Father's Day

Okay, so this is a day late.  And to be honest, I stole the idea from a friend's blog.  But I thought he had a good idea.

This was the 2nd Father's Day I had to spend away from my dad.  I suppose the saying is true when they say you don't know what you have until it's gone.  Every holiday that I have to spend away from home makes me wish I hadn't taken the ones I did spend at home for granted.  A phone call really just doesn't substitute for actually being there and celebrating.  I sent him and my grandfather each a card, and for the first time since it happened, I was sad that I couldn't send a card to my mom's dad, who passed away December 2010.  I was very close to him, and even though a) I know he's in a better place and wouldn't want him out of that, b) it's been 18 months since he passed away, I still get upset when I think about him or when I think about how much I miss him.  He was such a great man, a great example of what a loving husband and father should be.  He loved the Lord and was fully prepared to meet His Savior.  He cared about others before thinking of himself; for example, before he passed away, he told my grandmother "be sure you help Stephanie get through college."  I constantly live with a regret of not telling him where I was going to school or what I had finally settled on for my major.  But I think that he would be proud of me now for sticking it out and doing something that I never thought was possible for me to do: move away so far from home and complete a degree/program that is difficult.  If I graduate for nobody else, I graduate for him because it was partly his financial savvy that has helped me achieve what I have so far.  Remembering what he gave to me is one of the great motivators for me to stay here and finish this program.

As for my dad: well, there's nobody else like him.  He's a preacher, and I'll admit, I've been bitter about being a preacher's kid for a long time.  My own set of scars and hurt resulting from being in the ministry pale in comparison to his; there were things I know he kept from us because he didn't want church politics completely overwhelming our home life.  He has suffered scorn, ridicule, cutting remarks, people determined to get rid of him because he disagreed with what they were doing, etc etc.  Yet he's still in the ministry.  I know that at times, he wants to quit.  People who have never been in the ministry will never understand the weight and the stress that preachers and their families experience not just on Sundays, but every day of the week.  Personally, I don't wish it upon anybody.  One thing I admire about my father as a preacher is his willingness to serve others.  How often will he put aside his own wants and desires to minister to those who need it the most!  I know he gets tired of doing so, but he continually puts other people's needs before his own.  If someone is having surgery, even minor, he'll make an effort to be there in the hospital when they go in.  Or he'll visit afterwards.  Even if people tell him, "oh don't bother", he'll still go because he feels that's what he should do.  Even if it means driving 2.5 hours and only having prayer with them before they have surgery, that's his calling.  He is certainly a shepherd to his flock when so many preachers seem to not care about their members' needs on a personal level.  In this regard, he's one of the most selfless people I think I know.  He's also been one of my biggest supporters ever since I announced that I wanted to be a vet. tech.  I think he's also been the biggest supporter/fan of MSU ever since I found out I'd be coming here!  He wears  his 'MSU Dad" shirt proudly every week, and his hat.  And he sports his coffee mugs all the time.  He's very supportive and that's something I take strength from when I feel like I want to give up.  Yet he's always a firm voice of correction when I'm either slacking or when I'm not living up to something I said I'd do...that happens a lot, but at least he's able to correct me for being wrong!  I also know that he brags on me, my sister, and my niece a lot to his church; and I actually don't mind.  He's a great person, and I've been very blessed to have him as my dad.  Did I mention that he and my mom will celebrate 30 years of marriage this Christmas?  Talk about a record in today's world of love 'em and leave 'em.

This was going to be longer, but as I had over an hour break in between these big paragraphs and the last 3 sentences...I kind of forgot where else I was taking this entry! lol!

Summer School

So, I'm roughly halfway through summer classes at the moment.  Right now, we're doing our surgery class which can be really tedious, but also interesting at times since we get to participate in real surgeries.  Last week we had our first surgery lab, and I finally got to put an IV catheter into a REAL dog!  up to that point, we'd only been using models and fake veins, so to actually stick it into a patient was rewarding.  Amazingly, I hit the vein and got blood on my very first try, which even the vet students in my group were amazed at (I felt like I earned some of their respect at that moment!) because they hadn't ever gotten the catheter in at the first try.  Unfortunately, the dog I was working with had very thick skin, and I kinked the catheter right after I almost got it in all the way ready for taping. :(  Thankfully the dog was medicated and somewhat sedated, so she didn't feel it.  But I was happy that I hit the vein on the first try, which is very difficult to do even for some experienced technicians.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I will actually get it in successfully, tape it onto the leg, and maybe even intubate (insert the breathing tube for anesthesia) the dog.  It's one thing to do it on a model: it's another to do it on a living, breathing animal where the anatomy doesn't always quite match the model.

On another note, I've already registered for fall classes.  This will be my lightest regular semester at only 12 hours.  But these aren't normal classes: these 'classes' are clinical rotations!  Except for one class (the class that will help me take the national board exam for technicians), every class is mostly practical clinical stuff.  I'm nervous but excited because these classes will probably provide the most learning experience yet.  Fall is also when I'll be doing my externship, which I'm excited about because that means I get to go home for 4 weeks!  :)

So I've registered for my final fall semester of college and at MSU, and I'm almost one semester closer to graduation.  Wow.  I can't really even remember where I was last year, and even when I think back to orientation, it's hard to imagine that day!  It was such a blur, so overwhelming, yet incredibly exciting.  What will the next few months hold?  I don't know, but I almost can't wait!