Fun!

I just finished teaching a two-hour class on Narrative Medicine to the first-year medical students. I always enjoy this; I even enjoy reading the sixty-odd papers that result from the assignment. My regular classes won't start until next week, but now I feel like I'm warmed up. It's a great way to start the semester.

This week I have to prepare course materials for this semester and revise my essay on using Tolkien to teach trauma theory. On Saturday, instead of going to the hospital, I'll attend a two-hour presentation on mental-health issues in pastoral care, offered by a local priest who's also a psychologist. I think the audience is primarily clergy offering pastoral care in parish settings, but the information should help me at the hospital, too.

Saturday evening will be a real treat. Yesterday, Charlene sent e-mail to all her fiddle students saying that Vishten will be giving a concert in Minden, a small town about an hour south of here. She can't go, but urged all of us not to miss it. So Gary and I ordered tickets online and made a reservation at a restaurant a few blocks from the concert hall. I've driven through Minden several times, but I don't think I've ever stopped there. Maybe for a regional church meeting? I can't remember if that was in Minden or neighboring Gardnerville. Anyway, I like little towns, and it's a very pretty drive, so I'm looking forward to the trip.

Best of all, Minden has a yarn store I haven't visited yet. Bliss! I've told long-suffering Gary that we have to get there early so I can shop.

Today I saw the chiropractor for the first time. He's a nice guy, low-key and matter-of-fact, and what he said made sense to me. He did a physical exam and took x-rays; tomorrow I go back for a discussion of the test results and my first treatment. I'll be curious to see how this goes!