We didn't care how cold it was. We didn't care that our eyes watered and noses were dripping. We didn't care how brutal the trudge back up that hill was. This was the epitome of childhood fun. I don't know how long we would stay on the hill. I guess when we just couldn't go anymore , we would trudge back home and warm up and settle in for sleep.
It is currently snowing at my house and the forecast is for 12 plus inches. I went out this morning and bought a yard stick in hopes that a regular 12 inch ruler won't do the trick. I know a bunch of people hate snow and I understand the reasoning. I realize some people have to go to work no matter how much snow is on the ground. I understand that it is inconvenient for some. I also know that I have two children who have never seen more than about 6 inches of the white stuff.
I have a picture of Ben when he was a toddler playing in some snow. I remember that one. I tried my best to ball up enough snow for a snowman with no luck. I have pictures of Ben and Cara and a snowman that we built in the front yard while Eric was in Iraq. That was the most snow we have had in their lifetimes and that was the 6 inches I mentioned above. I remember their excitement and I remember thinking how sad it was that they had never experienced snow like I remember snow from my childhood . We have all been sledding together in the back yard but never have experienced having to trek back up the hill in snow to their knees.
I know I am in the minority when it comes to loving snow. I do hope we get the forecasted amounts. I want to see the wonder in my children's eyes when they see what that much snow looks like. I want to bundle up and build a snowman with them. I want to sled and make more than 5 runs before seeing grass underneath the path. I want the snow of my childhood.
Here is what I predict. I predict that there will be happy excited children playing outside and enjoying snow cream before bed time tonight. I predict that adults will remember how to play and spend quality time with their children , building snowmen and sledding down hills in their back yards. I predict people having to call into work tomorrow because of impassable roads and instead spending time with loved ones.I predict that we will all be forced to just slow down and instead of smelling the roses, we are allowed to catch a glimpse of spectacular glistening beauty created by our heavenly Father.I predict that instead of running around doing the stuff we do everyday, we all have a little down time . Maybe we get to sleep in tomorrow morning. Maybe I will get to start that book I bought a couple of weeks ago. I predict numerous amounts of memories being made and pictures being snapped to document those for years to come. I predict that for snow lovers like me, we will bask in the peacefullness of it all while the snow haters will keep on hating. I can't predict snow fall amounts but I believe I am pretty spot on about my people predictions.
I hope your snow cream is sweet, your sleds are fast, and you take a little time to see the beauty in the flakes falling from the heavens.
I have memories of snow that could only be measured by a yard stick. I am not good at measuring distances but just down the road from our home there was a pasture with a really kick butt sledding hill.Sledding would become a community event. The men of the neighborhood would go before the rest of us and build a bonfire , not only for light, because the sledding party was after dark at times, but also for warmth to ward off frostbite . We would all trek, dragging our sleds behind us, to the sledding hill. The adults would go down first , to pack the snow down and then it was our turn. A good run was when you had to dig in your feet to come to a stop so you didn't end up in the creek at the bottom of the hill.A not so good run was when you didn't steer just right and flipped over about half way down.
There was nothing like the feeling of flying down that hill. We didn't care how cold it was. We didn't care that our eyes watered and noses were dripping. We didn't care how brutal the trudge back up that hill was. This was the epitome of childhood fun. I don't know how long we would stay on the hill. I guess when we just couldn't go anymore , we would trudge back home and warm up and settle in for sleep.
It is currently snowing at my house and the forecast is for 12 plus inches. I went out this morning and bought a yard stick in hopes that a regular 12 inch ruler won't do the trick. I know a bunch of people hate snow and I understand the reasoning. I realize some people have to go to work no matter how much snow is on the ground. I understand that it is inconvenient for some. I also know that I have two children who have never seen more than about 6 inches of the white stuff.
I have a picture of Ben when he was a toddler playing in some snow. I remember that one. I tried my best to ball up enough snow for a snowman with no luck. I have pictures of Ben and Cara and a snowman that we built in the front yard while Eric was in Iraq. That was the most snow we have had in their lifetimes and that was the 6 inches I mentioned above. I remember their excitement and I remember thinking how sad it was that they had never experienced snow like I remember snow from my childhood . We have all been sledding together in the back yard but never have experienced having to trek back up the hill in snow to their knees.
I know I am in the minority when it comes to loving snow. I do hope we get the forecasted amounts. I want to see the wonder in my children's eyes when they see what that much snow looks like. I want to bundle up and build a snowman with them. I want to sled and make more than 5 runs before seeing grass underneath the path. I want the snow of my childhood.
Here is what I predict. I predict that there will be happy excited children playing outside and enjoying snow cream before bed time tonight. I predict that adults will remember how to play and spend quality time with their children , building snowmen and sledding down hills in their back yards. I predict people having to call into work tomorrow because of impassable roads and instead spending time with loved ones.I predict that we will all be forced to just slow down and instead of smelling the roses, we are allowed to catch a glimpse of spectacular glistening beauty created by our heavenly Father.I predict that instead of running around doing the stuff we do everyday, we all have a little down time . Maybe we get to sleep in tomorrow morning. Maybe I will get to start that book I bought a couple of weeks ago. I predict numerous amounts of memories being made and pictures being snapped to document those for years to come. I predict that for snow lovers like me, we will bask in the peacefullness of it all while the snow haters will keep on hating. I can't predict snow fall amounts but I believe I am pretty spot on about my people predictions.
I hope your snow cream is sweet, your sleds are fast, and you take a little time to see the beauty in the flakes falling from the heavens.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
365 of them
For Christmas 2012 my husband wrote me a love letter and it was , my most favorite, bestest gift ever. It also inspired me to do something very special for him. I started a list of things that I love about him and things that he does that I love. I wrote them out on regular notebook paper and cut it into strips.The first 150 or so flowed out onto paper like lava and then it became a little challenging. The plan was that every day in 2013 he would receive one of these strips. I recycled a container to keep them in so that at the end of the year they are all in one place. On Valentine's day he gave me a fat envelope that contained 45 love strips to catch up and joined me in the daily ritual of the giving of "love strips" before retiring for the day. The year is almost over and I have to say that I am going to miss this little ritual.
Starting a list like this is easy. Some of the first ones are obvious things like #2 I love that you make me feel safe or #4 I love that you still hold my hand. Some were funny like #75 I love that you let me put my cold feet on your legs to warm them or #89 I love that you don't complain about how many times you have to stop for me to pee on long trips. Some were serious like #109 I love that you never leave without first giving me a kiss and an "I love you"or #114 I love that I can't remember what it's like to not love you.There are the ones that came about because of something he did that particular day such as #134 I love when you tell me I am pretty especially when I don't feel like it or #170 I love when you come home for lunch. Then there are the ones that I cannot share because they are naughty and for his eyes only.
The point is this : Eric has always been the husband that tells me many times a day that he loves me. I have always told him many times a day that I love him. I wanted to switch it up a little and tell him WHY I loved him. As a bonus , now I know WHY he loves me too.This has been fun. It has been revealing. It has been good for us in ways that I can't even explain. If you want to do something special for your spouse, something meaningful that will show them your love , I highly recommend you start a list. January 1st is just around the corner.
Starting a list like this is easy. Some of the first ones are obvious things like #2 I love that you make me feel safe or #4 I love that you still hold my hand. Some were funny like #75 I love that you let me put my cold feet on your legs to warm them or #89 I love that you don't complain about how many times you have to stop for me to pee on long trips. Some were serious like #109 I love that you never leave without first giving me a kiss and an "I love you"or #114 I love that I can't remember what it's like to not love you.There are the ones that came about because of something he did that particular day such as #134 I love when you tell me I am pretty especially when I don't feel like it or #170 I love when you come home for lunch. Then there are the ones that I cannot share because they are naughty and for his eyes only.
The point is this : Eric has always been the husband that tells me many times a day that he loves me. I have always told him many times a day that I love him. I wanted to switch it up a little and tell him WHY I loved him. As a bonus , now I know WHY he loves me too.This has been fun. It has been revealing. It has been good for us in ways that I can't even explain. If you want to do something special for your spouse, something meaningful that will show them your love , I highly recommend you start a list. January 1st is just around the corner.
Friday, November 15, 2013
20 Random facts about me
20 Random facts about me that most people do not know
1. I wasn't a big fan of high school.
2. I worked for Walmart for 11 years. My husband worked for Walmart too. That is how we met.
3. My husband almost didn't ask me out. He was afraid of me. I wasn't as nice as I am now.
4. My husband and I only dated for 6 months before we got engaged.
5. We never took a proper and official honeymoon.
6. Two weeks after the birth of my son, I hemorrhaged and thought I might bleed to death in my bathroom floor.
7. The most content I have ever been was a period of time that we rented a house that is 1/3 the size of the house we currently live in.
8. I am fiercely loyal to people I love.
9. In general I am a patient person but I struggle with road rage.
10. I hate shoes, will wear flip flops until there is ice or snow on the ground, and even the flops come off as soon as I walk in my front door.
11. I do the majority of our clothing shopping at Goodwill and care nothing about name brands. I just refuse to pay more than $5 for a t-shirt.
12. My longest running friendship dates back to early elementary school.
13. I am a homebody...my home is my favorite place to be.
14. I would rather do any other household chore , even cleaning toilets, rather than laundry.
15. God has given me an enormous forgiving heart and spirit.
16. I am shamelessly addicted to Diet Cherry Pepsi
17.I rarely watch any tv show in real time. I DVR it and watch it later so I can skip the commercials.
18. I LOVE to sleep.
19. If you stop by my house unannounced , you will probably find me in my pajamas.
20. I am happier right now with my life than I have ever been.
1. I wasn't a big fan of high school.
2. I worked for Walmart for 11 years. My husband worked for Walmart too. That is how we met.
3. My husband almost didn't ask me out. He was afraid of me. I wasn't as nice as I am now.
4. My husband and I only dated for 6 months before we got engaged.
5. We never took a proper and official honeymoon.
6. Two weeks after the birth of my son, I hemorrhaged and thought I might bleed to death in my bathroom floor.
7. The most content I have ever been was a period of time that we rented a house that is 1/3 the size of the house we currently live in.
8. I am fiercely loyal to people I love.
9. In general I am a patient person but I struggle with road rage.
10. I hate shoes, will wear flip flops until there is ice or snow on the ground, and even the flops come off as soon as I walk in my front door.
11. I do the majority of our clothing shopping at Goodwill and care nothing about name brands. I just refuse to pay more than $5 for a t-shirt.
12. My longest running friendship dates back to early elementary school.
13. I am a homebody...my home is my favorite place to be.
14. I would rather do any other household chore , even cleaning toilets, rather than laundry.
15. God has given me an enormous forgiving heart and spirit.
16. I am shamelessly addicted to Diet Cherry Pepsi
17.I rarely watch any tv show in real time. I DVR it and watch it later so I can skip the commercials.
18. I LOVE to sleep.
19. If you stop by my house unannounced , you will probably find me in my pajamas.
20. I am happier right now with my life than I have ever been.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Choking down some humble pie
I worked in retail for 11 years so I became a very patient customer. I understand that it is not the cashier's fault that an item did not scan correctly. I know that it is not her responsibility to count the customers in her line and open another lane. Her job is to wait on the customer in front of her in an efficient and friendly manner, one after another until it's break time. Cashiers are human. They stand for hours repeating the same motions over and over and over. They don't make near enough money for the job they do and the abuse they take from rude people. No matter how long I have waited in line, I try my best to give a smile and a pleasantry when it's my turn. I am a good customer when it comes to the retail environment.
A friend posted on Facebook last night that she went to the doctor for her annual checkup and the doctor was 20 minutes late in coming in. She apologized for the delay and explained that she had spent the last 20 minutes with another patient delivering bad news. I thought about the times that I have sat in the waiting room by myself or with a sick child and complained about how ridiculous it was to have to wait so long. Truth is, I have never been a doctor so I have never become a patient patient.
We have no idea what goes on behind the privacy of those doors lining the halls of that doctor's office. Doctor's are human too. Maybe he/ she dealt with children who just wouldn't get out of bed that morning and missed breakfast and needed a few minutes to scarf down a snack. Maybe he/she woke up not feeling well themselves and needed a few minutes in the restroom . Maybe he/she just dealt with a difficult child and needed a 5 minute time out before dealing with me. Maybe he/she just delivered bad news to someone and spent some extra time with them or after delivering that bad news , he/she needed some time to pull themselves together after . Maybe, just maybe, it had nothing to do with him/ her at all.
Fact is , doctors do not schedule their own appointments. A receptionist and /or triage nurse does that for them. While it would be easy to blame them for the long wait time, they are doing the best they can do too. I know that there have been times that I have went in for what should have been more of a 10 minute appointment that ended up being more of a 20 to 30 minute one. They aren't psychic and have no control over how long an appointment will last. As soon as the phone starts ringing in the am they have to take a guess at how many patients a doctor can see in a hours time. If they determine 4 and those four only take up 15 minutes each, all is well. If one of those is a child that doesn't want to sit still and is uncooperative and yet another one came in with a sore throat but wants to talk about the blister on her toe , her insomnia, and rash on her butt as well, then at the end of the hour that doctor is 30 minutes behind schedule.
My best friend likes to tell a story that she read one time to illustrate how quick we are to judge . A man lives in a city and boards a train after dark with his three small children. One is crying loudly and the other two are kinda wild and unruly. The man isn't really paying attention to them so they quickly start to get on the other passenger's nerves. At some point an older woman says loudly " Sir , can you please deal with your children." The man looks up and seems to come out of a stupor. He replies " I'm sorry, we just came from the hospital. My wife died a little while ago. I am not sure they understand but they know something bad has happened. They are tired and haven't eaten since lunch." It's so easy to look at a situation and think we know what is going on when truth is, more often than not, we have no idea.
We ( me included ) as a society lead such busy lives that it is easy to become impatient with people and /or situations. We ( me included ) really need to work on just taking a breath and giving others a break. I allow myself to have a bad day every once in a while and should allow others to have one too. God, please create within me a heart that gives others the benefit of the doubt when I am impatient. Help me to be more sympathetic to what may be going on in that person's life. Help me to be kind in all situations. Help me to give a smile and a pleasantry when it is my turn no matter how long I have had to wait. Amen.
A friend posted on Facebook last night that she went to the doctor for her annual checkup and the doctor was 20 minutes late in coming in. She apologized for the delay and explained that she had spent the last 20 minutes with another patient delivering bad news. I thought about the times that I have sat in the waiting room by myself or with a sick child and complained about how ridiculous it was to have to wait so long. Truth is, I have never been a doctor so I have never become a patient patient.
We have no idea what goes on behind the privacy of those doors lining the halls of that doctor's office. Doctor's are human too. Maybe he/ she dealt with children who just wouldn't get out of bed that morning and missed breakfast and needed a few minutes to scarf down a snack. Maybe he/she woke up not feeling well themselves and needed a few minutes in the restroom . Maybe he/she just dealt with a difficult child and needed a 5 minute time out before dealing with me. Maybe he/she just delivered bad news to someone and spent some extra time with them or after delivering that bad news , he/she needed some time to pull themselves together after . Maybe, just maybe, it had nothing to do with him/ her at all.
Fact is , doctors do not schedule their own appointments. A receptionist and /or triage nurse does that for them. While it would be easy to blame them for the long wait time, they are doing the best they can do too. I know that there have been times that I have went in for what should have been more of a 10 minute appointment that ended up being more of a 20 to 30 minute one. They aren't psychic and have no control over how long an appointment will last. As soon as the phone starts ringing in the am they have to take a guess at how many patients a doctor can see in a hours time. If they determine 4 and those four only take up 15 minutes each, all is well. If one of those is a child that doesn't want to sit still and is uncooperative and yet another one came in with a sore throat but wants to talk about the blister on her toe , her insomnia, and rash on her butt as well, then at the end of the hour that doctor is 30 minutes behind schedule.
My best friend likes to tell a story that she read one time to illustrate how quick we are to judge . A man lives in a city and boards a train after dark with his three small children. One is crying loudly and the other two are kinda wild and unruly. The man isn't really paying attention to them so they quickly start to get on the other passenger's nerves. At some point an older woman says loudly " Sir , can you please deal with your children." The man looks up and seems to come out of a stupor. He replies " I'm sorry, we just came from the hospital. My wife died a little while ago. I am not sure they understand but they know something bad has happened. They are tired and haven't eaten since lunch." It's so easy to look at a situation and think we know what is going on when truth is, more often than not, we have no idea.
We ( me included ) as a society lead such busy lives that it is easy to become impatient with people and /or situations. We ( me included ) really need to work on just taking a breath and giving others a break. I allow myself to have a bad day every once in a while and should allow others to have one too. God, please create within me a heart that gives others the benefit of the doubt when I am impatient. Help me to be more sympathetic to what may be going on in that person's life. Help me to be kind in all situations. Help me to give a smile and a pleasantry when it is my turn no matter how long I have had to wait. Amen.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
If looks could kill
My mama has always said that if looks could kill that I would be in prison. Apparently my face shows the emotion I happen to be feeling . Well, if looks could kill I would be asking for bail money right now.
I had a mammogram today. My appointment time was 12 :30 but my orders said to be there 15 to 20 minutes early for registration.I was signed in and sitting in waiting by 12 :10. There were 5 divided pods where 5 different employees could check in 5 different people at the same time. Pods 1 through 3 had their lights on. Pods 1 and 2 had customers/patients already being checked in. Pod 3 had nobody. At 12 :20 pod 2 finished with her patient and took the guy ahead of me. About the same time I heard the lady in pod 3 start talking to someone on the phone. It was obvious that it was a personal call and had nothing to do with hospital business.At 12 :25 the lights come on in pod 4 but she starts up a conversation with the woman in pod 3 who for the last fifteen minutes hasn't done anything but make a personal phone call.
All this time I am sitting beside a woman who smells like she hasn't bathed in a week AND I have to pee. I am usually a very patient person but I was reaching a limit. At one point I look over to another woman who has been waiting as long as I have.She shrugs her shoulders and looks as frustrated as I am.For the next 10 minutes pod 3 and pod 4 talk about soup. At 12 :35, five minutes past my appointment time I change seats so I can see directly into pod3. I am now sitting right beside the other woman who looks like I feel. She whispers " my appointment is in 5 minutes." I reply , " My appointment was 5 minutes ago ." I did not whisper though . In fact I believe anyone in and around that waiting room heard me. It caught the attention of both pod 3 and pod 4. When pod 3 looked at me I shot her a look.
Needless to say, neither wasted no time in walking to the sign in sheet and calling me and the other lady to sign us in. I didn't make it back to imaging until 12 :45 and waited another 10 minutes there before being called back. I checked my watch as I was leaving. It was 1:01. My mammogram took exactly 6 minutes.
Usually I hate getting customer surveys whether it be by mail or email. I usually throw them away or hit delete. I really hope I get one from Northern Hospital though. I would definitely fill this one out and be excited about hitting send.
I had a mammogram today. My appointment time was 12 :30 but my orders said to be there 15 to 20 minutes early for registration.I was signed in and sitting in waiting by 12 :10. There were 5 divided pods where 5 different employees could check in 5 different people at the same time. Pods 1 through 3 had their lights on. Pods 1 and 2 had customers/patients already being checked in. Pod 3 had nobody. At 12 :20 pod 2 finished with her patient and took the guy ahead of me. About the same time I heard the lady in pod 3 start talking to someone on the phone. It was obvious that it was a personal call and had nothing to do with hospital business.At 12 :25 the lights come on in pod 4 but she starts up a conversation with the woman in pod 3 who for the last fifteen minutes hasn't done anything but make a personal phone call.
All this time I am sitting beside a woman who smells like she hasn't bathed in a week AND I have to pee. I am usually a very patient person but I was reaching a limit. At one point I look over to another woman who has been waiting as long as I have.She shrugs her shoulders and looks as frustrated as I am.For the next 10 minutes pod 3 and pod 4 talk about soup. At 12 :35, five minutes past my appointment time I change seats so I can see directly into pod3. I am now sitting right beside the other woman who looks like I feel. She whispers " my appointment is in 5 minutes." I reply , " My appointment was 5 minutes ago ." I did not whisper though . In fact I believe anyone in and around that waiting room heard me. It caught the attention of both pod 3 and pod 4. When pod 3 looked at me I shot her a look.
Needless to say, neither wasted no time in walking to the sign in sheet and calling me and the other lady to sign us in. I didn't make it back to imaging until 12 :45 and waited another 10 minutes there before being called back. I checked my watch as I was leaving. It was 1:01. My mammogram took exactly 6 minutes.
Usually I hate getting customer surveys whether it be by mail or email. I usually throw them away or hit delete. I really hope I get one from Northern Hospital though. I would definitely fill this one out and be excited about hitting send.
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