Let's get to know each other

Hi Folks!  Although I surf this site quite often, I have never really posted or gotten too involved with the whole thing.  I would like to be more involved but find my life so full I search fot the time to do it all!  I am 59 years old and have been married for almost 41 years!  Yep we were one of the few who did it young and made it work.  I have three children and nine grandchildren.  I had RNY just over four years ago and lost 135 pounds and have managed to keep them off.  It is a struggle now that I am further out.  I was wearing a tight 3x or 26-28 and now am comfortable in a 12 and a few 10's.  I do so many things now that I never could before.  Besides working full time, I am very active with our church as my husband is the associate pastor.  I have tons of friends and all my kids and grandkids live within a mile of us.  Life is wonderful and such a gift.  I am grateful for the chance to live it to it's fullest.  GLad to meet you all!

Welcome to the site.  Sounds like you have a VERY busy life but make time for us when you can.  Seems like someone's always here when needed.  Great job on maintaining the weight loss, I know it gets harder the further out you get.

Wonderful post Steph.  Thanks.

HI All!
I am a retired RN; 10 years ICU-CCU, 5 years L&D, 15 years Psych, 13 years teaching nursing.  Currently I volunteer as a parish nurse for the deaf in Denver.  However, we are moving to AZ at the end of this week and I'll have to find a new outlet for my nursing and signing skills.  I am also a published author so am working on a book of stories about diploma-trained nurses and all the funny things that happened to us.  (Hint: Any stories contributed would be so helpful.)  My red hair has given me the nickname of Rusty.  I have been a member of OH since Oct.'03, although the changes in my pages has now got me listed as new.  I had an RNY in Feb. '04.  After a 135 lb. loss, I found the wonder world of going into a store and buying tiny petite clothes, something I'd never done before.  The past 18 months, however, have seen 30 lbs climb back on.  It has been my horrendous year: sitting 3 months with Mom cuz every time she stood up she passed out and I needed to be there to help her...consequently not keeping up with my exercise routine.  I got her well enough to move into an iindependent living apartment and went home.  One week later I got an emergency call from KS that Mom had had a massive heart attack and to get back over there.  I sat with her for 5 days, honoring her DNR that she had signed when she made me her medical power of attorney.  It was easy to promise to do that many years ago but not at all easy when I knew there were machines and medications that could possibly have kept her alive.  The guilty feeling that I killed my mother urged me on in my old habit of stress eating. Thankfully that overwhelming belief doesn't pop up as often anymore.   My dad then became my responsibility as he's in a nursing home with Alzheimer's and I'm his medical power of attorney as well.  Then I had 4 surgeries, interspersed with daily calls from my 4 younger siblings, all expecting me to listen to their grief and not allowing me an outlet for my own.  Then my aunt died suddenly and we had to tear up to WY to help my much younger cousins in getting thru it all.  Now I'm not only Mom for my 4 siblings, my group of needy people has grown to 6!  Came home from her funeral and had surgery 5 days later.  Now, 2 weeks post-op, we sold our house and I'm trying to help and/or stay out of the way as we prepare to uproot from CO and move to AZ.  I am looking forward to building a truly handicapped accessible home, but hate to leave my grandbabies, two with one on the way.  Being torn back and forth is not helping my sporadic days of eating and exercising then becoming inactive again.  So, I'm back in the game, have located a support group where I'll be living and have cameras on my computer as well as those of my two sons so I can talk to those little ones.
Cheers,
Daffodil Rusty 

Rusty, whew lady, it's no wonder a little stress eating has taken place.  You've had a lot on your plate to deal with.  I hope the move goes smoothly and your life settles down into a nice paced routine.  I'm impressed with all the different areas of nursing you've worked in. I've always loved L&D cuz it's such a happy place for the most part.  I've also always wanted to learn how to sign.  My daughter took it in college, she's a speech path grad student so at least someone in the family can.  Who knows, maybe when I retire (if that ever happens), I can take some classes.

I teach sign classes.  Come on down to AZ when you retire.  I've been teaching hearing moms and babies sign language for 5-6 years now.  It is the latest thing for new babies and moms.  I was a bit sad at not having access to that population in AZ...then I realized I'll have a HUGE group of grandparents who'll have grandchildren who sign.  Maybe I'll start teaching down there.  I hope to anyway. 
I agree that L&D was a sweet and marvelous area to work in, but it became too expensive for my liability insurance.  All those creepy lawyers advertising to sue anyone around if your pregnancy and baby weren't perfect.  If only people would stop and realize the absolute miracle that so many healthy babies are created from the genetic soup they come from.  I never stopped feeling wonder and awe at each wondrous little perfect baby.  Sorta made me want to punch out the few parents who were unhappy re: sex of the baby.  Some people!  We lost a lot of great OB docs because of this mentality.  I didn't care for the caliber of docs left for me to work with, so I moved on to become a mental health nurse practitioner.
Daffodil Rusty

Daffy, I love finding out that you sign...I have a living aunt and uncle that is deaf and one each that have since passed. I was raised with the signing and so it is a part of my life. My Mom was deaf in one ear and had 7% hearing in her other ear. Without her hearing aid you could go to her good and scream at the top of your lungs and she might hear enough to piece things together.

My cousin works as a interpreter for the deaf through the Catholic church. She has traveled so much while doing that and she helps out with the handicapped things in different places in the area. She is so talented.

Thanks so much for all the things that you do to help those hard of hearing. It is so hard for them since they are in their own world and it is a world that not many can even imagine.

I got started signing when I was in grade school.  My friend across the street was deaf and we lived in the town with the state deaf school.  I went to signed Sunday School and church with my friend and thought I'd like to grow up to teach in a school for the deaf.  Then we moved away and I lost track of my friend.  I forgot all my signs except the alphabet...thanks to spelling out my prayers every night.  I also had a grandfather who was deaf, which helped me feel no concern about being with the deaf like many kids might be.  Lilfe went on and 40 some years later I started losing my hearing about 7 years ago..  I picked up signing again and sort of fell into the deaf community.  I have helped the deaf  when they need health issues explained, which nicely correlates with my nursing background.  My mom said I went full circle and finally ended up where I was perhaps meant to be, working with and befriending the deaf.  In fact, my hearing friends have mostly drifted away...no patience with my constant asking them to repeat and face me when they speak.  My deaf friends have opened their arms and included me in as much as they can.  Anyway, part of a long story.  Whatever, God does have His reasons for the way things turn out and I'm happy with my half-hearing and half-deaf world.
Daffy

Hi Stephanie,
Nice to meet you.  I'm 55. Been married 37 years. We have one son, 34.  He and his wife have given us three grandkids, Wyatt-6, Morgan-4 and Sadie-2.  They are expecting another baby in Sept. They are the cutest and we love them so much.
We live in my husband's parents house.  His parents passed in the 1990s.  We have two acres of beautiful trees and plantings and my husband built a water feature eight years ago.  We still have the original goldfish living in it.  It's deep enough that they winter over.  When the grandkids come they go straight to "visit the fishies".  We have many bird feeders and houses.  So our yard is alive with wildlife.
Unfortunately, I have to work though, so I don't get to just sit and enjoy it.  I am a database administrator for a telecommunication chip design company.  I've been there 10 years.
My hobby, if you want to call it that, is volunteering as a Tiger Cub leader with cub scouts.  I work with the 1st grade boys.  I find it very rewarding.
I lost 80 lbs after having the lap band.  I have found some of it but I'm working on getting it back off.  My health can't take the extra weight so I know if I want to be mobile I have to keep it off.
Thanks for the thread.
Bev

Nice to meet you Bev.  Another long time marraige, there's really a lot of us on this site.  Seems like every 2 years you get another grandchild, how wonderful.  Love their names too.  Your property sounds heavenly sorry you don't have time to enjoy it more. Look forward to seeing you on here.