December is hands down my favorite month. It’s like a marathon of festive preparation that starts as soon as the calendar flips. In the Netherlands, tradition dictates waiting until December 6th—after Sinterklaas (who, I should clarify, has nothing to do with Christmas here) hops on his steam boat back to Spain—before putting up the ChristmasContinue reading “December: A Month of Mischief, Magic, and Memories”
Tag Archives: Heart Condition
The Station Clock
There is a clock at every train station in the Netherlands. This lets you know what time it is, usually there is also an electronic sign where you can see when the next train will arrive and whether you have time to sneak away to Starbucks for a nice cup of coffee. Or in myContinue reading “The Station Clock”
Hello 2024
It’s so great to meet you! Your arrival has motivated me to do all the things and I can’t wait to share them with you and all of my friends. 😀 As you can see, I’ve revamped my website and this blog post will be the first of many this year. I’m going to needContinue reading “Hello 2024”
Staycation
Remember the blog about the big red button? You know… the one about the alarm with the button that goes on my wrist and allows me to call for help from a nurse 24 hours per day? Well, when I listed all the reasons i needed/wanted it, I deliberately left one out. Yes, I’ve beenContinue reading “Staycation”
#GreatLittleThings
(Photo description: The sun colors the sly with a deep orange glow as it rises) The above hashtag was invented a few years ago by a good Twitter friend. She realized that life often gets lost between negative events and feelings and wanted to focus more on the positive things. Not only to find balanceContinue reading “#GreatLittleThings”
The Big Button
(Photo description: A personal alarm system) If you have read my blogs before, you know that my train occasionally makes an unexpected change of track. Sometimes that is not a pleasant experience but other times it can lead to reassurance. My illness is completely unpredictable. I can tell you a lot about the possible late-onsetContinue reading “The Big Button”
The Brother
Some think that only women work in community care. This is far from the truth. In carriage 4 there are also male employees. This was announced during my intake interview. I was asked if I had anything against that and in all honesty, I had to admit that I would indeed have a hard timeContinue reading “The Brother”
Wally
Image Description: Wally the pluche yellow walibi laying in Codee’s bed, wearing her pyjamas. When my service dog Don retired and had to get off my train, I helped him pack his things. He had many toys. He was addicted to the tennis ball and fond of stuffed animals. These are what mostly filled hisContinue reading “Wally”
The Singing Sister
On a cold and gray morning I was greeted by a sister who doesn’t really get on the train with me very often. Even though she’s friendly, we just don’t have a strong professional friendship. That also makes sense. It is difficult to build such a professional relationship with the sisters if they do notContinue reading “The Singing Sister”
Waving Hands
Photo Description: Codee’s Bitmoji sitting on a large ‘I Love You’ sign language emoji. My train is now running well and the visits to Community Care Station run smoothly. So smoothly, that one random morning a second sister walked in with the familiar one. Well, that second sister turned out to be an intern! ‘DoContinue reading “Waving Hands”
CRS Life 