Anyway, we made it safely. We attended the Member Care conference in Indiana the week before Thanksgiving, and it was terrific!!
There were about 200 in attendance; some were counselors doing Member Care overseas like Glenn and me and some were counselors in private practice, along with university students working on their counseling degree, or professionals otherwise involved in mental health. The speakers were all excellent, tops in their various fields, and brought such a rich wealth of knowledge and understanding.
We heard speakers on topics ranging from distinquishing the difference in bi-polar disease and depression, to ethics in mental health, to how to stay recharged as counselors while bearing the weight of your patients' problems. My favorite was how spirituality can play a part in psychology and mental health.
The conference was held at an inn in a state park in Indiana. It was really beautiful, especially when we got a little bit of snow.
The inn has a 1/4 mile tobaggan run! Unfortunately, it doesn't open until Thanksgiving weekend, so we missed it by one week! We might just have to plan a vacation here some time in the future!
Our biggest shock coming back to the States was the price of gas. We were astounded at how cheap it was! It has been dropping in Hungary like it has dropped in the U.S. When we arrived in Hungary almost 2 years ago, it was $8 a gallon, but has dropped down to $5 a gallon. Sure made $1.62 look great!
Glenn and I brought very little with us in the way of clothes because most of what we have is old and worn out, and so we will be shopping. I was sooooo discouraged by the drab colors and the styles! Last winter, after several months of cold weather, I wanted to wear bright colors to lift my spirits so I was hoping for lots of bright colors to be readily available! But no! Everything is gray, brown or black. The tops for ladies remind me of the 70's, and are not very flattering for a figure in the 50's. And that cheap polyester look. Yuck.
After the conference ended, we flew to Atlanta and were picked up by my sister and her husband. We are staying with my dad in his new ranch condo. I immediately fell sick with a sinus infection and now have laryngitis.
We went to Columbia, S.C. for Thanksgiving, to be with my sister, Karin, and her family. I will post pictures of that visit in next weeks blog. Right now we are at Glenn's brothers' house celebrating Thanksgiving with the Borders side of the tree. Pictures of that too next week. Glenn's sister and her family will arrive from Augusta tomorrow so we'll continue the celebration!
"We" are supposed to speak at our church, West Cobb Church, tomorrow morning, but I think it will be "he" who will speak. Because I have been "sickly", we haven't gotten around to seeing our friends yet. Can't wait to run by our old house and visit with the Chupps! (But I am going to wait until I can talk!) We are meeting with friends for meals throughout our time here so I am working very hard at not gaining any weight while in the States. Be a shame to buy pants and then not be able to wear them because I can no longer fit in them!
I will update more pictures later this week while Glenn grabs a coffee at Starbucks or a sandwich at Subway. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!
2 comments:
Oooh, I hope you make it tomorrow at WCB; we are SO looking forward to at least a hug. I'll tell Adam not to expect a long conversation (not that we'd expect that anyway.. there are so many who love you that we know our time is very brief). We just want to really "see" you, even if only for a minute; it just seems to bring a real renewal in our daily prayers for you!
Post a Comment