Blog Plugs
Tonight has been a great night shift, so far. Cooperative patients, good staffing, etc. This means I actually have time to sit here and contemplate life and all of its mysteries. Sometimes that is a bad thing, depending on the amount of sleep I've had in the last 24 hours, the time of the month, my state of health, any drama in my friends' lives, and so forth. But sometimes it's a good thing. I think it's a good thing tonight.
I read a few other blogs and use them as my escape from the reality of my life, be it a good thing or a bad thing. I particularly love The Pioneer Woman and tonight I found a link to another great blog on Ree's site: The Nie Nie Dialogues. I guess I'm drawn to these two blogs because they pretty much epitomize how I often wish my own life were: fun-loving, creative women, married to wonderful husbands, raising their children properly, and seeming to have a great time through all of life's ups and downs. They are beautiful, their husbands and children are equally good-looking, they are excellent cooks, their homes are gorgeous, and so on and so on. The older I get, the more the appeal of this working 40+ hours a week just to meet the bills, with no husband or kiddos to come home to, wears off. At this point, I'm quite convinced that women's lib is for the birds and I'd give anything to stay at home, raise kiddos, and take care of a husband and household. LOL!! The really hilarious/sobering thought is that this is exactly OPPOSITE of what I thought I wanted in life only 5 years ago. HOWEVER, I know the grass is always greener and all of that and there is no sense in wishing my life away because this is the ONLY life I have.
That being said, The Nie Nie Dialogues is extremely interesting because it is the blog of a young family with 4 children who lead a seemingly charmed life until August 16th, 2008. On that date (also my parents' anniversary!), the husband and wife were almost killed in a small plane crash. The pilot was killed, the husband suffered burns on over 30% of his body, and the wife has burns on over 80% of her body. She was in a hospital for many months and continues to have skin graft surgeries, reconstructions, and debridements which will probably last for many years to come on her long road to recovery. She was only able to start blogging again a month ago, but her little anecdotes from their new, much harder life are equally, if not more, compelling in their portrayal of the love between her and her husband, their children, and all the family and friends (online and real life) who have banded together to offer encouragement and support over the last 6 months. If you have time, I really encourage you to read her blog. It really touched me tonight.