Saturday 7 September 2013

88 - CSI Challenge - Life Lessons

http://csicolorstoriesinspiration.ning.com/forum/topics/case-file-no-88-case-closes-on-september-15-2013

These colours were super challenging for me this week and I probably would have been tempted to ditch this layout and start again if I had another day to play with.  Part of that is my personal aversion to the Autumnal tones. Part is the dodgy photo, but it’s about the only one I have of that time.....still the story is told I must give thanks to Debbi, who week after week, provides these superb challenges, not just the colours, but the journalling prompts, which somehow flick a switch in the subconscious and tap into rich veins of memory.  I don’t know how you do it Debbi, but I love CSI  and all your efforts to make it run like clockwork.   Thank you 
A couple of closies

EVIDENCE
Floral pattern - on the strips
Clock
Pen 
Doodle
Frame

TESTIMONY
I chose to write about something I’ve learned.  The journalling reads.

When I look at this photo, taken at the beginning of my Nursing Training, I had no idea how much hard yakka would be involved in finishing the course.  I soon learned to survive twelve hour shifts; to endure the interminable night duty, and with a Senior Nurse, to run a small hospital at night.  Matron was on call, but we were trusted to do everything else; the turning and pressure care of bed ridden patients; the monitoring of babies in the nursery and gavaging of those too weak to suck;  the dispensing of medications; the care of the dying and laying out of the dead.

When Matron sat me at the dining room table, with one arm in a sling and eyes blindfolded, I learned to place the food tray within reach of the patient and ask if they’d like some help to eat. I learned to treat each patient with dignity and kindness. I understood it was O.K. to cry when a local man was scooped off the road in fragments and couldn’t be cobbled together again. 

I learned to be calm in emergencies; to see a crisis in the making and take steps to avert it. Most of all I recognized that a career in Nursing was not for sissies. The hours were long and the pay was a pittance, but the rewards were enormous.  To see a critical patient restored to health, to witness the miracle of birth and to hold the hand of the dying, was an honour and a privilege.  

When patients, no matter how old, are in pain and afraid, they often call for their Mothers.  I learned to understand their need; to sit, listen to their fear, not offering solutions, but simply being fully present.  The black and white certitudes of my youth melted away by exposure to life in the raw and I realized the more I learned, the less I knew.  Most things I used to fret about don’t really matter. I’ve learned to “BE” in the moment, to enjoy the shenanigans of the Grandchildren; to bask in the warmth of my family’s love and to count my blessings every day.  Journalling September 2013

MATERIALS
Watercolour paper
Graphic 45 - Bohemian Bazaar “Dazzling delights” Photo frame
Graphic 45 - Bohemian Bazaar “Dazzling delights” Strips
Faber Castell - Gelatos
Crafter’s Workshop Stencil - mini peacock pattern
Derivan Matisse - Impasto
My Mind’s Eye - Collectable, wooden butterfly
Prima - alphas
Prima - Stamp
Prima - flowers
Kaiser craft - flowers
Petaloo - flowers
Kaisercraft stamp - arty
Kaisercraft - acetate clock
Tim Holts - washi tape
Craft Queen washi - lime floral
Key - $2.00 shop
Bo-Bunny - Buttons. “C’est La Vie”
Scrapmatts - Leaves CB115
Spellbinder die - Romantic rectangle



Photobucket

11 comments:

  1. This is simply beautiful Helen, as always your journalling is amazing and I am actually sitting here with tears running down my cheeks. I don't know why my parents passing is still so raw, is it something we never get over ?
    I think your Autumn tones are gorgeous and I love the photo
    Mary x

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  2. oh my oh my Helen , you have such a way with words. this is so exquisite and I just love to absorb and digest every single word you write ... magical and beautiful ... xooxoxo

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  3. i love that layout, you made me feel inspired by the colors and vintage look!
    i'm following your blog and will be visiting you often! :*

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  4. WOW! No doubts the page is fab, but your journaling is superb. You're a master in telling your story. I wish I could do so.
    I love that frame for the photo, need to get these dies... Your story touched my heart. thank you for sharing.

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  5. If you wrote a book I'd buy it. Your stories and your life lessons that you share are such a joy to read and reflect on. And the layout is fabulous as well. I would never have guessed that you struggled with the color scheme. A wonderful layout.

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  6. Simply Gorgeous......time and time again you come up with awe inspiring creations and journaling....Thank for aharing. Love this Helen. xx

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  7. So glad you didn't ditch this page...think it came out beautifully and I love the styling soooo much! Of course, your journalling is always so super and I love the story you tell! Life is certainly a journey and so great that you are able to document it so wonderfully!

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  8. I could copy+paste everything Shawna said - if you ever wrote a book, I would buy it. You have such a way with words and wisdom behind them.

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  9. Every time I see one of your layouts and read one of your stories I think this is it. This is my fave and I know I have said it before but it is true. This is a simply beautiful layout. I love what you did with the background page. I love the journalling onto the layout and the simple photo mat. Everything working together in PERFECT harmony. I totally get how you feel about the more you learn the less you know... kind of puts it in perspective, we are very little beings in a very large universe. I really love this layout Helen ...<3

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  10. beautiful page and thanks for sharing your stories :)

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  11. Helen, I am far from being a nurse, would probably fall flat on my face seeing some blood or a syringe, but you and I share something that life has taught us even if we have taken different roads to reach there. To live HERE and NOW and thank every single day that I am alive and healthy, is what love is about. Thank you for crossing my path and telling your stories about life! I am so glad you didn't bin your page, it's perfect!! xoxoxo

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