Doctors, Medicine, Hospitals and other such Yucky things!

My grandmother was right. Every family needs a doctor. Maybe I should have been a doctor? I get nauseous at the sight of blood. I feel like I will throw up after any conversation having to do with surgery. I think in mental pictures. Yet, I've spent so much time in hospitals from a young enough age to at least have been useful, to understand what these medical terms mean without Google or Wiki and to be able to make educated decisions concerning the health of those I love.

I couldn't study for the SAT, studying for MCATs and the Boards would have been out of the question. Life has always been too important to me, but so have the lives of those I love. Spending as much time in hospitals as I have, I probably could have completed residency already and still I skeeve them. Some have been really nasty and old, others new and with the patients' needs in mind, but they all have the same feel. The doctors vary, the hospitals change, but I don't wish anyone to know what it's like to be in the care of the best doctor in the best hospital. I wish everyone in my life, HEALTH and at least one doctor in the family. Luckily, I have a sister-in-law in med school, a friend that's a RN, two PA friends, a friend of a friend that's a pharmacist and then there's J who knows a little about a lot. For everything else, there's Google.

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Sent from my mobile device while sitting in a hospital waiting room.

Single, Engaged, Married...repeat as necessary.

When D and I got engaged one of my bridesmaids gave me wonderful advice when I was contemplating about what kind of wedding to have,"make your first wedding count." Going into marriage, I don't think that anyone thinks that it won't last (I'm not talking about the
"marry for green card" weddings). This weekend two of my very dear friends proposed. Obviously, the girls said, "yes". Does anyone ever say no? Either way, I wish both couples a lifetime of love,understanding and happiness together in good health.

Another friend of mine was proposed to on the 3rd date. Are we getting engaged for the right reasons? Do we unconditionally love our partners? Is unconditional love even possible? Do we choose significant others based on our compatibility or incompatibility? Is it social compatibility or mental or physical? Do we get engaged because it's time to settle down? Do we settle? What's settling? Isn't being with one person for the rest of your life settling? If you wait forever, won't you die alone?

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Sent from my mobile device

Walking around in NYC

Sunrise/Sunset

A movie hasn't had such a profound effect on me in a long time as Before Sunset. I recommend watching it, the sequel first. Sometimes life or at least a movie is meant to be played in reverse.

"Memories are wonderful things, if you don't have to deal with the past"

"the world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance." -The Dark Knight

You Live, You Learn

I never knew that you can inscribe a bench in the park. Here are a few that caught my eye.

I don't believe in miracles . . .

but stranger things have happened. So today was the second time in my life that I witnessed a natural phenomenon. It's even stranger that for the second time it happened at a cemetery. Moreover, on the one year anniversaries of each of my grandmothers' deaths. It was a lovely morning despite the cloud hanging over NYC and the predicted rain. Despite agreeing that nobody will go to the cemetery before Sunday to mark the opening of the monument, I went. I had to. Plus, I never listen. As soon as I picked up the Yahrzeit candles and got into the car it began to drizzle, but rain never scares me so I kept driving. I drove through a mix of sun and rain all the way to the cemetery. By the time I got off the highway, it was pouring. Cemeteries in the rain are freaky and as I came up to the "street" where my grandmother's monument is, it was a complete downpour. I wasn't sure what to do, but I couldn't turn around now. I waited a few minutes squinting to find the monument. I made a U-Turn so that it would be on my left and not right side. I rolled up my white linen pants, grabbed an umbrella and walked out of the car. The rain eased up. I quickly found the monument and said my prayers. The rain stopped. It was unbelievable, but given New York weather recently, not shocking. I walked back to the car and got out the Yahrzeit candle. I lit it and put it on the monument covering the wax with rocks so that it wouldn't go out from the wind. The birds started chirping. I said another prayer. I got in the car and stopped by the main entrance to wash my hands. There was no rain, the sun came out again. I got back in the car hoping for a quick ride home and as soon as I passed through the gates of the cemetery, it began to pour. I'm not talking about a drizzle, I'm talking about a downpour. It was raining so hard that going about 7 miles an hour I had zero visibility. It rained most of my way home. Now, it's sunny.

There are things greater than us out there. I believe that. This wasn't a coincidence. I believe that too. Neither was August 5, 2003 when only during the prayer the sun hid behind clouds, the wind picked up and it looked like it was going to pour any minute. As soon as the prayers were sad, the clouds parted and gave way to the beautiful August day. Natural phenomena? Divine intervention? Miracle? Whatever it was, it gave me a lot to think about on the ride home.