What a Life

To off-set the negative tone my blog (and life) has seemed to have taken the past couple months I have decided to make a list (shocking I know) of all the wonderful blessings that I have.  Because despite all my disappointments and challenges the past year I do have a wonderful, amazing life, I have just been to caught up in my "poor, pathetic life" to remember that sometimes. I am grateful for Tim, my "adopted dad" who loves me enough to remind me how lucky I am to have the life that I have, despite all the crap that occasionally poops on me all at once. So even though it is not Thanksgiving here is a list of why I love my life.
1. I live in America where there are strangers (and some friends) who are willing to fight for my freedoms.

2. I have had the opportunity to live and teach English in Kunming China, and Changzhou China. LIVE, not just travel to, stopped in on a layover, or seen on a map, I had a legit address where I could send and receive mail. 

3. I have family and friends all over the country that love me. This is an easy one to forget, especially on days like today when I am alone, but it is true. I have roommates from freshman year who still call to see how I am doing. I have people from Spring Summit who know me better than anyone and continue to laugh at my silly stories. I have friends from China who send my texts to let me know they are thinking about me. I have a best friend who picks up my stolen car even thought it takes 3 hours and who calls to tell me how excited she is to see me again. I have "adopted" families who count me as one of their "daughters" and will drive 4 hours to see me graduate from college. I have a mom and grandma who will drop everything they are doing to help me and will make me anything I want when I come home to visit. I couldn't imagine my life without these wonderful people in my life.

4. I have graduated from college and become a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, I have a wonderful career in that field straight out of college. I get to work with precious babies and toddlers  everyday and help enrich their lives.

5. I have had the opportunity to live on the beach in Hawaii (seriously the beach was my backyard). I regret ever taking it for granted, it could have been one of the best experiences of my life. Regardless I am still grateful for the chance I had to do something that I have always wanted to do (despite the fact that I gained 15 pounds while I was there). Hopefully one day my path will lead me back to Hawaii.

 

 

 

Sunrise from my backyard

6. I had the opportunity to participate in a 35 day expedition to Southern Utah with 15 of the greatest people I have ever met. During this trip I learned that I am physically, emotionally, and spiritually capable of doing anything that I desire, I am actually worth something, and finally that our Heavenly Father created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy. As cheesy as this sounds I learned to laugh, live, and love, for which I am eternally grateful. This trip is the single event that changed my life.

The Road Less Traveled

A year ago this month I was graduating from college,

A year ago this month I always had somebody to eat Sunday dinner with,
A year ago this month I was making silly music videos to Hercules songs (go here),
A year ago this month my time was filled with  bon fires, game nights, hiking, boating, canyoneering,  white water rafting, roommate bonding, movie nights, and occasionally some homework,

A year ago this month I lived with 5 amazing girls who I knew would do anything for me,
A year ago this month I was running 5 days a week,
A year ago this month I knew I had at least 10 people I could go to if I ever needed help,
A year ago this month I lived in one of the most beautiful places on earth,

A year ago this month I was ready to move on and live my life,
This month I would give anything to be where I was a year ago.

Cleveland has not been an easy move. As a dear friend told me this week, "Everything always poops on you all at once..." She is in fact right after all in the past 4 months 2 weeks and 5 days I have....

~had my car with 99% of my belongings stolen the day before I moved across the country

~ moved across the country anyways and started a new job

~received word that my car was found with "all my belongings"

~found out that not all of my belongings were in my car

~had to wait (and continue to wait) to get my belongings back

~had my computer crash resulting in losing a good chunk of my pictures, documents, and music

~continued to have a ridiculously hard time making new friends  

~had migraines almost every day for the first 3 months I lived here

~had a very painful and unpleasant wisdom teeth extraction

and finally

~an infection in my L cornea

Lucky for me I have a knowledge of the gospel and the Savior's atonement which makes all of these disappointments and trials bearable. As I have journeyed through life I have taken many different paths, most of which I have wanted to take and some of which the Lord has given me the opportunity to take (such as Cleveland). There is always something to learn from each experience, I need to find out what he wants me to learn here.

Wisdom Tooth Extraction

In the last post I eluded to the fact that I got my wisdom teeth out, however I wanted to save the juicy details for a post all on it's own. I had been waiting for the day that these pesky teeth would stop overcrowding my mouth for several months, after all I was determined that my wisdom teeth were what was causing me to have almost constant headaches/migraines for the last 4 months (not the stress of moving across the country and starting a new career of course). I opted to go with an oral surgeon who is associated with the Cleveland Clinic, as a result the procedure was done in a sterile hospital room instead of the comfort of a dentist office.... the trade off, I got to go under anesthesia for the procedure instead of just laughing gas.

My dear friend Cynthia dropped me off at 8:00 am with nothing but my contact case and a list of emergency numbers in case something happened. My friend Will was instructed to come at 11am, after all that accounted for any delays starting the procedure and still gave me 30 minutes to wake up from the anesthesia. Despite the fact that at least 10 people asked if I had somebody with me and every time I had to answer "no" like a loser, my pre-op experience was fairly pleasant. I was called back almost immediately, put in some back room instructed to take off all my clothes (including bra and panties, which I found a little odd, but whatever), and put on the ever-so-flattering hospital gown, which I was not allowed to tie because they would be hooking up leads. I was then instructed to just relax and they would move me to a room up front soon. As I was watching some early morning TV (something I haven't done in years) Dr. Mitchell, the anesthesiologist came and checked my chart (only after he asked me if I was alone), and explained his portion the procedure. In the next hour, an IV was started, at least 7 more people asked if I was alone, I met with the surgeon and resident, and started to get wheeled away for the procedure before they gave me the relaxing medicine the anesthesiologist ordered before going into the surgery. The scrub nurses said they thought I already had it because "I was smiling and already slurring my words." The anesthesiologist said it would feel like a "red wine buzz" (whatever that feels like) but it definitely just put me to sleep. The last thing I remember was the nurse asking me to move to a different bed, and me trying to do it without flashing anybody (who knows if I was successful or not). The next thing I know I am waking up and immediately start to sob hysterically, and I couldn't stop. I was pulling out the oxygen, attempting to pull out the IV, taking off the blood pressure cuff, not letting the nurses touch me, not responding to questions and not doing what I was told (I think the exact words were combative and non-compliant), but I just COULD NOT stop myself. The nurses were asking if anything was in pain, the anesthesiologist was asking if I could calm down, the doctor was asking if I would open my eyes, and I just kept crying. All I did was ask the nurse why she was being so mean to me. (I should have known this would happen, my friend swears that I am a drama queen and that I cry whenever anything is a little bit stressful, I guess he is right). I finally settled myself down 45 minutes later, asked what time it was and panicked because it was 11:15 and I was making Will wait, but I still felt like crying. I pulled myself together, the nurse called Will, they discharged me and I was wheeled down the the car, despite my pleas to let me walk. 
Recovery hasn't been too tough. I was out an about later Thursday night, but was not able to tolerate more than an hour of sitting. Today (three days later) was the first day that they were unbearably painful, but I guess that is part of the healing process. I am slowly adding solid food back into my diet and will be going back to work on Monday.