Monday, February 09, 2009
2
Posted by M at 5:12 PM 4 comments
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Happy Birthday Piper!
Piper is 2-years-old today. We love this silly, goofy, naughty Great Dane! Her breeder has new puppies and we are going to Florida in March...
Posted by M at 10:37 AM 2 comments
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Personal Responsiblity
Something that has always been important to me is personal responsiblity. Just to be sure I thought Iknew what Iwas talked about, I turned to Google.com and put the term in. I expected to find thousands of responses. I got just 10 back. Apparently it is not the issue I thought it to be.
One website I looked at said this "Taking personal responsibility means you acknowledge and accept that you are answerable for the outcome of your life. Life always gives you the consequences related to your actions or inaction. Being responsible indicates that you accept accountability and are in control" (about-personal-growth.com, para. 1). Hmmm.....
I try to take responsiblity for all of my actions. I cannot take responsiblity for those that I am not aware of, like if my words or actions wound someone. I rely on that person to bring this to my attention. In those cases, I can then take responsiblity for my actions with an apology, a change, or an ammend. I do use a very direct communication style, expecting those with whom I communication to talk back to me, ask questions and to respond to my words. Again, without that give and take, I cannot take responsbility for my words...but I would given the opportunity.
Because I feel strongly about personal responsibilty, I get very impatient with people who do not take responsiblity for their actions. I deal with this in many areas of my life. Some of my students do not like to take responsiblity for their actions. Instead of simply saying they forgot to do an assignment (or turn it in or whatever) they feel as though they must create gigantic sagas for what they missed and why they do not deserve to have any consequences for their actions. Ok. I can be a bit forgiving on this. After all, they are learning.
The ones that I get most impatient with are my comtemporaries who cannot seem to take responsiblity for their actions. These are mature adults who feel perfectly justified in stealing something from others by saying "it's what I was owed". Mature adults who will lie and implicate other people to protect themselves from the consequences of their own actions. Those are the people that will throw their "friends" under the bus to protect themselves. These are people that I do not have the time for in my life.
Imagine a world in which people took responsiblity for their actions...what if they said, "you're right, I do owe you that money." Or, "I'm sorry I lied to you about that." Or, my favorite and seemingly the simplest, "I'm sorry I hurt you."
Wouldn't we all be happier and calmer?
Reference
About-Personal-Growth.com (2009). Are you mature enough to accept responsiblity for how your life turned out? Retrieved January 18, 2009 from http://www.about-personal-growth.com/personal-responsibility.html
Posted by M at 10:30 AM 1 comments
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Winter Sun
Posted by M at 3:19 PM 2 comments
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Is this as good as it gets?
Happy New Year to everyone. Over the years I have found there are a couple of days each year that I am more pensive. Today is one of them. It's a point at which we naturally pause, look back and decide where to go from there.
We are lucky. We had a very good year. We are both healthy and my cancer is in remission. Our family members are healthy as well. We lost no one close to us this year either. Our mutts think we are the best humans on the entire planet. We are fortunate to be working in recession-proof fields and do not have to worry about layoffs or unemployment. We have plenty of everything we need and many things we don't.
Is this as good as it gets?
Maybe...in fact, for me it is. We are comfortable and blessed. Certainly there are ways in which I can be a better human. Practicing more compassion for those around me and approaching situations more gently would be a welcomed change. Fortunately people (me) are able to change and grow at every age.
And into 2009, I plan no resolutions. They are just ways in which we set ourselves up to fail and feel bad. Regrets? Just a couple and they are staying in 2008. There is no reason to carry them on into the new year.
May 2009 offer the best to you and your loved ones. Happy New Year.
Posted by M at 10:21 AM 0 comments
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Holiday Letter
Merry Christmas* Everyone!
Of course it is hard to believe that another year has passed. We all say that, and they do go by quickly. Faster as we age. We had an uneventful year and for that, we are very grateful! We spent our time in what has become our typical fashion...working very hard through the cold months so we can play during the warm ones! This spring we spent about a month working on our old boat. The bottom needed to be scrapped, sanded and painted. It doesn't sound like much but that old tub has a big bottom! It took lots of time and thankfully, we had some help from Pat and Mark. It is also a very messy job! The bottom needed some repair. We are so lucky that Mary can take care of so much of this. It is much more economical this way!
Once the spring work was done, it was time for fun. During the early part of the summer we painted the top of the boat with help (?) from Allyson and Tal Christian. I'm never sure how much help these two are...but nonetheless, the boat is now white with blue trim and it is much nicer. It was officially named "Proud Marys'"...and yes, that is plural-possesive. I checked with one of the English professors. The rest of the summer was spent enjoying our friends and family at our floating summer home. We were lucky to be visited by most every one we know, and even some we didn't. Our friend list expands a bit more every year. We particularly enjoyed our 4th of July party and heading our for 5th of July fireworks in Hudson.
But alas, summer ends and we have to cover our girl up. She's now sitting in some icy cold water covered by blue tarps. There is also no floor right now. Some "hey...let's get rid of that icky carpet in the kitchen" has turned into new sewage and water systems, floor and walls. Now I am feeling the need for new cabinets and why we're at it...how about a new sofa? Boat projects are much like house projects.
And now for the family update. George continues going strong at 87. He's living at Mount Olivet Careview in Mpls. on a memory-unit. He is doing very well and surprises us when he rallies back from various challenges. My mom and Bob Cook are happy and well in Golden Valley. They seem to have some new house project or vacation going on all the time. Alas...that is the reason for retirement. The Goldbergers are all fine. Sam just turned 17 and Halle will be 12 in January! I don't have anyone to go to animated movies with anymore. My sister Pat continues to see Mark. I have started referring to him as my brother-in-law. "My sister's boyfriend" sounds too cheesy when you're 50! Allyson (our little Alvin) will be 22 soon and is attending school. She says she is majoring in nursing but then tells me she doesn't really like people much so I am not sure how that is going to work out for her. Mark has 3 great kids: Erin, Matt and Ashley. Along with Erin's boyfriend Shane, we have expanded our circle of nieces and nephews again and we are so happy about that. Our Norway family is doing great as well. Geirid is fine, Silje is 28 already and Tal Christian turns 19 in March. He is finishing his last year of high school and we are thinking about having him live with us full time. He is hoping to enlist in the US Navy (like his dad) next summer so we'll see.
In other events...
I turned 50 this year, mostly quiely and well-supported by alcohol.
Pat walked the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk-a 60 mile event that culminated with camping each night. For those of you who don't know Pat that alone is an accomplishment but the fact that she walked every single step of it is truly amazing. I worked on the medical crew so got to see her at various times. I can't describe how emotional it was to see her at the end of it. I am so proud of her!
We have both returned to hockey and are playing on a women's team called the Breakaways. We are the last place team in the lowest division of women's hockey in the state. I am the lowest ranked goalie and we are having a blast! We have met some wonderful new friends through this team and while we don't enjoy those games late on cold Sunday nights, it's all fun.
It's been a great year...cancer is in remission and I feel great. Mary is doing well and starting to ponder what she wants to do with retirement. She has some work to do on the boat before we can have you all down there this summer! We have been fortunate to travel some, catch up with friends and make new ones. Below is a slide show of our year.
What more could we hope for...just that all of you are healthy, happy and doing well. Merry Christmas (*yes, we say Merry Christmas) to all of you and yours. Much love and best wishes for the New Year,
M and Mary
Posted by M at 8:41 AM 3 comments
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
We're published.
Yes. We're published-Mary and I. A chapter I worked on for this nursing textbook was published. To those not in nursing, it isn't particularly interesting reading but I am proud. And so is Mary. I couldn't have done it without her!
Chapter 24 , page 536-548; Using Nursing Research in Practice
Here's the official citation:
Mackenburg-Mohn, M. (2009). Using Nursing Research in Practice. In J. A. Zerwekh, and J. C. Claborn, Nursing Today: Trends and Transitions (pp. 536-548). St. Louis: Saunders Elsevier.
Posted by M at 4:36 PM 3 comments