Epiphanies

Epiphanies are funny things.  You never know when they are going to hit.  I had one just a few minutes ago while Skyping with my mom.  "Auntie Claire was quite interested in everything.  She said she was a lab tech in Anchorage."  Just an offhand comment.  The funny thing is, for almost two decades most of my family has pondered how exactly this one little apple fell so far from the tree.  I think it's safe to say I turned out to be the adventurous one, to the surprise of all.  I come from a long line of people who quite like being close to home and are quite connected to the land.

"Auntie Claire" would actually be my great aunt.  She's in her 80's and in Texas.  I think I only met her once, when I was about 8.  She was born about 40 miles away from where I grew up, but her mom passed away when she was 9, and so she was raised by the sisters at a local convent.  As soon as she was old enough, she booked it to Montreal to study nursing.  In 1940's, nursing came with a few perils we don't think much of today -- she contracted TB and spent 2 years in a sanitarium.  She was fortunate enough to receive a shiny new antibiotic that would prove to be the first effective anti-tuberculosis drug, Streptomycin, which was just out of its first clinical trial .  In that time, doctors didn't mind telling a woman that she should consider a less strenuous profession than a nurse as a convalescent.  But, then she got a letter offering her to take part in a pilot program.  They were looking for people with enough science background to try a new program, "Combined X-ray and Laboratory Technology."  She jumped on board and was one of the first graduates of the newly formed program back in Saskatchewan.  I vaguely knew she was a lab tech, but not until I was applying to school to be one.  I thought it was in interesting coincidence.   But I was quite surprised that she left Saskatchewan for a job in Anchorage and here I am in her footsteps about 60 years later was a bit of a surprise to me.  I guess that means two things...we finally know where I got the wandering instinct from (mom's side), and if the trend continues, I can expect to land in San Francisco next.

There are other kinds of epiphanies though.  The book "Eat Pray Love" summed it up best, when the lead character is having a mini meldown crying on the bathroom floor and pray for guidance...a little voice comes back and says "go to bed."  That made me laugh.  I think we all have a little voice inside of us that knows exactly what needs to be done...especially when you are so overwrought you are missing what obviously needs to be done.  I am not feeling particularly overwrought right now, so I was a little surprised to hear the little voice the other day.  The little voice is not a character of many words.  It only said one thing.  Write.

I have kinda missed it lately.  Perhaps that little voice is right once again.  So...that's the story of today's blog.  That's what's on the mind...so I wrote it.  I hope the little voice says chocolate croissant next.