The day before the wedding

Here I sit playing on my computer while John, Laura, Cindy Cogbill, and John's mom, Marianne, are at the bar busily cutting up veggies for the reception. John, Laura and I spent the day yesterday shopping for supplies and we finished up this morning...well, we finished up most of it and then I came home and let John and Laura finish up. Laura had taken as many of my questions as she could take and needed a break. Shows how good a mom I am, but they are having fun over there...guess I'll get up and go join them. Vivan will be here tomorrow to help us finish up and John's mom does catering, so I think we're in good hands!

It's Good To Be Home

Tim and I got home this afternoon. We had a fun time in Charleston, but it is really good to be home after being gone for three weeks! Laura and John were already here preparing for Thursday. I haven't done much today but I feel really tired and think I might just have to turn in really soon just to enjoy being in my own bed with my own pillow and veg out in front of the TV for a while...There will be plenty of work to do tomorrow...

I've got to save up energy to get Brett Emerson, the Yankee, when he gets here anyway...he made derotatory comments about the south on my friend Beckie's blog and then when we all ganged up on him and pointed out the error of his ways, he deleted all our comments, so ....He's got it comin', but I've got to have enough energy to get him! What am I saying? Laura is marrying a Yankee, too! We'll have to teach John about being Southern as well, I guess. So far he's taken the kidding pretty well.

Last Night in Philly

This is my last night in Philly. It was been a fun, exciting, scary, educational three weeks! It was sad today saying goodbye to my clients and knowing that I won't be around to finish up therapy with them but it was amazing to see how far they had come in just three weeks. It has been wonderful to get to know my team members - one from Minnesota, one from Germany, one who lives half the year in Jerusalem and half the year in PA/NY and our supervisor. One of my little boys thinks I talk like a cowgirl. The other client family and the rest of the team had fun laughing at my southern accent the whole time and getting me to say certain words to see how I would pronounce them...they really hooted over the word similar which I, of course, prounce simUlar, like all good southern girls. The last thing I said to my last client family was, "Bye Ya'll." When I walked back into the observation room, the whole team was about rolling on the floor laughing. See, Reagan, I'm good for a laugh no matter where I go!

I've got to go pack up tonight so that when I leave the house in the morning, I can leave from the hospital and go to the airport. I'm meeting Tim in Charleston at an Implant conference. We'll be home on Sunday. Betsy and Ed have been great hosts. I hope they'll come to Bartlett one day and let me return the favor!

Feelilng Helpless

What a helpless feeling it is to be in Philly with a weddding just 8 days away!!! I should have know better! I am learning a lot and would not give anything for the experience I am having here, but this e-mailing and long distance phone calling is just not the same as being together and getting hugs from each other and Laura does give the best hugs in the whole wide world...Tim and Joe and John give good ones, too....but, boy, could I use a Laura one right now!

It was Great to have Tim here!

Well, Tim has come and gone again already. He came in about 1:30 on Friday. We had a great weekend going around in center city Philly and old town and Penn's Landing (even walking the 20+ blocks from Penn's Landing back to our hotel...even though I found out just how out of shape I am and I had to take it really slow and rest frequently...you think that would motivate me to start walking everyday, wouldn't you?...but who knows if I will or not...probably not....) We saw the Andrew Wyeth exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum and it was wonderful. But as always, Tim was constatnly watching the weather when we were in the hotel room, so I had him at the airport by 8:00 this morning and he was on his way home because thunderstorms are supposed to be bad in the Memphis area this afternoon and he wanted to beat them there. I don't feel nearly as hug deprived as I did. On Friday I'll be flying to Charleston to meet him at a dental conference. Then on Sunday we'll go home to get ready for the wedding.

This past week at the therapy center was much more comfortable than last. It's hard to believe that I only have one more week with my clients. I'm just getting into good therapy with them and then I'll have to leave. I really hate that but there are others who will take up the therapy and it will continue as needed. I've learned a lot about how important it is to involve the whole family in the therapy process.

My friends, Beckie and Vivian, were together this weekend for my friend (and college roommate), Jeanine's son's wedding. It's a good thing Tim was here...i might have pouted all weekend thinking about all of them having fun together without me!

Hug Deprivation

You know how I love hugs...Well, I've been in Philly for almost two weeks now and I am feeling hug deprived! Thank Heavens Tim is coming this weekend! It has taken all the restraint I have to not hug my clients this week but I have refrained because it is MY need not thiers, but I did get a hug from my supervisior because she did come in and ask if anyone needed anything on Wednesday so I told her I really needed a hug. Of course, the whole group thought that was so funny...You try going two weeks without a hug when you are used to having several a day...doesen't feel good at all! Makes me really thankful for all my family and friends who give such good hugs all the time!

Small World!

I tell you folks that the world gets smaller all the time! I went to church this morning in a little town called Warrington (I think) any way...it was Valley Road Church of Christ and the preacher there is a cousin of Garland Elkins who preached for a long time in Memphis, but his son goes to White Station...I don't know him, but I might have to look him up. His nephew is Jason Burgess who works for Agape (where I worked for about 6 weeks before they decided that they couldn't get around the language in the grant that was paying my salary). Then I met this lady that was from Jamacia who knows Joseph Watson with whom I had classes at the graduate school. It was really fun talking to all of them and making connections! They also announced that Won by One from Pepperdine would be here in a couple of weeks...I'm sorry I'll be gone by then. I wonder if Allen Gillespie will be traveling with them?

I'm enjoying my stay so far with Betsy and Ed, sister and brother-in-law of Bill Yikes, Harding Grad of '70. Bill was in Acapella and I found out that he stays with Linda Thompson (one of my beach buddies-who had fun at Gulf Shores last week without me) when he is in Searcy.

I spent most of yesterday laying around and reading a novel. It really felt good-it's been so long since I had a chance to do that. And Tim has called me from LA the last two nights at midnight or after...of course, the night is still young in LA but I have been sound asleep and I hardly remember a thing that he has told me either time! Maybe when he gets home tonight I will get to talk with him and it will make sense to me!

Thanks Beckie and Leanne for your encouraging comments on my first week in Philly blog...Mr. Garner, HUH??? Wonder will there be a Mrs. Garner soon?

First Week in Philly Completed

This has been a most interesting week. You know I posted on the Harding Alumni page for a place to stay and a guy who was a senior at Harding when I was a freshman and who knew Tim's dad and had given Denise guitar lessons called his sister who lives in Philly and made arrangements for me to have a place to stay. The first week, I was with one of her friends, a dear little Jewish lady who only lived 2 blocks from the Philadelphia Child and Family Therapy Center. It was a wonderful experience all around. I learned so much about Judiaish and in the Clinical experience. None of the others here could believe that i could just post a request on the Harding Alumni page and end up with a free place to stay! They just don't know about the Harding tapestry and how far reaching it is! I have two cases and after the first day, I was in there with them on my own. The supervisior and other therapists were behind the mirror and would buz in occassionally to say "good job" or "go this direction". One of my families has children and I can do great with the kids (that's what I'm used to)...and I'm working really hard at learning how to join with the parents, as well, which is why I came here...They all tell me they've never seen a family therapist who can work such magic with children but keep reminding me that the purpose of this program is to learn to do FAMILY THERAPY and empower the parents...I know that and it's still difficult for me to do! My other case is a family of all adults...that is a really differnt experience for me and is really stretching my limits! Today I am moving to the other family's house. It has been delightful so far and i hope that the first lady, Carole and her sisiter, Rae, will come to Memphis one day to let me repay their wonderful hospitality. Carole owns the corner house of a set of row houses like Edith and Archie Bunker lived in. I felt like I was in TV land! And we had so much fun talking and visiting at night. She was such a dear sweet lady and I so much appreciated her hospitality! When I can figure out how to post a photo of her house...I will. And one more thing...Can you believe that my Starbucks coffee cost less in Philly than it does in Memphis?!?

The Second Test Is Over!

Well, folks, I took that test again this morning and I knew more answers this time than I did last time but I still have no idea what the end result will be...we'll just wait and see...It's a relief to be finished again but the real relief will be to get the letter that says I've passed!

On another completely different note, has anyone else seen that news story about those two girls whose identities were switched in an auto accident and one family thought they buried their daughter (Whitney) and the other thought they had been nursing thiers back to health in the hospital (Laura) for about a month only to find out in the last day or so that it was Laura who was buried and Whitney who was in the hospital?!? I saw about it first on Mike Cope's blog today and went to the blog spot and read some of the stuff and then it popped up on my RoadRunner news and I read the story. It is really amazing and my heart just hurts for both of those families and the friends of those girls. They must all feel like they are in some horrible nightmare! I pray for God's comfort and blessings to rain down on them all!

I finally got all of Laura and John's gifts stowed away today in a closet. Tomorrow, i have to see one client, then get my roots done ( have to take care of the important things before leaving town for 3 weeks, you know), and then pack to leave on Saturday. I've always said that I could be a leader or a follower, but now that I'm faced with going to Philly by myself and having to find my way around by myslef (especially since I'm getting in at night) I wish Reagan or my Laura was going to lead the way. (Actually, Laura and John did offfer to go with me to help me get settled in, but I didn't want them to have to go to all that trouble...) I'm sure I'll be fine after I get there and put my mind to it! But who will be there to laugh at me? I guess the people I'm staying with will have all the fun. I'll have my cell phone (901)233-2146 and my computer so everybody keep in touch....Hope I learn a lot!