{weekend thoughts}

My weekends begin on Thursday. This weekend has really got me thinking.

Thursday went from being the much anticipated start to my weekend, to being a frantic haywire day. This unfortunate change began around 12:15 pm when the patient I had scheduled cancelled (this was the 2nd patient I had found by the way). If you're in, or have ever been in Dental Hygiene school, then you already know the pit in your stomach that forms when this happens, and all of the other stresses that come along with having a patient cancel (ie I will NEVER meet all my requirements, I will lose ALL my points for the day, etc etc)

In Dental Hygiene school, they expect you to eat, sleep, and breathe dental hygiene. Drop everything else that might be going on in your life and do everything they are asking you to do. Okay, I can handle that. I mean I'm the one who chose to go, so yes, I will do what they ask. Now the thing I can't quite wrap my mind around is the fact that they also expect all your friends and family members to eat, sleep, and breathe dental hygiene. So when my patient cancels, I need to find someone else, like a family member or friend to come and fill my seat. Oh okay, since all my friends and family will just drop everything they've got going on in their lives to come sit my chair for 3 hours.

Back to the story, I call B to see if there is any way he can drop Liv off with someone and come sit in my chair. He calls around, no one can do it. I don't blame them, we're giving them about 15 minutes notice. I call my sister who has already watched her several times at very short notice, and she says she can do it. Even though she is going to pick her son up from school, and already had plans to run errands, lives in PG, not to mention she probably wants to take advantage of the time she has with her husband since he's usually gone for multiple days in a row (he's a firefighter), she still says she can do it. She'll even come by our place to pick her up, since we only have 1 car and I have it. Hallelujah

So I call B, and he reminds me that I have the car, meaning I have the car seat, meaning the baby can't go anywhere. SO now I have to jump in my car, rush home to drop off the car seat, and rush back to school to get there in time for attendance to be taken, and set up my operatory. Everything turns out fine. I make it back in time, B gets there and sits in my seat. I was just doing sealants so I thought it would be real quick, but nothing is ever quick in dental hygiene school, and 2 hours later he's on his way back home. My sister is nice about the whole thing, even though I feel terrible that it took an hour longer than I told her.

Friday

We all got out of the house and went to the mall! Always a great place to go ;) While there, Olivia got ALL the attention. I hate attention, but I'm also somewhat outgoing, so this is why I have such a weird personality. Anyway, I love that she gets so much attention. I absolutely love when people stop to talk to her, and comment on how beautiful her eyes are. Or stop to watch her walk around, and then come and ask me how old she is because she just looks way too little to be walking. I LOVE every opportunity to gush about my girl. Luckily she loves the mall like me, and was actually quite nice to all the strangers. Usually she cries when she gets too much attention (this makes me think she probably has some of my personality).

Saturday

B is working and Liv and I go to the General Relief Society Broadcast. I get up to get some food, holding Liv of course, and a nice older priesthood holder comes to my aid and asks if he can help me. He holds my plate making it a million times easier to fill it while holding Liv. He tells me she's got blue eyes that would be very easy to get lost in (it wasn't as creepy as it sounds. it was actually very sweet). He even walks me back to the table and makes me sit and eat while he goes back to get me a drink.

Again, Liv is in a mood where she's not being shy. She's testing her limits of how far she can go. She knows I'll always come after her. She was walking up and down the aisles, even into strangers aisles. Like trying to get IN their aisle to get their hymn books. She even started just leaving the chapel without looking back. I end up spending the entire meeting in the foyer. I run into several beautiful mothers from the stake where I again get to talk about my precious girl, and then chat about motherhood, their adorable babies, etc. I also get to hear bits and pieces of the wonderful messages that were shared.

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So what am I thinking about all of this? I'm thinking that I'm thankful for family who are not just always willing to help me out, but who are so kind about it and make me feel like less of a burden than I really am. A sister who doesn't even know the extent of the relief that she brought to me that day. I'm thinking I'm thankful for people who take the time to give complete strangers compliments, who are unlike me in that they will take a step out of their comfort zone to say something first. People who give a smile, a kind word, a pleasant conversation who don't even realize how they've brightened a stranger's day. I'm thinking I'm grateful for the men that were willing to help the sisters with the chairs and tables, and some who were willing to help mother's with their children, who don't realize how bad those mother's might have needed a break. I'm thinking I'm grateful for the church, for relief society, and for the priesthood. Most of all, I'm thinking I'm grateful to know that there are good people in the world, and I hope that I can be one of them.