Surprises

As a PT I am required to take continuing education units every year. By no means is this a bad thing, truthfully I REALLY enjoy the opportunity to refresh and learn new things. The hard thing is that I literally get at least 2 or 3 mailings per week with different course offerings. I have tried to take the less expensive courses that are close to home to minimize the financial impact.....but still want to take GOOD courses. Alas I decided on a class for April 8th at Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom. It was close, somewhere I hadn't been and involved a topic I could use immediately in my practice.

The class was WELL below my expectations. Now, don't get me wrong.....I admire and appreciate other professionals in health care.....however I had been teetering about this class as it was taught by an OT (occupational therapist). There is no nice way to say this....but typically in grad school OT's are picked on/teased as "crayon artists and craft makers". They do fun stuff with patients like cook and color and make macaroni necklaces. My apologies to my OT friends, but that is just the way OT's are often seen.

At any rate, the class was FULL of exercises that did not consider safe body mechanics and an OT who called herself a "Parkinson's Specialist" despite this specialty not even existing! So, I left class wondering.....was my $189 worth it?.....not to mention gas and taking a paid day off at work. To say I was bummed was an understatement. I just kept thinking, man this week pretty much sucks.

Here is where I get to my surprise.....

I pull up to the house and notice a package out front. In my mind I am wondering if Chris ordered something, but usually he tells me to be on the lookout. Then I am thinking I ordered something and forgot....DOH! At any rate I pick it up and set it on the counter and start putting away the mail, my lunchbox, etc. I decide to go ahead and open the box to find a wrapped package with a card on front. A present?!?!?!?!? OMG, WTF? Who, how, what? I was seriously surprised, not a clue what it could be or who it was from.

Alas I found this:

The card was from my friend Vicki :) What an awesome surprise.

I definitely needed that....given how yucky my actual birthday had been and how one of my close friends STILL has forgotten.

So, my gratitude goes out to the friends I don't see or talk to enough who left messages and especially to Bicki....not a typo....I call her Bicki :P Thanks for the surprise and for making me feel special!