God's creations

Sometimes I think part of me does things so that later I can go, "Oh, I went to the park and read some Emily Dickinson, and sketched the children watching the geese." Because doesn't that just sound like how you should spend the day?

Each life converges to some centre
Expressed or still;
Exists in every human nature
A goal,

...Ungained, it may be, by a life's low venture,
But then,
Eternity enables the endeavoring
Again.

I've been wanting to tell you about my patients that I've had for the last 2 weeks. I'm working at "The Ridge", a state facility for developmentally disabled adults that provides group housing, full time staff for living and programming, and health care--that's us. It reminds me of working with the kids with autism for the first time. You just sort of wing it when you walk in the room, and you hit a lot of resistance, but then, a tiny victory comes in the form of a clap or a smile, or finally letting me examine his stomach, even if he is sitting up instead of lying down. And it makes it all worth it. It makes me sad that so many people can't see the beauty in their lives. Not that there isn't also frustration and heartache and disappointment, but the two aren't independent of each other.

On my first day of work at The Ridge, we went to a funeral for a patient who had passed away over the weekend. Of course I didn't know the patient, but I saw the purpose in his life through his brother, who told those gathered that he never held a conversation with his brother in 50-some years, but his brother taught those around him how to love better. It was beautiful.