What They Don't Teach You at CPR Training

It was exciting day at the YMCA yesterday.  I volunteered to substitute teach an early yoga class yesterday, and it turned out to be quite an adventure.

As I was setting up for class, I hear someone yell from the main exercise equipment room: HELP! CALL 911!!  I ran out of the yoga studio, being the only YMCA staff upstairs at the time, to see what was happening.  A man had a heart attack on the elliptical machine, was not breathing and had no heartbeat.  If ever there was a time and place to have a heart attack, this was it.  Beside him on an elliptical machine was Francis, an RN in the cardiac unit of a local hospital.  She was the one yelling for help.  She caught this man as he fell from the machine (even though she is only about 5 feet tall), and she was performing CPR.  The Y has a automatic defibrillator, and Frances knew just what to do.  The man had to be shocked to get his heart beating.  I knew she was tired from performing CPR for the last 3 or 4 minutes, so I told Francis I could take over CPR (even though I had never done it before outside of my training class).  I knew she couldn't go on forever.  I bent down to start CPR, and the man jerked to life, grabbing me by both arms and scaring me to death.  Francis was cool as a cucumber, reassuring the man that we were there to help.  What would you be thinking if you woke up, adrenaline pumping, with a strange woman pressing on your chest?  I was amazed that this man who was quite literally dead a few moments ago, was coherent enough to answer Francis' questions.  He knew where he was.  He had no idea he had just been shocked or needed CPR.  He thought he fell off the elliptical machine.  The paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital, and Francis and I headed into the yoga studio for class. 

Francis is a hero, but she will deny it.  Thank heavens the YMCA has an automatic defibrillator, and when I glanced at it this morning hanging on the wall I didn't take it for granted.  Most other mornings I wouldn't have thought twice about it.  What I learned yesterday is that no amount of CPR training can prepare you for the real thing.  Francis said she does this, "all the time."  She was calm, collected, and reassuring.  I looked calm on the outside, but I was freaking out on the inside.   I hope to never have to perform CPR, but if I do I want to be Francis.  I am so grateful that she was there to help this man. For her, it was nothing.  For me, it was both scary and uplifting.   

A Lot of Summer Fun With Only a Little Summer Weather

So far, this Nebraska summer is pretty mild.  I should bite my tongue because I know the heat will be here soon.  However, cool weather has impacted lots of folks' summer plans.  Our garden isn't enjoying the cool weather and monsoon rains.  The family farm that supplies our weekly produce share had to apologize for only having a few items in our share last week; the veggies just aren't growing yet.  I certainly hope all the rain we've had is catching us up from last year's drought.  I only wish the rain wouldn't come down in heavy sheets.  Rain has been a double-edged sword so far, bringing moisture but also flooding.  Planting in the fields has been delayed. 

We had a day of fun in the sun planned at our friend S's house, but it ended up being more like a day of fun in the pants and sweatshirts.  The 70-degree day didn't stop the kids from at least trying out the pool, but there was quite a bit of teeth chattering and blue lips involved.

Luckily, S has a kick-ass tree house with a zip line.  All the kids got to take a bunch of trips down the zip line and jump on the trampoline for hours.  They even got to mingle with the neighbor's livestock.  So, even though the weather wasn't ideal, fun was had by all.

Look at this awesome tree house!! 

How are ewe?

Evelyn zip lining for the first time.  She came right back up for more!

Brody only tried the zip line once.  Hey, at least he tried it!

S has a view of the countryside that is spectacular to say the least.  Off in the distance, passed the green fields, one can see the Lincoln city skyline.  Views like this, and friends as generous as mine, make Nebraska the Good Life.

Married 15 Years?!

Colby and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in style on June 1st with some of our closest friends. Wow. Fifteen years is pretty outstanding.  We've survived thus far from becoming a statistic or two: teen parents, married young, weathered a few layoffs...but we are still married.

Marriage isn't easy, but it is far easier than the alternative.  I joke with my recently-divorced friends all the time about how awful it must be to return to dating in your thirties and forties.  They don't disagree with me.  I know many folks who have found love through online dating, but one of my most stubborn single friends won't give it a try.  Even when I tell her that new studies show great success for folks who meet a partner online, she is still not ready to take the plunge.  But I digress...

The reason I push relationships on my single friends is because I have such an amazing one.  I found the partner who goes to work so I can stay home, does house chores, plants and manages a garden, builds pretty much any project I commission, eats everything I cook, plays cards and boardgames with the kids, and always puts the toilet seat down.  Although, he does tend to leave every light in the house turned on when he leaves for work.  I guess I can live with that.

To all of the folks out there who have contributed to our success and happiness, whether big things or small, we could not have made it through 15 years without you.  Although my husband is my best friend and my closest family, there are so many other people who have made our marriage what it is today.  We have a loving family who has shown us what it means to work hard at a marriage. We have friends who have not only been with us through good times but have also given us so much hope and encouragement through the bad times.

So, here are some photos from our anniversary party.  I couldn't post all of the photos, but these are some of my favorites.  We had so much fun mixing our old friends with our new friends.  One of the women who teaches yoga with me, and whom I don't really know all that well, said to me, "I LOVE your friends!" I do, too. 

One of my friends from junior high who still tolerates me, me, and my lovely sister-in-law.  I love these ladies!

One of my newest friends, me, and one of my oldest friends.  We are such a cute little group.

A wedding tradition: eating cake!

Drunk yoga poses...at this hour, I can't believe we actually stayed balanced long enough for a photo!

This guy, what can I say? Give him a few Manhattans, and the party never ends.

Love this man!

Kisses at the after party

My sister-in-law and I got a little silly back at the hotel.  There are probably 30 photos of us messing around in front of these flowers.  She's a bad influence, but I love her!

This is one of my favorite silly photos!!  The macho man is Colby's brother.  Those awesome biceps are mine.