Blessed Weekend

The weekend is finally here, as I worked yesterday. It was my first on-call shift where I was the only chaplain in the hospital. It was a lot of fun, very exciting, and quite tiring! The morning especially was very busy. I spent a lot of time with one family, whose father had had a serious accident at work and broke his skull. Another family lost their Mom to a heart attack, and a couple of people called in with funeral home information that allowed me to complete several pieces of unfinished paperwork. I talked to (another) suicide attempt patient who had some odd ideas about God, (who, incidentally, is Catholic) and sat with another family as thier mother lay dying of a host of diseases. Somewhere in there I snuck a bite to eat and caught a few minutes of sleep. All in all, it was a good day, and I am thankful that my first on-call shift is over. That means, since I survived, I can do it. Today is definitely a day of rest. I intend on sitting on my couch for the majority of the afternoon and watching The Two Towers with Myra. Then, weather permitting, we may go watch fireworks later tonight somewhere. Next week is going to be an exceptionally short week for me. We have Monday off for the national holiday, I work Tuesday and Wednesday, and then I have Thursday and Friday off to go to Mason and Lucia's wedding, where I am a groomsman. I can't wait. It will be a much needed opportunity to celebrate life and happiness rather than remembering lives in sadness. Now, though, it is definitely time for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

-R