Day 1257: Another retirement

Today, Steve turned over forty years of EMT instructional materials and records to a new Instructor -Coordinator.  It was a bittersweet day.  He invested so much of himself into preparing new EMTs for so long and was so very proud of the program he built.  He initiated the defibrillation program, MAST trousers and lots of other advances in prehospital care for Chautauqua County.  The new folks were not interested in preserving any of the historical records or outdated equipment.  I'm sure they didn't mean to be insulting, but they turned their backs on the past and spoke excitedly about the changes they will make.

They were talking about how Alstar Ambulance Service had started the first paramedic program in the county two years ago.  But that isn't true.  Steve was in the first paramedic class back in 1984 and became one of the first six paramedics in the county.  Too few people have a sense of history and they  don't appreciate the efforts of those who were the pioneers.   After helping sort and toss out stuff for a while, he had to walk away and let go.

We're glad that we'll have autumns free now to travel, explore and have adventures.  Two or three nights a week from August to December for all those years was quite a strain on him and a great sacrifice for our family.  And he has to realize all the lives that have been saved because of his instruction.  Think of it.  Twenty to forty students per year became EMTs.  They in turn served their communities, helping the injured, rescuing accident victims, comforting the sick and grieving.  I am so very proud of this courageous, dedicated man I call my husband.

A lovely white peony I discovered on our walk

I spent time working with my iPad today to try to figure out how to upload photos to the blog on it.  No luck.  When I return from this trip, I will make appointments with one of the Apple geniuses to get all my devices to work together.  For the next few days, I'll be using the iPad so my blog entries will not have photos.  Too bad, considering I'll be touring some of the best gardens in the entire country!  Don't worry, I'll add the pics next week.  

So, I swam 150 lengths today.  That gives me 700 for the month of June so far. Last year on this day, I had only tallied 50!  It was a slow start to the season.  I'm eight miles ahead of last year's pace.  I hope I can sustain it!