I want to be remembered as...

Yesterday I had a continuing education class at work. The state of Wisconsin requires us to have 15 hours of continuing education a year to be able to continue working in healthcare. If you are unaware, I work for North Haven Homes which Specializes in Dementia and Alzheimer's care. This means I get kicked, slapped, tripped, stabbed, spit at, called every 4-letter word in the book, etc... This seems crazy, yea I know, however, the more I understand the disease and learn about it, the more I just keep caring for my residents and giving them everything I can to make their days that much more better, even if they don't remember 5 minutes after the fact. Anywho, each resident has hanging by their room an "About Me" poem. It includes things like birthdays, religion, children, grand children, jobs, hobbies, travels, etc. These are so much fun to read cuz you get to know who that person is and not just their disease. The last part of each poem goes "I want to be remembered as..." most of them say a good wife/husband and mother/father. I often think about what mine would say if I died lets say today. Well it just so happens that that question was posed on us yesterday at the continuing ed meeting. When it came to my turn I was like "I have no idea."  Some things were suggested like "compassionate" or "outspoken" but to say those or things other people said would be lies. This has been bothering me me since the meeting and the only thing I can think of is that I want to be remembered as a Saint. And I mean that in the most humblest way possible. I also know that I am very far from that so I think I have to change somethings and actually be a saint so that when I die people can remember me as that. I don't think in my short 26 years I've accomplished anything to be remembered by and I wouldn't even mind being forgotten. For now, I'll just try to come up with a better answer.

Narrow Gate

So I'm pretty moral, for the most part. I teach Theology of the Body, so I have to live what I teach or as best as I possibly can. Well tonight while out, I just observed the people around me. These people are drinking like fish, and the dancing. I'm not a dancer, AT ALL. You won't catch me grinding, I'd have to be pretty out of my head to do that kinda thing anymore. But the one thing that really struck me was what is it like to live without morals? To not care who you hook up with? To just do what you feel like? To suffocate your conscience and to (as Obama is trying to force us) violate it? As I go through Lent, I guess I'm thankful that I've tried to change my ways as best as I can. Those kinds of things make me uncomfortable and I'm really glad that they do. Who knows what kind of situation I'd be in right now if I didn't have the formed conscience I do now? Not that I'm perfect, by any means, but I'm glad I've chosen the path I have.

"Enter through the narrow gate;  for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."
- Matthew 7:13-14