Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to be honest, I felt kind of weird wishing people who got in contact with me on Thursday a Happy Thanksgiving. To me it was just another Thursday. For the most part I didn't even think about it being Thanksgiving until someone called or emailed me and mentioned it! I will say there was a moment when I remembered it was Thanksgiving on my own. I went to get lunch on Thursday and as I approached the pavilion where they serve the staff lunch I realized it was closed up...no lunch for the day. I decided to go to the adoration chapel and pray instead and it wasn't until I looked up above the Tabernacle in the chapel and read the infamous Mustard Seed phrase "Thank You Lord" in big lettering across the wall when it hit me. Not only was it Thanksgiving, but I didn't get any lunch! I thought that was quite ironic. It made me thankful for the opportunity to sacrifice my meal for all the people who go without food on a regular basis and go to bed hungry every night. My week started off with retreat Sunday-Tuesday. MSC holds an annual retreat and several members of the staff are asked to attend along with any long-term volunteers currently serving. It's meant to serve as a couple days away from work in a peaceful, quieter part of the country. It was a really neat experience. There were only about 4 Catholics in attendance, myself, Chelsea (the other volunteer), and 2 priests. So, it was one of my first experiences being in a spiritual setting where the majority of the people were not Catholic, but aside from when it was time for people to recieve Communion at Mass and when everyone said "for thine is the kingdom..." following the Our Father you really would have no idea that everyone was not of the same faith. It seems in the States there is a thick divide between religions but here it's more like there is one God and several ways to worship Him, none of those ways being greater than the other. I will say, I would have loved to have been a spectator when everyone was singing, clapping, and dancing to worship songs while Chelsea and I tried our hardest to keep a beat with our clapping and sway in the right direction! But it was a lot of fun! And I definietly smiled and laughed quite a bit. On Wednesday and Thursday I returned to work. I would say my biggest feats this week as a nurse were giving our two psychotic residents at Jerusalem! their monthly injections successfully and removing some sutures from a another resident's chin without an actual suture removal kit. For the most part needles and stitches are not fun for anyone, but it all worked out! I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoyed the turkey and all the fixins! Mom and Dad, I am sorry I am not there to help with the leftovers!