Mother-Daughter Duet

Thanksgiving break has been fabulous this year for so many reasons!  Seeing dear friends from afar (both were surprises - and who doesn't love those?!?!), watching the most violent/intense movie juxtaposed with the cheesiest movie ever in one weekend, throwing Steve headfirst into the milieu of the Hatch family Thanksgiving (hahaha!!!  this was awesome), tossing my homework to the wind, decorating for Christmas, making homemade caramels, etc etc etc.  Everything was so fun this weekend, but one moment in particular was the icing on the cake - playing duets on the piano with my mom Saturday afternoon.  I was working on a piece that I wanted her to help me with and she sat down at the piano and started playing with me.  Before we knew it, we'd been playing and singing - yes, you read that correctly, we were both singing (there might have even been some harmonizing going on) Christmas carols for an hour and a half.  That never happens!  My mom is the busiest woman on the face of the planet and to have her sit down with me at the piano for so long was priceless.  The phrase "jack of all trades, but master of none" cracks me up because my mom absolutely defies this saying.  She is the "jane" of all trades, and "mastress" of them all.  =)  She can do anything she sets her mind to, and she does everything incredibly well.  She really is my superhero - love you Mom!!! 

Giving thanks

       I was listening to Josh Groban's Christmas album recently and even though it's a bit early for Christmas, the song that meant the most was actually "Thankful."  There really is so much to be thankful for.  It has been a great blessing to get in contact with many of you recently, in one way or another, to express thanks for everything that you mean to me.  There are so many people that have affected my life in profound ways, and since I can't reach everyone readily, I wanted to share a poem that I love.  My own words often seem inadequate to properly express what I'd like them to, but this poem sums them up:

A Friend's Greeting

I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me;

I'd like to be the help that you've been always glad to be;

I'd like to mean as much to you each minute of the day

As you have meant, old friend of mine, to me along the way.

I'd like to do the big things and the splendid things for you,

To brush the gray from out your skies and leave them only blue;

I'd like to say the kindly things that I so oft have heard,

And feel that I could rouse your soul the way that mine you've stirred.

I'd like to give you back the joy that you have given me,

Yet that were wishing you a need I hope will never be;

I'd like to make you feel as rich as I, who travel on

Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to lean upon.

I'm wishing at this [Thanksgiving] time that I could but repay

A portion of the gladness that you've strewn along my way;

And could I have one wish this year, this only would it be:

I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me.

-Edgar A. Guest

Thanksgiving definitely comes with a lot of food and a lot of fun, but the 

majority of things I am most grateful for are the people in my life. Thank you for 

making it so rich and so wonderful!!!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Matters of the Heart

This post will be somewhat personal, but I hope it stimulates thought or appreciation for what a marvel the human body, and specifically, the human heart is.  I was finally able to go and see the Body Worlds 3 exhibit at The Leonardo on Saturday and I am so, so, SO glad that I went.  Experiences like the one I had inside the exhibit remind me of why I wanted to be a doctor for so many years.  I am fascinated by human anatomy and physiology.  Seeing the plastinates of human bodies in different positions and cross sections was incredible.  I see ballerinas differently now, as well as ice-skaters, skiers, archers, someone kneeling in prayer, and many others - I see how they function underneath the skin.  The synergists and the antagonists working together to make movement and posture possible.  This exhibition is specifically focused on the heart and all that goes along with it - the respiratory and circulatory systems that fuel our bodies.  Here are some general quotes scattered throughout the exhibit regarding the heart which I thought were pretty cool:

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."  -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing."  -Blaise Pascal

"We were not sent into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts."  

-John Ruskin

"The brain with its cool logic, and the heart with its volatility, act alone as well as in concert - juxtaposed to make up our essential selves.  But the heart alone is viewed as the vessel of love and malice, compassion and cruelty, good and evil."

There was a section of the exhibition that was dedicated to heart transplants and the technology involved in creating artificial hearts.  This section had a profound influence on me, and I can't imagine what my dad was thinking and feeling as he passed through this portion of the exhibit.  I was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall post writing some thoughts down, while at the same time, listening to the background "lub-dub" sounds that resonate throughout the entire exhibit.  Thoughts of my dad's heart attack episode of 2007 flooded my mind and heart.  I really think the heart is as much a receptacle of memory as the brain.  The latter pulls up images and facts, but the heart recounts the feelings.  They were as real yesterday as they were in January-June of 2007, but time has worked its magic.  It has allowed that terrible habit I have of taking things for granted to creep into my everyday life.  I realized once again how blessed I am to still have one of my best friends with me, which I must not take for granted.  I wanted to share this letter that was included on the wall display in the exhibit because I thought it was very touching, and part of the Irvine reality these days:

"Cordially yours,

Here I am.  My thoughts are occupied with you, because your heart beats in me.  I don't know you.  I don't know what your loved ones were thinking when they had to let you go.  I don't know what kind of person you were but I carry you with me, nonetheless.  Your heart beats for me now, for my family, for my friends.  I don't know what happened to you.  But I know how my loved ones suffered with me, how I was on the edge of losing all courage, sometimes.  I know that everything is all right now.  And therefore, I know that it is not important what happened to you but what happened because of you.

Here I am.  I am writing these lines to a person whom I don't know but who has become so important to me.  I can once again breathe freely, I feel, experience life differently.  I have strength in me again.  I can work, enjoy life, laugh, look ahead into the future, and build a family.  For all those doors that were reopened for me, I thank you and your loved ones who made the difficult decision to save lives through you.  Everyone wants to look back at their lives and realize that they have left a trace.  I am your trace.  Thank you!" - heart transplant recipient, June 6th, 2007

It really is overwhelming for me to consider the details of my dad's heart transplant.  Unlike this recipient who didn't know the identity of his donor, we do.  His picture hangs on our wall downstairs next to one of my dad.  He is a part of our family now.  How grateful I am for modern technology, for miracle doctors like Dr. Reid and Dr. Kfoury, and especially for the resiliency of the human spirit and the amazing healing process that our bodies can undergo.  It is awesome in the literal sense.

I don't pretend to understand all matters of the heart - physically, spiritually, metaphorically, emotionally, every other "ally" that can be connected with this amazing organ, but I know it is central to our being.  The first organ formed in the womb and the last to function before death, the heart is so much more than a muscle.  Everyday I hope to recognize the great blessings that come from the amazing gift of a healthy human body and a beating heart!!!  

15-40, Set Point

Tennis - as much a psychological game as it is a physical game

Clark Graebner

 Arthur Ashe

I love to read - I really do.  I'm fascinated by all kinds of subjects - art, politics, geography, medicine, dance, religion, etc. etc. etc. and books take me to all kinds of places where I wouldn't ordinarily find myself.  I may not have experienced something in person, but I can do so vicariously through the writing of author historians.  Words are powerful.  So much so that they easily distract me from writing research papers, studying for the GRE, and analyzing art.  My sophomore year of college I promised myself that I wouldn't read for pleasure during the semester because I got way too engrossed in literature (I think I read the complete works of Dan Brown in a week - riveted at first, but I realized he writes the same story over and over again using different names and locations - utterly disappointing in the end) that had nothing to do with my GPA.  I broke my own promise this week, but I have to admit, I'm so glad I did.  I finally finished a book that I started this summer, which had been set aside to gather dust once I entered back into Academia in September.  Brilliantly written, I highly recommend Levels of the Game for anyone who is remotely interested in the details of tennis.  John McPhee provides an insightful analysis of the 1968 tennis match at Forest Hills between Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner, weaving in the personal histories of these two men explained through the style of their tennis game.  Again - brilliant.  With recent events, I wanted to share one part from this book that I found particularly poignant.  If you think this is good, you should read the whole thing:

"...I am cautiously optimistic.  I define the cause as the most good for the most people in the least amount of time, and that has absolutely nothing to do, specifically, with color.  Anything I can do to help the cause is good.  Nobody listens to a loser.  If I put myself in a position where I can't compete, I am merely a martyr.  We don't need any more martyrs right now.  One must separate the emotional from the practical.  Don't bite off more than you can chew.  A little bit is better than nothing, no matter how you may feel.  Progress and improvement do not come in big hunks, they come in little pieces, and the sooner people accept this the better off they'll be.  I wouldn't tell my son to content himself that things will come gradually.  You've got to push.  You've got to act as though you expect it to come tomorrow.  But when you know it's not going to come, don't give up..."        -Arthur Ashe

Love it, love it, love it!!!  I could go on and on, but I'll merely end up spoiling a great piece of literature by giving away too much.  It was fun reading this book because the descriptions of the match are so real.  You almost feel like you're the one hitting aces down the center of the court or smacking a backhand so hard it's untouchable, only to see it land inches out of the chalk line.  If you can keep up with the tennis lingo throughout the book, you'll definitely finish with a sense of accomplishment after a game well played!!!

Introducing Firefox and the equestrian crew!

Horsey, horsey don't you stop

Just let your feet go clippety clop,

The tail goes swish

And the wheels go round,

Giddy up, we're homeward bound....

Halloween found me in Logan last night (not for the HOWL, though we all got a taste for it at the Aggie basketball game last night with much of the student body in Halloween attire for the party after the game) in preparation for a day of fun with great company and beautiful horses.  Michael and Camille showed me and Steve the ropes of horseback riding from start to finish, and I have to say, it was an absolute blast - every bit of it.  The sights, sounds, smells, and feel of horses on a beautiful day in Cache Valley is pretty unbeatable.  I definitely felt spoiled to be riding Firefox - the most gentleman-like horse of the bunch - and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about horses than I'd ever imagined knowing.  I think Tina would be proud.  Since I managed our equestrian adventure today in Logan, I think I'm ready to tackle the open fields and horses of Wyoming with Tina and her husband.  It was such a pleasure observing Michael and Camille with the horses - they really love these animals, and that was obvious by the way they interacted with them.  It's awesome seeing people in their element - whatever that may be - and today it centered around four of seven amazing horses.  Meet the crew... 

Camille getting to know the horses

Willpower vs. Horsepower

Bonding with a beautiful Arabian

It was so much fun seeing Michael in what I like to call his "Cache Valley" element!

All kinds of new equine vocab was being introduced today during our lessons graciously given by Camille...unfortunately, I can't remember what all of it meant - but I do remember some cool stuff about aging horses by their teeth.  Interesting.

I never quite managed the role of disciplinarian that I was supposed to maintain...Firefox made a couple stops for a snack despite my commands (which apparently he took as "love taps")

Right before Calamity Jane (Camille's horse) starting doing a dance at the sight of some bikers...that was pretty exciting

A multi-tasking feat: staying on my horse while taking this picture =)

Ladies and Gentlemen....meet Sparks-a-flyin' and the jockey named Steve

It ain't over 'till it's over...returning Firefox after our ride

The equestrian gurus: Michael and Camille

Firefox and Kristen Kathleen...all's well that ends well!!!

Horsey, horsey on our way,

We'll be traveling many a day,

The tail goes swish

And the wheels go round,

Giddy up, we're homeward bound!