My 20th Vet School Reunion

Alissa had asked about my 20th reunion. It was really interesting. I did enjoy it. I ate dinner with five of my dearest friends from that time. In fact, there were three of us who just happened to sit down in the same order as we were alphabetically arranged during freshman lab. Maybe it was subconscious. There were several spouses in attendance, and while I knew several of them, I did get to meet a couple of "new" ones.
Steve, whom I had not seen since graduation (or shortly thereafter) now is married, has two beautiful girls and practices in the northeast US after growing up in Alabama and practicing in Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. Steve's sense of humor is just as dark and as piercing as it was 20 years ago.
John is one of the partners in a large, multi doctor practice in Virginia. He is married, has two children and is very much the family man.
Mark and his wife, whom he met at Auburn, have one daughter and two practices in Alabama. I have kept up with them pretty much since we graduated, and there was no real change in their lives since the last time I'd seen them.
Fred, very much a country person like myself, and his wife have three beautiful daughters who are going to break many hearts. Their practice is in West Alabama. Other than the gray hair, he looks and sounds just like he did 20 years ago.
Rob, with whom I have kept up off and on since we graduated is now an MD. He practiced for several years and then decided to go to medical school. In the process, his first marriage broke up, then he had several girlfriends and now he is married and doing well. His wife is an absolute delight and we had a great time visiting. They live in central Louisiana. He makes many jokes about the comparison between veterinary medicine and human medicine.
One classmate who was not present is a missionary in Cambodia. He and his beautiful wife and three children live in a rural village there. They work to coordinate other missionaries who come there on trips to assist the natives.
The really nice thing about our reunion was that our friendships went right back to the way they were 20 years ago. In the words of Steve, "It was as if we'd just turned away for a few minutes and then come back into the same conversation." I believe that is one of the signs of a true friend. I hope so.
There were some really sad situations. One of our classmates had a tumor at the base of his brain, it was treated with radiation. Somehow there was too much radiation given and now he is a quadriplegic. Another classmate's spouse died suddenly and unexpectedly. One classmate was killed within a year and a half after graduation in an auto accident, a second died from a brain tumor that returned after his being in remission for many years, and a third died of some other form of cancer.
All in all, it was a good visit. No profound words were spoken, nobody has won a Nobel prize, doubt any of us will ever be in the Bill Gates category. We're just plain old folks who are working, making a living and trying our best to raise families who will be good members of society. When I was in school, I had pictures in my mind of what my life would be like. I don't think any of the pictures came true exactly, but I think I am happier with the reality that I ever would have been with the fantasy I created. I imagine that my classmates had the same visions, but they seemed equally pleased with how life turned out for them. At least I hope so.
It has been an eventful ride so far, and I hope to stay around alot longer to see what happens.

Ramblings

I have not fallen into the proverbial bottomless pit. I have not abandoned my blog. I have been busy.
The first week in April I went to a meeting from Monday thru Thursday in Eastern KY. Then the second week in April I went to a continuing ed meeing in Auburn, Alabama from Thursday to Sunday. Also held at the same time was the 20th anniversary reunion of my graduating class at Auburn College of Veterinary Medicine. It was a wonderful weekend.
This weekend I am riding herd on another continuing education meeting held in Western KY. In betwixt I am still taking two classes that demand a fair amount of time and trying to keep the laundry pile at my house down to a reasonable level. The cat hair is piling up also and should be vacuumed, but won't get done this weekend.
Joe is worrying about his first round of CATS testing and at the first of this week brought home a big notebook of Science stuff to study. Vaughn is worrying about nothing that I can tell--he's about to become a teenager, so Mom is dumb as a rock sometimes.
It was almost ironic that I went to my reunion at Auburn and the next day the horrific happened at VT. I cannot imagine how the students must have felt, and I surely cannot imagine how the parents of all the students were feeling. I looked at the pictures and bioblurbs about those who died and thought of the tragedy of lives ended too soon. The Bible tells us that what man means for evil, the Lord uses for good, but an episode like that one makes it difficult to see what good could possibly come of the event.
Personally I am not a proponent of gun control, nor of limiting the freedoms of the college campus. I realize that my opinions are not popular, especially in other parts of the world, but I doubt the opinion of a middle-aged fat cow doctor will be noted in higher plains.
As a parent, I want my children to be safe, to feel comfortable in traveling and have confidence that they can live unaccousted. That is not always a realistic expectation. I believe that it is a Yiddish proverb "Man plans, God laughs".
I will pray for comfort for the survivors and families, peace for their hearts and also for the parents of the shooter. They must be devastated, also.

Frozen Easter Eggs

Wow! I had been enjoying the spring weather so very very much, and this week has destroyed it!!
This week I have been to a training at Natural Bridge, Kentucky. This is in eastern KY, near where I used to practice. It was an enjoyable drive, and a pretty good training. One of my coworkers went, and it was nice to converse as we drove along.
We left MOnday about 10:30 and returned the middle of the afternoon on Thursday. When we left, my house had been clean, clothes washed but not folded, floor vacuumed and dishes clean. I returned to -- well, those of you with three men in the house can imagine. I washed clothes last night, but just couldn't face the kitchen. This morning while waiting for Joe to get ready for the school bus I emptied the dishwasher and refilled it.
I will leave next week on Thursday and not return until Sunday night. Probably will be a repeat of the household performance. On second thought, it won't--next week is the boys' spring break and they are spending at least part of it at their Grandmothers. Whee!
I am traveling to the Annual Conference at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. This is a continuing education meeting and also my 20th class reunion. It is unbelievable to me that I have been out of vet school for 20 years. In some ways it seems like yesterday--but then I think of all the things that have happened to me since--and it seems like a lifetime.
I also look back on all the classmates with whom I have lost touch and it is somewhat sad. We spent 4 years together struggling to learn and understand the body of knowledge that was presented. At that point, we were equals. The same classes, the same profs, the same challenges. Now, we are more dissimiliar than we are similiar. There are some who have gone on to get more advanced degrees and board certifications, others who have built wildly successful practices, others who may have done nothing at all. Not even practiced. We're all just older. In some ways I'm not sure I want to see them--but then again I can't wait.

Foot In Mouth Disease

I am not talking about Foot and Mouth Virus Disease, which is something you might expect from a veterinarian, but Foot IN mouth Disease, where you say something to someone that you shouldn't.
I have a really bad case of FIM, or it could be stick-your-foot-in-your-mouth up to your knee. I know that I have this condition--I should never say anthing to anyone--but as usual I did it again. Awful.
Last week I saw a fellow veterinarian who told me that an acquaintance of mine was pregnant. She is a vet also. This morning I just happened to be talking to her about something else entirely and I told her that I understood congratulations were in order. There was silence. Yep, you guessed it, she had lost the baby. I was sooooo embarassed, and I apologized and I told her that I would be thinking of her and I was soooo sorry. I could have died. There is simply nothing in the world that I can think of that would be worse to happen to someone than to loose a child. So I am sitting here feeling like a heel. I don't feel the best in the first place--allergies and such--. This too, shall pass, I know.

I'm a bad Blogger

I am not a great blogger. After visiting Alyssia, who blogs daily and presents such wonderful photos, I find myself lacking.
On Thursday I had an online exam which I found very difficult and I don't believe I did well on. On Friday I went to Lexington to the Kentucky Cattleman's Association Board meeting. I am a committee chair for the board, and try to stay as active as possible in the organization. Steve and I are small potatoes as far as cattle numbers go--but the average herd in KY is 20 cows! Kentucky is also the largest cattle producing state east of the Mississippi. We also rank 4th in the nation in goat production. I was really surprised at that figure.
Saturday my son Joe and I built a doghouse. The floor of one of our two doghouses was falling out, so we built a new one. I think it is a doggie McMansion. Two collies will share the doghouse, so we decided 3'X6' would be a nice size. Then, not really thinking in doggie terms, I made it 3 1/2' tall in the front, sloping to 3' in the back. Wayyyyy too tall, but by the time I realized it, I'd already framed it up, so we went with it. I sunburned my neck, scratched the lids of my left eye and was dogbushed when we finished, but we had a great time. Sunday morning my left eye was swollen together, but by today it is better. I still look like a druggie!
Now you know why I haven't written--oh yeah, Sunday I recuperated. Even went and ate supper with my parents so I didn't have to cook!! What a lazy bum!
Gotta work a little .

Spring, and my hands aren't cracked open!

Another sign of the change in my career. When I was in practice, I spent so much time with my hands covered with one organic material or another, they were cracked, dry and open, bleeding and sore around the nails. I constantly kept some soothing junk or another on them; often patching the cracks around my nails with surgical glue. It did help, but not for long term. Now my hands still look large and very unfeminine, but don't bleed! Doesn't that sound like an accomplishment? HA!
My husband's epidural went well on Friday and he is now walking straight up and sleeping better. He was diagnosed several years ago with degenerative disc disease in his spine and we have been fighting it since. Surgery at this point is not an option. One surgeon told us that there was only a 30% chance of helping, and at that percentage, I vote a strong NO! So every three or four years Steve goes through an epidural or two and things are better. Maybe someday there will be prosthetic disc implants and I will vote for surgery. Yes, he is still employed full time--he is better when moving about than when inactive.
I worked in the yard most of the day Saturday and a few hours on Sunday. Mostly cutting out some brush on the hill behind the house and working on the drainage ditch to help keep water out from under the house. When I was growing up, my Mother would begin a big project that Dad really didn't want to get into, then when he saw her working on it, Dad would quit what he was doing and finish up what Mom began. So far that hasn't worked well for me. Maybe I am harder to get along with than she was, or I don't use the correct incentive. I don't know. So I have dug a drainage ditch from the lowest point behind our house around and down over the hill. It is knee deep in some places. I need to extend it another 10 feet or so, then I can get drainage pipe, put some gravel in, and then cover it back up. There is a pretty good sized hill that is behind our house and curves around to the right of the house. It slopes down to the left of the house and in front. All the rain that we had last summer of course ran mostly under the house and I don't like it. I'm trying to stop at least part of that. We'll see.
I actually like manual labor. It clears my mind of all the nonsense.
My boss is calling. See Ya!

It's only TUESDAY??!!

Somehow it seems as if it ought to be at least Thursday. There is very little news to report. I have been working on the paper that is due the first of April for Public Health in Disasters class. My topic is Public Health Aspects of Environmental Services during Crises and Disasters. In other words, how the public health department will help get water and sanitary facilities established for victims of a disaster. No, I did NOT choose the subject. There were 12 topics from which to choose and 12 students in the class. The good ones were taken up quickly, so I was left with this very very broad topic. I have to write 8 pages and do a 15 minute presentation. Not that I can't talk 15 minutes on any subject, but this one is a little broad.
Did you know that Lake Ponchartrain has less bacterial contamination that was expected? Also less contamination from all the petroleum industry that was expected. According to the EPA it is already back to a "recreational level" of all the nasty stuff that they have checked for. Just goes to prove that Mother Nature is a pretty tough old gal. Of course, she caused the mess, so I guess she can clean it up!
Tomorrow is Hump Day and also my husband's birthday. I think we will wait until the weekend to go out to eat to celebrate. might even find a way to leave the boys at home.......