// Eternal Memory + Fr Michael Rosco!//

Early this morning, Fr. Michael Rosco passed into eternal life after complications from a car accident on Friday afternoon.

There is very little information available right now, but I want to thank all of you who kept Fr. Michael in your thoughts and prayers these past few days.

Please continue to think of Pani Susan, Vlad, and their family as they go through this trying time.

Eternal Memory!

// Time to continue counting my blessings//

Valued Friend #2: Katherine S. (K-Rex)

Now, Katherine is my best friend. For certain. This is the second time we’ve been co-counselors (we were together two years ago), and she’s honestly the person who knows the most about me.

This includes knowing about my migraines.

For starters, she would make a point of checking that I was drinking water and Gatorade throughout the day. I had to do rounds each night at all of the cabins to check with all of the counselors to see how their days went, and then make sure they were in their cabins for curfew. When I would get back in the room at night, she would already have my iPod turned on to my nighttime playlist and had the fan jacked up so the room was cool (-ish. You can only get those rooms so cool with fans)

Although she may not have even realized she was helping me out, these little things really made my life a lot easier.

Something I’m certain she’s not even aware of was how much her just being there helped me out. I knew that I had someone I could rely on. We were on the same page about things, and if we ever had a disagreement or weren’t on the same page, we were able to just talk to each other and work it out. It was fantastic to know that I didn’t have to deal with conflict within between myself and my co-counselor. We both got overwhelmed with our respective jobs (I was the Head Counselor and she was the Program Coordinator, in addition to being counselors in a cabin) but were always able to serve as an outlet for the other to vent and blow off steam.

There were a few times this summer where I tried to wake up in the morning and was just hit by pain. I knew that if I got out of bed at that moment, I would get a horrible headache, and I was always able to rely on K- Rex to ring the bell for me and make sure that our girls got out of the cabin. On the day that I had a horrible migraine, she made sure pictures that things ran smoothly with our girls and with the program in general in my absence.

It was just really great to know that there was always someone I could rely on at every turn.

Besides all of this, she was just amazing to share a cabin with again. We were able to dance around and be silly and I always knew there was someone I could talk to. She kept me grounded and was someone for me to bounce ideas off of. She really made my job a million times easier, which reduced my stress level, which helped prevent my migraines.

K-Rex is my best friend. She watches out for me, and is understanding of when I’m sick and have a migraine. More than being understanding, she makes sure I’m okay.

She’s pretty awesome.

And there are nine million more things that she does for me that I can’t even list because they’re so subtle. She’s just an all around stellar individual who is concerned for her friend. But at the same time that she’s concerned, she never treats me like I’m unable to function or contribute. Yes, there are times when she’ll say, “Rachel, you need to lie down. Now. You do not look well.” but if I say that I’m okay, she’ll usually let me be. When I’m fighting fatigue or am really in bad shape though, she’ll stand her ground and tell me that I need to knock it off and rest.

And I appreciate the sass.

Did I mention she’s awesome? <3

More to come!

// These past few days have NOT been great for me…//

I’m especially susceptible to migraines around the time of my period, and it’s been that time. Not to mention that it’s been storming on and off for the past few days. Those two things have compounded to give me not only a killer headache, but also horrible lower back pain.

I went to Knoebel’s in Elysburg, PA with my sister Sarah & her family on Saturday and had a great time. It was great to be outside and spend time with my sister, brother-in-law, and two of my nieces.

When I drove home that night, I wasn’t feeling that bad, but when I woke up on Sunday morning, I was in ridiculous pain. I slept for most of Sunday and a majority of today as well.

It doesn’t help that about 20 minutes after I took medication this afternoon I had to go pick up my mom from work. My dad had to go to the hospital because one of our parishioners was admitted to the ER for a hematoma in his arm & chest. He had knee replacement surgery not long ago and developed a clot as a result of the surgery. So he was in a rehab facility and had started PT for his knee. During PT he has a bar that he can use to pull himself up and must have pulled a muscle. Since he’s on blood thinners for the clot, the blood pooled and caused the hematoma.

Thankfully, it’s not too serious. The hematoma has already started to go down, and they were going to put a filter in his leg for the clot.

I know this is going to sound awful, but over the years I’ve gotten used to detaching myself from this kind of news and being able to compartmentalize everything. It’s just what happens when you’re a PK and you’re surrounded by parishioners who are sick and who die. I’ve had to learn to sing funerals while standing feet away from a casket containing someone who was essentially a part of my extended family.

It’s different this time though, because Mr. H is like my Grandpa. See, I don’t have any remaining living grandparents. My Pa passed when I was 5, Baba when I was 11, Grandpa Herbie when I was 15, and Grandma Herbie when I was 16, since then, certain members of our parish have become like grandparents to me, most notably Mr. & Mrs. Halecky. They’re the grandparents of one of my close friends, Justin, and have always treated me like a part of the family. He helped me when I did an independent study about the Religious Freedom Project run by the Archons of America because he’s an officer of the Archons.

Honestly, I was terrified today because we knew very little about the situation before my dad went to the hospital. Thankfully, he’s okay, and should be back to the rehab care facility in the next few days. I don’t know if you’re praying people, but if you would keep John Halecky and his family in your prayers or thoughts or just send out good vibes, I’d really appreciate it.

Besides that, I’m thoroughly enjoying being done with classes! I graduate on Thursday and can’t wait for that.

I’m hoping that I’ll be fully done with this migraine soon so that I can start ramping up my exercise again.

I found out this past Thursday that I was made Head Counselor at camp for this summer, so I’m really excited. I know that there will be stress attached to the position, but the two other members of the administrative staff are my close friends. Actually, the Program Director - Katherine - is my best friend from camp, and the Athletic Director - Will - is my ex-boyfriend whom I’m still very close friends with. I’m really excited because we work well together and already have some great ideas.

I’m heading out to camp around June 22nd and I cannot wait. I always feel a ton better when I’m there. I don’t know if it’s being outside and being able to be a bit more free, but I’m usually less prone to migraines when I’m there. Yeah, I still get the head pain and sometimes have to lie down for just a bit longer in the morning or skip out on the afternoon rotation because I just needed the rest.

Point is: an awesome summer is approaching.

aine