A Decapitated Dummy, A Prison Break, and a Homeless Man

Dear Friend,
Life has picked up since the last time I have blogged and I thought that this might be a good time for us all to take a minute from the holiday cheer and laugh at my expense. :) 

As some of you know I have been for the last few weeks been taking a CNA (certified nurses assistant) course at a local college. I am now done the course and waiting to take my State exam in a few weeks time. I did, however, end up having a few funny incidents that I cannot help but write about. 

-A Decapitated Dummy-

*Imagine me in scrubs about to do a procedure on a dummy (the dummy's name is Ms. Josephine... I'm not sure why but my teacher calls her that) I am nervous because my classmates are watching me do a procedure and are critiquing what I am doing. "Ms. Josephine" is on the raised bed ready for the procedure.*Things are going well and I have remembered all of my supplies. I am telling the dummy what the procedure is and that I need to flip her on her side so I can get to work. Feeling less nervous and more confident I press on. Forgetting how Ms. Josephine is not a real person, I proceed to flip her on her side with a bit too much force! An awkward pause happens between all of us as Ms. Josephine lands on the ground. We all (my classmates and teacher)then burst into fits of laughter  as it was completely accidental. However... the story does not end there. As we are laughing quite loudly and forgetting that this was supposed to be a serious procedure, the head of Ms. Josephine rolls out of the room  without any of us noticing. We hear a loud scream outside the classroom and stop laughing... We look at each other and run to see what the issue is. A lady who was out in the main area had come in to sign up for classes and saw Ms. Josephine's head rolled out on the floor and thought it was a real person's. :) We all were laughing (the lady that saw the head too!) until we were in tears. Medical humor anyone? ;)

-A Prison Break-

While in the CNA course you are required to do clinical. (Hands on learning ( for me it was in a nursing home) ) The second day of my clinical work I was working in the Alzheimer/dementia ward. Early on in the day I meet a sweet elderly lady named Hazel. She beckons me into her room and tells me to shut the door. (If anyone has worked with anyone with Alzheimer's or dementia you realize that this can be a very bad thing to do) I, shut the door however, and asked her if she needed anything. She told me to get close to her. When I was close enough for her, my ear was right to her mouth. She whispers, "I know what this is." I look at her and ask her what she means. 
"Dear," she says, "I know that I am in prison." Without taking a breath she continues, " The code is -----" (which, by the way, was the right code for the unit so that the patients won't hurt themselves and leave the factility) "Now, grab my cane! We are getting outta here Marideth!" (not sure why she called me that ;) ) I tell her that for right now we have to wait, and maybe later I can come and see her. Her response to that was, "Stupid girl! Of course! I need to put my lipstick on before we break out!" ;)

-A Homeless Man-

My last story is about a homeless man that I met on my lunch breaks at the college. The first day that I am  walking to the park as he stops me and asks me if I have any food. I had already eaten and told him I didn't. He then asked me if I had money... which, I hadn't because I just paid for scrubs. I learn that his name is Joe and promise the next time that I would give him some food if I saw him. A few days later he sees me and happily I tell him I have some food for him. I told him that I made sure I had extras of what I normally ate so he could take what he wanted. He takes a look at my celery with peanut butter, tuna with walnuts, almonds and my apples and shakes his head. He says, " Girl, I ain't eatin' that." I say, "Why not?" He says, "I hate healthy food." And walks away. Ha! A picky homeless man. :) Who would have thunk? ;)

Long Distance Learning 101

Hey Friend,

Lately I have gotten the question  asked as to how I am doing in my long distance relationship. Sometimes I am sure that people are just asking because they want the dirt, (there is none! I am a perfect girlfriend with NO faults and I wear high heels while I bake my apple pies for the homeless ;) Ahem. I lie... )  but sometimes I get the question like this one that made me stop and think about the answer. Thank you friend, (you know who you are!) who sent me this question, and now I feel compelled to share what your question has made me realize. 


"So, rather than asking you how your relationship is going right now, I want to ask you this instead. What are you learning from long distance about yourself? How are you becoming closer to God?" 

Wow, what a question, and I realized that I needed to do some soul searching. These last few days I have been doing just that. I want to share my response because I was challenged to rethink  how a relationship should be. 

Things that I have learned about myself:

1. That I am a lot more emotional than I thought. Ha! I cry more, I listen to those sappy songs that before I never ever would be caught dead listening to... because it's awkward... But now, T,-Swift kinda has a point! ;) 

2. That I am selfish with my time, my energy, and  pretty much everything. I say this not to bash myself or to make myself a target, but really, once you are in a relationship you notice very quickly that you can either have a relationship that takes or gives and receives. When you aren't dating, you can focus more on self that way and it is more appropriate, where as when you are dating someone, you want to put the other person first.  
3. That Skype really is something that I appreciate now- it is better than facebook and you kinda sorta feel like you are with that person. 
4. That I actually am a sap. Like a big sap sucking tree sap kinda sap. I got flowers at my doorstep and literally jumped up and down. It was just such a great surprise!

Good things about long distance:

1. You learn to be creative with expressing yourself. Letters, phone calls, skype dates, songs, etc. Seriously-- when else are you forced to be this creative? Pinterest has helped me so much! Haha!
2. Seeing the other person again is sooo much more thrilling! You get all hyper and jittery and then when you see them you feel like a million bucks,( until you trip and fall which happened in my case when seeing Adam again-- awkwardly funny ;) )
3. You are forced to talk more than to act on impulse. 
4. You are able to focus more on family and loving them, and making friends and such.
5. It makes you more grateful for the little things, which is always a big bonus.

6.The biggest thing though is this;You can't depend on the other person as much for the every day stuff and have to focus on your relationship with Christ more. Long distance is hard, and you get sick of it quickly, but God and I are closer because I have to be honest and focused on the #1 instead of someone who could quickly become #1 in my mind. Boyfriends are great, and I think mine is pretty great, but long distance helps you focus on what's what. 

God first is always the priority. Boyfriends are great, but not as great as the One who sends you love notes and tough truth every moment that you ask for them.  

Your hippy friend,

Summer

Introverted? Nahhh!

Dear Friend,
I had a very strange experience the other day. Though this might not seem strange to those who are introverted, for someone who is a self-claimed extrovert, this is quite an odd tale. You see, I was visiting a new church that I have been to on one other occasion. Normally I don't have fears of meeting new people- I like meeting new people; (And I enjoy what you can learn about a person in your first meeting, or how terribly wrong you are about your assumptions) making new friends is up there on the list of my favorite things! Oddly though I had a day as living like an introvert. 
1. I was shaking hands with a sweet elderly man and my heart was beating fast and I was like, "Hey, calm down!" in my head. 
2. The pastor eventually asked everyone to shake hands with your neighbor and be friendly and again this weird "oh my goodness I don't want to meet new people." was in my head.
3.  I had a headache immediately and attempted to smile sweetly as I met some new people. 
4.I met a few people my age at the church who seemed very nice but I was extremely shy and didn't want to make eye contact! 

I know this sounds weird, but I was totally freaked out. After church was let out I was really happy to be out in the fresh and and breathe normally again. I wonder, am I becoming introverted or was that just a very weird moment for me? Truly, it was not like my character at all. Also, to the introverts out there, is this how you feel when you are in a new situation? I feel awful for you if it is. 

I had flashes of me in my elderly state with my cats surrounding me and having no friends. If I was to analyse myself I would say I was (am??) going mad.  What do you think?

Your slightly embarrassed hippy friend,

Summer

18 Deeds

How far that little candle throws his beams!

So shines a good deed in a weary world.

- William Shakespeare

Hey Friend!
I was inspired to make a to do good list!The list will be finished for the new year. I thought this would be a good way of staying focused on being a good light for the few weeks we have left in the year! :)Some of these are easy as eating fudge, but some I think I am going to find a  bit hard to do. :) We shall see how this goes!!

My "DO GOOD" List 

1.Put someone else’s cart away at a store

2.Go a whole 3  days without saying “no” to an opportunity (unless it is bad, then I am allowed to say no haha!)

3.Do a chore that I hate for someone else

4.Write a letter of encouragement to someone that I haven’t spoken to in a year

5.Hold open doors at every opportunity

6.Volunteer as much as I can

7. Give a gift “just because”

8. Have a conversation with a stranger

9. Do something nice for the grandparents

10. Give extra  clothes to charity

11. Offer my time to someone else

12. Give away something (other than money0- money is cliche') to someone in need

13. Pick up litter as I walk one day

14. Pass on a book to someone

14. Call someone who needs encouragement

15. Make someone laugh who is having a bad day

16. Purpose to pray for one new person each day

17. Surprise others by already doing their responsibilities 

18. Do something cheesy for the boy

These 18 things must be done before January 1, 2014. I will document my findings as I "do good" in small ways. Try to make your own version of "doing good", I would love to hear about it! Here goes nothing! :) 

- Your slightly nutty Hippie friend, 

Summer

Keep Calm and Carry On!

"I am  doing a group interview on the eleventh of October  at Central Mall  in front of Chick-fla  at 12:00 and would like to invite for the interview process. I look forward to Meeting you.Please contact me by phone if you can not make it."

Friend,

I dressed to impress, I sprayed my perfume, I checked my teeth, my resume was printed.. I was ready. "This is not a repeat of Eden Bubble Tea... This is not a repeat of Eden Bubble Tea..." was repeating in my head like a broken record as I sat down waiting for my third interview. I glance around.. 5 minutes early... I'm good! I begin to scan the tables. No one remotely close to the lady I was waiting for. I grab a chair in the middle of the small cluster of tables and sit up straight.( I read somewhere that if you look determined and sure of yourself that you will get the job instead of going for the kind and caring approach. ) A man sits down beside me at the other table and a lady at the other. I smile at the lady and she looks at me then at her sandwich. I walk over to her and ask if she is the lady I was waiting for. She laughs, and says no. I sit back down, notice that the Price is Right is on in the restaurant across the way. I watch a full show (seriously, how is that show popular?!) while continually looking around (the man is smiling back at me now- awkward! I wanted to tell him that I wasn't looking at him but it was hard not to because he was smiling at me) and realize... I've been stood up. I, Summer Sawatsky, have been STOOD UP. I giggled to myself, you really do have to laugh at these situations, what else can you do?   I gathered my things, and as I was leaving the mall I saw a big "NOW HIRING" sign that was outside what one would consider an "old lady store". The lady working there looked surprised that I  asked for an application. :) Haha!  When God closes the door, jump out the window right? ;) So, the real question is- does this count as my third interview if I wasn't interviewed? ;) 

Your hippie friend,

Summer   

Hired and Fired!

Dear Friend,
As some of you know I was very excited and very nervous for my new job at Eden Bubble Tea... it was my first day on Tuesday and I had barely slept thinking of all that I would be doing at this little shop! I arrived at 10 am and was the first person at the restaurant. I eventually saw my boss and her husband. We talked quickly about the day and got right to work.  I said a quick prayer of thanks for this job and that I wouldn't mess up too much on the first day. Things went well for the first hour. I swept, mopped the restaurant, and wiped down the tables. My confidence in how the day was going to go increased. Little did I know what would happen in the next few hours....
 Customers began to come in at 11 am and things quickly escalated. My boss, who was VERY pregnant got me to start on a few small jobs. I did alright at the beginning, but I had no idea where anything was so I asked where the ingredients were etc. and she snapped at me. I realized that this lady was most likely having a hard time as she was most likely tired from her pregnancy and did my best to get out of her way. There was another girl there that had been working there for a few years and the first thing she says to me is, " I am so glad that you are here! We need a few more hands here but *bosses name* fired the last girl we had on her first day because she accidentally tripped her." I looked confusedly at her and asked, "Was the girl in fault?" The girl responded, "No, it just made the boss angry and that made her mad enough to fire her." I was seeing red flags in my head but the moment had passed to chat as there were more customers coming in the door.
Quickly there was 15+ people that filed into the restaurant waiting for their bubble tea and sushi. I did my best to assist in how I could, still not knowing where things were. My boss came over to me and quietly hissed in my ear, "Hurry up!" Confused, I attempted to wash dishes and give the other girl the assistance that she instructed to me in a quiet voice so the boss wouldn't be upset. In my head I was thinking, "Don't feel guilty for not being fast yet... it's your first day...this lady is mad at something much worse than customer service..." The crowd left and I wished them a good day in a shaky voice. One lady said, "I haven't seen you before... are you new?" I told her that yes, it was my first day (I said first day loudly so that my boss might remember in the near future! ;) ) and wished her a great day.
Later in the day I dropped some slushie on the ground after serving a customer. My boss saw this and was agitated. "You are so clumsy! Clean it up!", she said.  I cleaned up the mess and began to wash dishes. Surely this lady could not say anything about my washing of dishes?! She was watching me in the corner of her eye and noted me holding a cup wrong as I put it away. She showed me how she wanted me to hold the cup in my right hand and had to admit to her that my right hand had mild cerebral palsy and I wasn't able to do it the way that she wanted, but that I would find another way to hold the cup that would work. Her eyes bugged and  her nostrils clearly flared. If I wasn't so worried about what this lady was going to do next I would have laughed at the sight. She asked me to come to the back of the restaurant. It was 2:30 pm. I had only been there for a few hours. She informed me that she was looking for someone more skilled and that could pick up the job faster. She fired me there on the spot. I called home and my confused father came and picked me up. I hopped in the car and cried. What a day! I was upset at myself. I should have been faster! But then I realized, I hadn't been shown clearly what to do and again, it was my first day. :)

I am so grateful now that I am not working at that place where there was so much tension and anger.  And, that day taught me once again how God has blessed me. He has blessed me with a family that cares for my well being more than the money that I earn,(my grammy was waiting for me right at the door to hug me!) for a kind boyfriend who listened to my day and stood up for me, and for wonderful friends that messaged me asking about my day but after hearing about  what happened, were there for me. I am such a BLESSED girl.

Never a dull moment, eh!? 

Your currently unemployed hippie friend,

Summer 

The Skinny on Being Pretty (a girl's perspective)

(In advance, you should know that this is a girl to girl rant so I have been excused if you are a man reading my blog post and have no idea what I am talking about. It's alright. Talk to your girlfriend, mother, friend that is a girl and they can explain if you don't understand the anxiety  that bubbles up in your veins when you stand on a scale. Or if you are a woman who has never struggled with weight, let me tell you, you are a VERY blessed person. Have a cookie on me ;) Much love!  ) 



Dear Friend, 

Now, we all hear these lovely talks about loving the body that you are in or that being you is the best- whatever the size etc  etc. I have always been a chubby girl. I remember being bigger than my lean older sister and thin younger sister since I was very young. I made up for not being thin with having an explosive personality  and using my strength to win arguments with my sisters. (To this day my sisters ain't got nothing on me! Haha! Kilah and Syd, if you read this- you know I am right ;) ) I had my bad days when I would come home from school after a boy had called me fat or I had tried every size of a dress and it still didn't fit the way it should have; but mostly I was alright with my weight. People are more comfortable talking to a girl that has chub and isn't put all together than the one that is thin and knows how to make the perfect cat eye with their makeup. 

Looking perfect on the outside never means that you are perfect on the inside- and sadly we are pushed to fix the outside instead of having the healthy balance of working on both. 

So- why all of this chit chat about fat? Well, I admit, I had a low moment today. This morning I went to the doctor for a checkup. I saw the horror of horrors... a scale. The assistant smiled at me and asks me to get on it. Oh lanta. The one that accurately weighs you. I  joked with the doctor's assistant and made myself not look at the scale-- but my eyes betrayed me and looked. Ahhkkk! Internally I was freaking out. "Oh my land! That is a lot... I haven't been eating wheat lately! I should be the thinner! Wait.. I had icecream last night. I shouldn't have done that! Oh no. That lady knows how much I weigh!.." The assistant noted my face of "wow, I hate this contraption" and brought me into the room waiting for the doctor. I was alone with my thoughts. "Ok. If I don't eat dessert and go running before everyone is awake, that would help..? Who am I  kidding?! I want cake right now. *stomach growls* That's it! I'm eating only veggies and drinking only water for the rest of my life! I can do it!" Later on I hop into the car and go to Walmart to pick up a few things with my dad. He had a few things to look at and I was free to roam around and see what could help me with my new diet plan. Still having dialog in my head such as, "That woman looks amazing in those skinny jeans, darn I wish I looked good in skinny jeans... Hey! Icecream is on sale! Yummy.... Rachel Ray looks really happy as she makes a cake.. must be nice having someone else making your portion sizes!" Angry at myself, I looked at the diet section of the magazines lining the wall. Skinny women and men smiling while sporting cute athletic wear that would make the common person suck in their gutt as they walked by. Frustrated I turned away from the magazine section. 
Needless to say I was upset when I got home. I went upstairs to my room and my sweet Grammy Coo had left a Milky way chocolate bar at the end of my bed. Ha! The coincidence! I collected the bar and put it away frusterated and really wanting to throw it across the room and then run over and eat it!  Later in the day I did devos. God is kinda cool because I ended up reading this:

 "Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father's house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him." (Psalm  45:10-11) 

It was like God was saying- "Summer- you don't need to be a skinny model. You know I desire you no matter what size you are. I know you struggle with this- but you have Me. I'm not going to let you continue to feel sorry for yourself. Bow to Me and know that we can work through this together." 

I must say- He has got good timing. So, here is the skinny on being pretty- Bowing to Him and believing Truth. No lies, no diet, no makeup is going to beat that. 

Eat, Love, Pray, Exercise. Repeat!

Love, 

Your "big boned" hippie friend 

Inspiration for the Day

My sister Kilah showed me this comic today, with what I believe to be  perfect timing. It is made by the  guy who made the Calvin and Hobbs comics and his life story.."where he is today  and what he had to go through to get where he is"kinda deal. This is the life that I want. I don't want to be misled into doing things to climb a ladder to success; that won't bring me happiness and God the glory He deserves. I want my life to matter and I don't want to be stuck doing what I've been taught to do. Success to the world truly is not success.  I would love to follow the passions that God has given me and to love what I do every single day. Lord, help me not to conform, but to do what it is that You want me to do- to make my life a success. 

I'm inspired.. I hope you are too.

Love, your hippy friend,

Summer

Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Well Friend,

Here it is. I still don't have a job even though I have applied to what we would call some of these jobs the "bane of all my existence" or the "death of my social life." I suppose I am on the brink of desperation when I get e-mails of friends asking me what I am up to and I feel the need to make up some grand story that I am like Mother Teresa  to the cute neighbor kids, or becoming a doctor so I can go to Africa to save the people! (Ah yes, I do imagine!)  
I have called places, e-mailed, faxed resumes... nothing has come up yet.  Well, no calls except one creepy man who's name was "X231" something or other. Yeah, no thank you scary man! 

I was complaining to God this morning and being a bit pouty saying things such as, "God, I'm here in Texas and I can't even get a job! Isn't this what You want? I just don't understand! Wah Wah Wah.etc etc. " (The Israelites would have been proud of my whining!) Anyway,after that totally 

wonderful prayer (cough, cough!) I begrudgingly opened up my Bible and came across the verse:

"You will keep her in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because she trusts in You." -Isaiah 26:3

Yikes! I am definitely not at peace! And my mind is not staying on Him! It is unfocused as a fly! 

Bashfully, I hung my head and prayed again. (This time without so much wah wah-ing!)I am grateful for this time as I am currently unemployed and not "doing much". I am learning more about my family members, I am able to bless others by aiding my mother and grandmother with the chore load.  I am developing skills around the house.(domestic skills, lanta, I need 'em!) I have more time to read my Bible, to write letters, to develop a game plan for my money spending. Yes, life isn't a Hollywood production right now- but I'm trying to be patient and have some teachable moments with God.

Your Hippie friend,

Summer

My First Apron!

My first apron is made! 

I have been wanting to start making things to sell with my mother and sisters as they have been selling their crafts at a flea market here in town. This apron took three days of off and on working on it,but now I think the others will be made quicker. :)

 Little sis Syd is quite the model! ;)

 She's a ham! 

So many pictures, I know... I guess I'm a bit proud of it! :D I'm going to attempt to sell these on:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rabbit-Hutch-Ink/579233422115716 

along with the other things my sisters and mom come up with! ;) 

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,"- Col. 3:13

Pinning Material

MY LIFE IS LIKE A PIN...

Well, ok, not really.... but my little metaphor came to me as I was making aprons that I will be selling. (keep looking at Rabbit Hutch Inc. on Facebook if you want to see my creations soon ;) ) I was pinning the fabric for my new apron together and noted to myself what a pain it is to pin material... It makes the process of sewing longer and (if you are a bit clumsy like me :) ) you will most likely poke yourself a few times before the pinning is over and then the sewing begins. I think though, that my life is at the "pinning" stage of the "sewing project" of life. I am at the stage where I have tedious work to do and am wanting the "fun stage" to start. 
My prayers have been, "Lord, what is it that you want me to do?!" In more desperation than I care to admit especially when friends of mine are heading off to adventures that seem much more legitimate than mine... I want to be in the sewing part- where things are not so rough ahead of me.  Sewing is where the end results are in view... but I'm just not there right now. I am in the "pinning stage" where there are no results yet and what everything looks like is a big mess of pins and fabric. I must remember for myself that to get a masterpiece one must take the time to pin the material... to be in the unknown, so that the piece that you are working on will have the straight lines made by the sewing machine and a product that I can be proud of. God is my tailor and I am His material. So, as the first day of school begins for many, I am going to go back to the sewing machine. I need to continue being ready and willing to be pinned so that God will take my "material" and make me into something beautiful in His timing. Am I impatient? Yes! Am I  learning lots already here in Texas? Yes sir! I must learn to be pinned and patient.

Your hippie friend,

Summer

"You make known to me the path of life;you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand". - Psalm 16:11

A Nomad's New Beginnings

Dear Friend,

I have never thought that I was going to ever be the type to be a blogger (whenever I think of blogs I think of irked teens ranting about their hated parents...) or to write what I was feeling or learned to the general public. I know that a very small group of followers will read this blog--but that is quite  alright with me. I suppose I have caved because I don't want to be on this journey alone and writing publicly about it will make me know that my story is being told.

I know that I am on a journey and not doing the "average" thing that one does at my age. I am twenty and just moved back in with my parents. I went to a Bible school for two years and didn't finish my degree. (not because I didn't want to, just as an FYI) I have no plans, I have no proper education in anything. I do however have a passion and a deep want to do what God wants me to do with my little life. Corny as it sounds, that is my heartbeat. If my heartbeat changes, then I am not doing what I should be doing. I am passionate about showing the love of Christ that is in me to others. This is my blog of my hippie/nomadic life as I continue to seek and discover what it is that God wants me to do as I face life here in Texarkana, Texas. (With not a clue what will happen next! :) ) I am mostly nervous but also quite excited about what this period of the unknown will be. I will not be lazy with this time that I have to dive into what this stage offers. 

Wish me luck! (Or, better yet, pray that I don't dye my hair pink in the first week! ;) )

Your hippie friend,
Summer