@!

(That's 21 with the caps lock on, because I can't believe it!)

Heather is really turning into a wonderful young lady and she is making so many positive changes in her life.  She went to school to get her CNA certificate and is excited to work in the hospital.  She is working as a nanny in Midavale and has her whole future ahead of her. 

It seems like just yesterday when i was braiding her hair and making her pancakes on Sunday morning. 

 

 

Too bad she got the chicken pox a few days ago :0(

 

But, we will have a great delayed birthday dinner

 

I love you, Heather!  Happy 21st birthday! 

 

We will celebrate soon

Four more weeks!

I think I can make it! 

How I justify............

.............Watching Grey's Anatomy

I know, it is a ridiculous soap opera set in a hospital, but I can't help myself.  Every Friday I look forward to watching the newest episode on line.   And, (BONUS!) I actually understand the diagnoses and medical terminology.  It helps me apply what I am learning in a real world context...........seriously.   Granted, most doctors do not spend that much time with patients;  that is what the nurses do.  In real life Izzy would have been fired for falling in love with her patient and Meredeth would have never worked as a doctor again after skewing a clinical trial.  I guess it makes for good drama.    Who watches T.V. for real life, anyway?

  But, T.V. drama aside, I can actually review and apply Nursing School stuff as I watch.  I do make an effort to think critically, analyze the pathophysiology of what the disease of the week is (I have actually done online research while watching).  I come up with nursing interventions for the patient.  Does this make me a little odd?  Maybe.................but I am not ashamed to admit it :0)

White Flag

     I am officially waving my white flag for now.........just where my blog is concerned.  It is something I love to do, but keeping current on it is going on the back burner for now,   where it can simmer and get better.  I have so many other things on the stove, (and on high heat!) that the poor little blog pan is just left there in the back.  Maybe I stir it once in a while, but for the most part it gets ignored. 

     Let's look at the big picture.........I am working 32 hours a week, I have school on Wednesday (an all day thing) and clinicals Friday and Saturday nights.  Yep, folks, that means that after  working from 9-5 on Friday, I go to the hospital and work (for free, mind you) from 5:30 to midnight.  Saturday morning is for running errands, then clinicals again Saturday night.  It is busy.  I do find time for homework and studying every night.......housework happens on the weekends.  There is just not much room for anything else.  The only reason I am posting now is because I happen to have a day off of work.

     I miss my kids.  I am always stressed out.  I dream about Nursing Care Plans.  I live on diet coke and coffee.  Dave feels ignored.   Something has gotta give.  So, I wave my little white flag.  I remind myself that soon this will be over.  I CAN make it to December 5th.  I just may not be able to blog about it as much as I would like. 

     Thank you all for your support and words of encouragement that get me through those really tough days.  You can't imagine what it means to me.  I will make it :/

Really, I mean well

.........But I have not been posting very often.  Life seems to keep me too busy these days.   I just wanted to let you all know that I am here and alive, studying hard.  Just 7 more months.........(oh and the one month break in December) and we will get through this.  Or maybe I will just try to make it to Decamber for now.........just 2 1/2 months away.  

Quick update

So, we are moved down to St George and mostly settled.  These last 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of school, work, unpacking, studying.  
    
Things are going well at my new job.  Working for a pulmonologist is a lot different than Family Practice.  I only make about 5 phone calls a day and spend a lot more time caring for patients.  The computer charting system is a whole complicated thing to learn, but I am muddling through.  Dr Saiffe told me that I am fitting in well and he is "impressed with my work".  So, good.........I have him fooled ;0) 

School is great; busy as always.  I love our instructor.  She has so much passion for nursing and I have learned so much from her.  And, she lets us work on our assignments on our own time frame (what she calls a "self directed, adult learning environment")  Her logic is: if she can't trust us to do our homework how can she trust us to take care of patients?  So, I am staying on my self inflicted schedule and trying to get all the big assignments out of the way so that at the end of the semester I can focus on the final. 

Home is good.  I love our new place.  The trees in front keep the house nice and cool, and the garage has been a handy storage space.  I am only 10 mins from work and the hospital, Dave has a 5 min commute.  The climate is hot, but not intolerable.  It will be great in the winter.

The Ridge

     My 6+ years at Cedar Ridge Family Medicine were great.  They were flexible with my schedule which allowed me to go back to school.  Our office manager is like my "dad away from dad".  The girls that I worked with are some of my best friends and cheerleaders.  I got 4 Nursing school rejection letters in the walls of that clinic, and they all gave me the strength to apply just one more time before I gave up.  And, they were all there when I got my letter from MCC.  The docs pushed me, helped me study, answered all of my (numerous, complicated) medical questions.  I could not have asked for a better job. 

     These are the reasons why it is so hard to leave.  But, life is pulling me in a new direction and I have to move on.  I hope that my new job will be as rewarding.  I know that I am moving on to the next phase of my life.  I am changing homes and jobs.......it will be better for us in the long term.  I will not think about how hot the summers in St George are, but instead, focus on how warm the rest of the year will be (shorts in December!).  I will focus on the positive, look towards the future....but not forget those that helped me get here. 

I love you, CRFM!