Devotions for the Rest of us #12

"Oh Precious is the Blood, that makes us white as snow...."

As Christians we sing about the blood of Jesus, we talk about how we are covered by His blood, we are amazed at how it was shed for us. But what do we really think about blood?

In health care we fear it. It has contaminates in it. If someone has a disease it is often carried by the blood or shows up by blood studies. It's very personal. We do everything we can to make sure that no one's blood touches us, because of all the things that can be bad.

It's donated, "Give life!" Because man can't make an exact copy, we can't just replace the real thing. In fact, you can donate your own blood before you have surgery if you need. But donating blood is a very precious thing and something that everyone who is eligible should do.

So what got me thinking this way? The other day I had a patient that we had to emergently take to the OR, and I went into the room with him. When all was said and done, and I returned to the ER, I had a lot of paperwork to write about this case. I had carried monitors and other equipment back from the OR and it had blood on it. Some was transferred to my arms as I carried things. Later, when it was pointed out to me, I felt quite a bit of emotion as I washed it off. As I washed this patient off of me. This patient.

I only had a short time to care for this patient, and his family will never know the effect of how his life touched mine. I'll never know what he was like in his life but I learned much from him. Hopefully the next time I see someone like him I can be quicker, better. But also the intersection of our lives. We sometimes only see them for minutes, yet we are so touched by their love, their pain, their emotions.

So at the end of it all, I was touched by him. And it was very personal. And he will always be part of me, no matter how much I clean.

You see, part of his life was on me, and I had to wash it off. Yet, I need the blood of our wonderful Lord on me to be clean. His life. Not to be washed off, but to wash me. Wonderful, amazing blood. Life.

Devotions for the Rest of Us #11

I've recently had several occasions to consider what our freedom in Christ means. It amazes me how so many of us can become entrapped in what we think we must do and what we think is wrong. I suspect you can build a case for most anything with scripture, because we seem to do it on a regular basis. We trap each other, then judge each other, forgetting our own entanglements.

Our son and his wife have a puppy that frequently gets to come over and play here. They live in an apartment and Roman must be on a leash there. It's amazing to watch him when he comes here, there are three acres that he can run over, and as long as he responds to our calls, he gets to run free. He starts very hesitant, but then as he realizes that he can go, he bounds off, smelling the trees, the grass, and follows our dogs everywhere.

Is that how we are? When we are first brought into the kingdom, we first often see ourselves as being in this place of "you can't do this, you can't do that." We often fail to see it's not what we can't do, but what we can.

The old desires fall away. We aren't bound by things, we change our desires. So if you choose to show your faith in a certain way, by your dress, by your stickers on your car, it's fine. But am I less of a believer if I don't? I think not, I think that we are all on this journey, and the paths may vary, but He leads us all the way.

What I see is that where I am weak, will you come beside me? Where I am strong, I'll be beside you. Not to judge you, but to lift you up, to encourage you. And because some things are easy for you and not for me, be understanding. Math is a huge struggle, but history comes alive for me. For you, some things are easy to see, for me not. Neither of us is wrong, but He made us all different. Yet images of Him.

And where I want to live is at the foot of the cross. Because there we are all the same.

So What Do You Think This Means....

I have a co-worker that is quick to speak... a lot. She talks, and talks, and talks... and speaks loudly. She's not mean or rude, or anything like that but lately it's been getting on my nerves. You see, I've really been convicted over the last six months or so to not speak needlessly just to hear the sound of my own voice. I'll call her Janie for the purpose of this story.

I hope you understand, I'm not saying that Janie is bothersome. In fact, the other day in our little meeting before we went out to face the patients, one of the women had a quote for the day, to inspire us. She then called on Janie to elaborate on it. I wanted to scream... the quote needed no comment!!!! AAAHHHHH You must understand, Janie is sweet, will do anything for you.

So last night I'm sleeping, no medications or anything to induce it. I was so tired from a very busy day. In the dream for some reason I have the dogs and Janie and we are going to my tax accountant's office. For unknown reasons it's in North Little Rock. So I'm driving, Janie is talking and I'm driving and Janie is talking..... and all of a sudden I realize where I am, but it's different. Now there's this bridge going straight up. I'm terrified of straight up and I'm terrified of bridges. So, I "put on my big girl panties" and hit the gas. We fly up the bridge/hill, top it, and OH NO, it's a sudden drop (no road) into a body of water!

As I woke up, my fears screaming in my ears, I realize THAT JANIE IS STILL TALKING!!!!!!!!

I need therapy

And Then I Went Shopping

I went on my first mission trip in May to Honduras at the ripe old age of 51. I've been supporting my kids and others for years on these trips but this was to be my big adventure. I've never been out of the country, so the whole experience was to be new.

I won't go into all the details, but I was on a medical mission trip with group of people from a different church than I attend. The doctor that leads the trip invited me last year, but I was unable to pull everything together. Actually, I was so nervous about the whole thing that I was really relieved. I kept thinking of all the things that would be difficult: plane trips (it goes better if I am drugged), bus rides in mountains (again, probably better if I am drugged), and bathroom issues..... (my imagination was not far from wrong on this one).

The flight down was great, first day was good, and then they were going to take us shopping. This did involve one of those bus rides that stressed me. They told us that we would be fairly safe where we were going, but to still stay with others. Of course, the first thing that happened is I kept getting separated from others. We only had a short period of time to shop, and I wanted to get gifts for my three sons, the two daughters in law, and my husband.

I ended up going to one of the larger shops and spending a lot of time on picking out earrings for the girls. Suddenly I realized that I only had a few minutes to pick out t-shirts and this shop was not organized well. There were a lot of gecko shirts that were sooooo cute, however I was trying to find different sizes, do the conversion for the money (I only had cash), you can imagine. So I found several shirts, including two that had lots of gecko's frolicking together. I was excited, still had money left over for essentials I might need.

So I head back to the bus with minutes to spare! One of my friends asked to see my purchases, I was so proud. I showed her the earrings, then the shirts. And that's when she laughed and pointed out that I had gecko's in all sorts of sexual positions, not innocent frolicking.

So now when I tell people about my mission trip, I have to humble myself and tell them how I bought gecko porn for my children.

A view of the city

Me at an overlook of the city.... after church on Sunday

The first church we ministered in, this is a view from the front steps


A line of people waiting for ministry....


Yup, more babies....

Pictures of Honduras

Washing the children's hair



Holding babies.... they brought them to me, I love it!



This is the widow that gave all, and below is her family in the house they had. Her sons are building her a new house.





This is my co-worker Bonnie, who encouraged me so much on this trip, and Eeyore (who travels to work with me.

Gracie's Trip to the Vet

Gracie is my black cat. We found her in 1999 at the cemetery where we had just buried my mom a few weeks before. Gracie was up a tree, crying. We rescued her and brought her home. She was very sweet and wanted tons of attention. At the time our home was very small and we already had a cat and dog, so we found a home for her. After a few months we heard that the arrangement wasn't working out so we brought her back to our home. The damage had been done, she was withdrawn, skiddish, and hid all the time.

Time has passed and now she still hides from strangers, but lives in my bedroom. Periodically Gracie gets UTI's and has to go to the vet. Our signal for this is that suddenly she can pee in the toilet, my sink, and if that doesn't get my attention, my bed. Friday after noon I caught her in the toilet but misread what she was doing. She clarified it my peeing on my bed so I would understand. I made the call.

The vet requested that we put her in the carried about 4-5 hours before coming so there would be urine. I set the alarm to get up at 5am. This morning she was easy to find, I trapped her in a small room, stuffed her in the carrier. Gracie cussed at me, and unstuffed herself. I caught her again, stuffed her in the carrier. She got away. After a few more minutes I woke up Gary and got a roll of duct tape. We trapped her, stuffed her in the carrier and duct taped it securely. Gracie then began to howl.

The howling was constant most of the morning and for the 40 minute trip to the vet. She got a little sweeter when I opened the carrier and let her stick her head out, but I was really afraid it she might get away.

The vet was nice, squeezed her a bit, got some urine, shoved a thermometer into her (without introductions I might add), and gave her a shot. She doesn't have a UTI, but he suggested that she was angry with us about something (you think????). So she now has a nice pheromone collar to wear. Supposedly it will calm her down. Remind her of her mother.....

Since she looked a bit ratty when the vet saw her, I thought maybe a bath would be in order (he was concerned about her skin). So this afternoon Gracie was given a nice bath..... okay, I caught her, shoved her in a sink full of water, rubbed soap on her and rinsed her off, wrapped her in a towel and put her somewhere to dry.

I'm thinking about guarding my bed tonight.....

And the other cats are hiding.....

I've thought about making this a spiritual lesson. You know, how God looks out for us, doing things for our own good, yet we perceive this as trouble coming our way. But frankly, my only regret is that I have no pictures of Gracie getting her bath.

Good and Bad

Today I had a little girl I just want to remember. She came in because mom had noticed an abnormal eye movement. She's in the early elementary school age range. So PCP sent her for an MRI and today they received a call that it was abnormal.

When I first signed up for her as a patient I had heard mom was upset. I took her instead of my orientee. Went in, introduced myself to them and sat on the bed with the girl. I told her that my job was to do two things: one was to take care of her and the other was to help her and answer all her questions. The first thing she wanted to know was, duh, "am I going to get a shot?" I told her that I didn't know, but if I did we would talk about it first.

Of course the orders I got for her included a lot of blood work and an IV. I called Child Life to come and they did IV teaching with her. She was so brave, sat up on the bed and held still for me. I was so proud of her!

I explained to the parents every step that we would take, giving them all the time and attention I could. See, the thing is that this kid has something serious. This thing is probably not going to go well, and I wanted their first encounter with us to be positive, because it won't be their last.

It sucks because I want them all to walk out okay. Or at least if it's going to suck to be to loser parents and their ferrel kids. Not to these parents, not to this kid. So instead of being admitted over the holiday weekend, they are going to see the grandparents. Wise parents. Thank you to the doc that explained it to them in a way that they had a choice in what they did.

Today I'm proud of what I do. I really do have a ministry to the "least of these." And I'm very humbled by the bravery of a little girl who has parents that will walk her through the next part.

Report on the Mission Trip - Eeyore goes to Honduras

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

Everyday in Honduras I read this. Everyday I was touched. I still don't know the full significance of why God had me in this daily, but I suspect it will continue to grow in it.

So first of all, the flights. I did take my ativan, and the flight from Little Rock to Houston was not as smooth as others I've been on, but after that it was great. I will say that my luck on being randomed was in play, first in LR, not too bad, they ran a thing over my hands to see if I had been handling any explosives. When we left Honduras my backpack was searched. They had seen my insulin needles and the guy thought he could have them (I didn't mind, most of them were dirty). So, to save face he took my tape I use at work. Oh well.

Some things I'll deal with generally. The food was fabulous, we ate all but one meal fixed by Honduran cooks at the mission house. They were great. Spoke no English, which we heard later has been a complaint that they should learn (another example of how we as Americans tend to think the world revolves around us). With my sad Spanish I was able to communicate fine with them on my days to clean. :) Sunday we were taken to a nice restaurant "El Patio" where we were served steak and chicken. I don't know how they cooked it, but it was some of the best of both I've ever had. I didn't suffer for lack of food.

There was a lot of prayer lifted up for me, guys, God was so faithful. I just can't tell you how much this trip meant for me. I know we did some good for the Hondurans, but the change was in me.

Sunday we went to a church that we were going to serve in for two days later in the week. First of all, the bus had trouble getting there every time we went. Sunday it got stuck and we had to walk down a hill to go to church. This was a charismatic church, not sure what kind. One thing that threw me was there were no crosses, but there was a menorah and they blew a shofar. The people were sweet. A youth minister with us shared that day and the people seemed to enjoy it. We held a lot of babies and a lot of hugs were given.

Each of the churches that we served in were in some of the worst areas of the city. There were shootings at night and some of the people we saw were gang affiliated. I never felt in danger, but I heard some of the women speaking later that they did.

In trying to tell you what God did, the thing I go back to is the poverty. I'm just stunned. I'll try to post pictures to this site so you can see the one house I went to. And let me share this: I've always had issues about feeling my house isn't good enough (no matter whether it was in my current home or in mobile homes) and thinking that people would look down on me or blah blah blah.... but I have a palace compared to what I saw. But even at that, I was welcomed into this home as if I was a princess! And she hid nothing from me. The home was one room, with spaces between the boards where you could put your hands through. There were tarps up to keep some of the rain out. And there were a few pictures scattered on the wall. The floor was dirt. This particular woman had some sons that were building her a new home, with adobe walls and we were making a concrete floor for her. She had prayed 20 years for this (had been a widow for 30). One interesting thing about her that was shared as we left the church that day.... the church had been taking a special offering and she had money for the week that she was going to give, but something happened and she couldn't give it, so she went home and got all of her money - all that she had been able to save, and brought it to the church for the offering. But before she could give it they called out the names of those that we were going to do the floors for: and it was her! She told the Lord, see, I have your offering, but you have blessed me before I could even give it! Her joy in what she had makes me re-evaluate my life and what I have.

There were many things that God did... 65 people said a prayer of repentance, 1200+ saw medical doctors, 500+ each in dental and for eyeglasses. 160+ saw a chiropractor. There was laughter and there were tears. There was washing of hair to remove lice (and only one person brought some home with them). The hair washing of the children was very touching. They loved it, and you can't touch people without some connection. I reached a point where I was praying over them as I was doing it, so that bonds there would be broken. Maybe a blessing on their life.

But for me, God also met me there. I expected to be very afraid of the plane and the bus rides, but God really gave me peace. I can't describe how special that was.

Before I left for Honduras I was also very frustrated in my job at the hospital. Something really set me off, and I let it be known that I would be happy to work somewhere else. Within days I got a call that a cardiologist was looking for a nurse. God clearly told me I was not to make any decisions until I came back. Fine, I'll wait. On Tuesday when I was doing the children's ministry, there was this one point where I was just watching them, not touching, nothing. Just watching. And I so clearly hear the voice of the Lord telling me to send the children to Him, how much he loves the children, and that my place was to minister to the children.

This trip was wonderful, and I thank everyone who sent me, who prayed for me, and who put up with my whining about the bathrooms. Whether or not I ever go back there, or to any other place, I know that I am a missionary where I work. I'm becoming bolder about sharing the Lord with those in need, and praying for the ones I touch. Most of the time no one knows, but He who sent me does.

One other thing (although there are many), I saw brothers and sisters in Honduras that I know I may never see again, but those interpreters for World Gospel Outreach are on fire for God! They witness strongly, they know the word, and they are excited! It was such a pleasure to work along side them. They propped us little white people up and let us witness, but they were so moving in the Holy Spirit. The WGO staff we met were so humble, so easy to be with. They really gave us a taste of what they do, but they were so gracious in everything. If you ever need a group to work alongside, I highly commend them to you.

Waiting to fly

And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples." [12]And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him." [13] May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's 2am, I'm supposed to be getting up at 3:15 to get ready for my trip. I've had something wake me up every hour since going to bed. The worst was Gary being ill. The "plan" is to go eat, then the airport. We have a truck load of drugs in his work truck to take to the airport, he either has to drive OR we change it all to another truck. Won't Aaron love that?

I'm fixated on why this has been so hard (and strange bathrooms). Seriously, it's not like I think I'm going to change the world, but what I am seeing is even one life, one new soul, one encouraged soul, one person getting a vision of who this Jesus is. That is worth it. And it may be me that is changed the most.

Thank you guys for everything. I am blessed beyond measure with friends and loved ones. If nothing else were to occur, I have already seen God do in me a new work.

Pray for our families, our safety, the bathrooms, and whatever God brings to mind. I need some sleep, hopefully I won't drool or snore on the plane, but they should bring their noise reducing headphones like Dr. Schexnayder loaned me (he really is a nice guy-I'm almost not afraid of him now ). There are a lot of political things going on in Honduras today, especially that the former leader that wanted to be dictator for life is coming in about the time we arrive. There will be rioting!!!! I don't think they want us to do that either. I remember signing the no smoking / no drinking clause, they probably have a "don't do anything else clause" like the "other duties as assigned at every job. Is the lack of sleep showing?????

I don't know whether to stay up or try to sleep. I'm thinking stay up.

The scripture above is my daily reading for today.

Love you,
Breta

Burdens

Some days at my work are rough. Bad things do happen to people, either on purpose or accidents. It was rough with adults, but there is something different when it happens to kids. I have a great group of friends, but these things can be overwhelming to share. And sometimes, even when you share, it doesn't feel right that you did.

We had a bad one yesterday. It's funny, because when you are in a certain role, the other staff even tell you they are sorry as they pass you in the halls. And no matter how many times you have seen things, particularly death, it is hard. Maybe that's what makes us who we are, I don't want to work with people that aren't moved when they deal with it. There is sometimes a clinical intrigue that happens, because you learn from every one of these, but still somewhere you know, this was a child, this was someone that people loved, and maybe the day before she was playing and, maybe she was a princess. But not today.

Today my scripture reading was about Jesus in the garden. And his disciples couldn't stay wake while he was praying for this cup to pass, to take away our sins. Today I'm burdened, and I'm needing some resolution, and so I'll pray for Him to help me with this cup. I know I'm where I'm supposed to be for work, and I know that this job has these moments. I may never understand what Jesus encountered in the garden and on the cross, but maybe, maybe, I have a glimpse.

Princesses

I have 3 sons. I didn't pay much attention to princesses when I was young except to say I liked the story about the Princess and the Pea. Then Sarah entered my life. She is my daughter in law and she has taught me all about princesses.

And now I work in a pediatric ER. I have come to love princesses. I love the little girls that come in and are wearing clothes with their favorites, or even better one Sunday at church a little one had her crown and magic wand. One of our doctors came to work and found, instead of her stethoscope, her daughter had packer her a wand for work. Tonight I was holding down a young girl while we placed an IV and drew her lab work. With tears in her eyes we discussed her favorite princesses to distract from what we had to do. I don't know how to describe these scenes. I hate to cause those moments of pain, but I love to send them to a world where they can be a princess for a few minutes and have magic to banish me.

Oh boys are great too, but there is nothing like the princess. My world has expanded with the knowledge of these things. Somedays I walk away amazed that they pay me for what I get out of my job.

Thank you Eloise and Sarah.

The Importance of Being

I love the be verbs. They are helpful, small, yet have so much meaning. The word "be" is defined as: to exist or live, to take place, happen, occur, to occupy a place or position, to continue to remain as before, to belong, attend, befall. The dictionary goes on, but this is sufficient.

Lately I've been thinking about how much I enjoy being around certain people. One of my co-workers and I were discussing what each of us had done the night before. Gary and I had been watching TV together and playing on our computers. Fairly quiet evening, not a lot of conversation, but just being together.

Lately I've realized that with many of my friends, when I see them I feel energized, more alive. We tend to relax when we are with people that we have those bonds with. I've been thinking about relationships that we've had over the years, some of our best friendships, and how I knew we were successful in them. I think it's the ones that sometimes there was more silence than not. That if they were tired and we were together they could just rest (some even fell asleep on the couch - in our defense, it was a great couch to sleep on). I was with a friend the other day that I don't see often, there wasn't a huge deep topic, it was in the seeing her, the hearing her voice, and just laughing together.

I was trying to define for someone what having a relationship with Jesus is. I think some people believe that you have to be in constant prayer, on your knees, talking constantly. I've come to realize, it's like being with my friends, it's an awareness, a constant presence, being in touch. Over the years my relationship with Him has changed. Just like many of my friendships, this has gotten more personal. Less me saying what my needs are and more about how to express who He is. And I honestly believe that I've come to a point that He is a friend as well as everything else He is.

It's that way with good friendships, it's not necessarily the conversation, it's the being together that is most enjoyable.

Faith

Recently I read Exodus 16 about the Israelites and the manna. I will confess that I always think about Keith Green when I read the story: manna burgers, ba"manna" bread....it makes me laugh. This time, though, what struck me was the test of faith the people had. I imagine that in that large a group of people that there were varying levels of faith. We know God constantly was frustrated with them over the whining and complaining. I'm sure there were people that just obeyed, did exactly what God said, there were some that were constantly amazed at how it just was always right, and then some that were never going to be happy with things. Probably much like the modern church.

So I picture myself, walking out in the morning to gather the stuff. Unknown, what is it? How much do you gather? A day's worth is what Moses said. How much is that? What if you want a snack? So the first few days you are experimenting with it. Then routine sets in. I'm sure the Martha Stewarts of the camp had no lack of presentation and yummy manna, my poor family would have had the basics. And so it went. Day after day after day after day.

I've always said that I would prefer to work for someone rather than be self employed. That is due to the fact that I like to know what day my paycheck will come, that it will come, and that it will be good. I don't do well with "living by faith" in that area. I do recognize that God is my provider and not ACH or Baptist, but I know He placed me where He did. But now I'm in a situation where I need to walk in some faith. So I'm reaching out to my friends to help me with this.

Last year one of the doctors I admire asked me to go to Honduras with him on a mission trip. I wanted to, but the details couldn't be worked out in time. So I was thinking it would be this year maybe. A few months ago he told me he didn't have anyone to do the particular task he had wanted me for (sedations) so I thought that meant he didn't need me to go. I was kinda relieved actually. Whew, God doesn't want me to go. Ah, not so. He clarified that for me a week or so ago, still wants me to go, can use me, nurses are most helpful. So I'm actually getting excited again. Now for the hard part. Money.

The people that get these are people that I trust to pray or close friends. I'm being very open in saying that this is so hard for me. I need to write letters to people and ask them to support me on this trip, both in prayer and financially. I want to hear from the Lord in who to write and words to say. This is very difficult for me. In one way I want to just say, I can sign up for a lot of days at Baptist and make the money, or I can do this or that, and maybe I could but I don't think that is what I'm hearing the Lord say. I think He wants me to gather manna. And I have never really done this before. I've watched as God has provided for others, sent my kids on many a trip helping with finances, but never myself.

So I'm asking you, my friends, to pray for me. Pray that God will provide, that He will make me bold, that He will show me who to send letters to, and that I don't miss His guidance along the way. Then when I go that I will be able to glorify Him in all I do. Not many of you know that a large part of why I switched from adults to pediatrics was so that I could do mission work.

Thank you, first of all because I'm honored to have the friends I do, and second for praying for me. Some of you have known me for years and watched me struggle and grow, others are newer friends, who still watch me struggle and grow. I love each of you for who you are.

Cat Sitting

People have sometimes commented that I have interesting things happen to me. On that note:

A friend of mine recently asked me to oversee the care of her three cats while she went on vacation. This was going to be a long trip, a couple of weeks I think (I never did figure out how many days). My job was to go in, get the mail, make sure the cats had food and water. The best part, only needed to drop in every two to three days. No problem!

These cats have a fancy set up: self cleaning litter boxes, two watering stations that swirl the water for them, and a feeding station that replaces their food as they eat it. And they are Siamese cats, so they hate everyone... no need to pet much. Well, one of them likes to be petted, the others pretty much hide. I went the first evening, stacked the mail, petted the friendly cat, refilled the water... almost had a guilty conscious over not petting the cat more but I was in a hurry (I've been told I should be Catholic with all my guilt issues).

Sunday I had plenty of time to pet the cat. Headed out, beautiful day, good day to be out alone with cats. Walk in the door and my first thought is that they have been bad little kitties. The mail was scattered and there was stuff on the floor. We used to housesit for some people that on the third day the dog would go nuts and tear stuff up to show his disapproval of being left with us. So I *blondly* went on in, blaming the cats for the cd's scattered over the floor until I saw the back door was open. Now, I think my pets are smart, but I'm pretty sure you need a thumb to open a door with a key. I did a quick walk through and confirmed that they had been broken into. I called my friend and made sure they wanted me to go ahead and call the police and do the report. Then I called 911....

Now let me explain something. I am a highly trained ER / Critical care nurse. I'm great if you are dying! I can run a code, shock you senseless, smack drugs into you.... I can make people jump at my command. You need to know this. So I call 911, cool headed, calm.... "This is 911" "yes, I would like to report I'm housesitting, well, not housesitting, more cat sitting and anyway I got here today and they have been broken into." "Okay, what is your address?" "oh crap, uh, I don't know, let me look... (walking PAST the stack of mail....) okay, it's 1234 uh, just a minute, let me look at the street sign, uh, hang on... okay, here it is." So they send an officer out.

I was impressed, kudo's to LRPD. He was very nice and efficient. We went through the house (keep in mind, most of the house I've never been in before so it was a first for me) and then he tried to get some fingerprints from where they came in. He talked to my friend and determined a few things that they took. And then he left me with the cats. The angry cats.... two angry, pissed off cats under the bed. I went all through the house and kept coming up with the magic number two, not three. The homeowner is calling asking me which two it is. I was trying to be so nice, but dang it, Siamese cats pretty much look alike and even more so if they are under a bed and you don't have a flashlight. Well, one got mad and ran into another room and under that bed (I did find a computer they missed, but it was broken). She kept telling me to get the treats and shake them, the kitty would come out for that. NOT. We finally determined that one cat was really gone. Lucky for me, they have a cat trap in the garage.

So now I get to figure out how to work a cat trap. I'm under the impression that most live animal traps have a back door to make it easy to open / load. Let me assure you this one has one, but it's fixed so it doesn't open. I load the trap with nice, juicy canned cat food, find a water bowl for it, and set it out. And reset the trapdoor, and reset the trap door, and.... finally success! I also pray that I am successful in catching a cat.

The next morning I run over, no cat. But one of the other cats shows himself and the other let me see enough to identify which two cats are in the house. Note: if you have three cats that look alike, don't expect the cat sitter to recognize them under the bed or by "do they have claws?" because if we are seeing claws that usually means your cat sitter is not happy.

That afternoon I went over and I did have a cat in the trap. Where I messed up was in not taking the trap in the house and setting the cat free inside, I mean, would they really notice? I digress, this was one angry cat and he was not afraid to let me know! But I did the right thing and let the cat go, resetting it just in case.

Sadly I never caught the right cat. Our friends are back and still looking, so if you see a lost Siamese kitty, let me know. If you need a cat sitter, well.... not sure I'm the one to call.

After I finished writing this, actually a couple of days after my friend called. They came home on Tuesday, this was Thursday afternoon. Her spouse was leaving to go to the store, saw pawprints on the car. Upon further searching he found the lost cat behind the dryer.

This cat, since I had discovered the break in on Sunday, had been hiding in the garage. I had been out there numerous times, with the police, looking for the cat trap, looking under the vehicle and all around several times.... the parents had been there and repaired the window and done laundry.... and the owners had been there shaking treats around trying to get the cat to come out of hiding (in case she was out there).... stupid cat. Owner said they had been worried that the cat was too dumb to find it's way home, seems the cat was too dumb to come in from the garage.