Meli's world

For the past 6 and half years, I have worked at an endoscopy center. I work for a group of gastroenterologists who perform their procedures here. Colonoscopies, a scope that looks into the colon and intestines, and Endoscopies, a scope that looks into the esophagus and stomach. Since then, I have learned first hand the effects of what we eat on the body. Indigestion, heart burn, diverticulitis, ulcers, polyps and even cancerous tumors. I rarely think of it since I work up front. I check them in, get them registered and rarely see them as they leave. Most of them are cranky from not eating the day prior or weak from the prep they take to clean their body. Some are scared. Some are nervous. People come for many reasons from constipation to diarrhea, abdominal pain, or bleeding. I have become so used to working here, I rarely think of the people that leave her with bad news. Until yesterday. Yesterday I was reminded the importance of getting your body checked out whenever you fe

This afternoon as I checked Emmanuel's agenda and his graded work, I came across his spelling test. I was so proud to see 100% and a sticker across the top that read perfect, but my attention was also drawn to the bottom of the paper where the teacher made a smiley face and a heart. Emmanuel had written his teacher a note on the bottom of the paper that read "you're a great teacher"! -- and my heart smiled. Emmanuel up until now has been the type of kid who has no problem reading or writing. He excels in spelling and almost always gets 100% on his spelling test. He didn't need to write this for the teacher to give him a better grade, nor did he tell her this in front of the class to be teacher's pet or get recognition. When I questioned him about it, he told me how his class of 18 boys was being rowdy that day and barely listening to his teacher. He thought she was having a rough day and could use something to cheer her up. And that's where the less

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to win through the radio, registration for a marriage retreat about 1 hour away from us. It was being held at the Marriot in Delray Beach. This was the perfect getaway for my husband and  I to spend time with each other and learn more about marriage. Marriage after all is one of the most important missions we have as we create and raise our family. I was so ecstatic when I received the call, that we had won! It was an amazing privilege because one: its hosted by Focus on the Family, one of the ministries that helped us get our marriage back on track a couple years ago, and two because this year is our tenth anniversary and I always envisioned having a wedding and renewing our vows. Though that isn't possible just yet , the conference did end with us renewing our vows! It was an amazing experience to be able to have this romantic getaway, but also to see over 300 couples from 23 states gathered to improve their marriage. Some couples were