A different kind of nurse

I started this journey twenty years ago, when at the age of eighteen I walked through the halls of The Christ Hospital School of Nursing and signed up to learn the art of being a nurse.  Two years later, cap and diploma in hand, I graduated and entered the world of critical care nursing.

I have worked in five different ICU's, labor and delivery, floated throughout the hospital and worked on just about every unit there was (except the operating room and the nursery).  For the past three years, I have been the nursing supervisor over the entire hospital, walking those halls night and day, ensuring the safety of the staff and the patients within those many walls.

And now the time has come for a change.  My kids are grown.  I'm tired of working night shifts, and spending weekends and holidays away from my family.  I'm tired of the politics I see each and every day.  I'm tired of being caught in the middle, trying to do what's right but being told not to in the name of the budget.

A new opportunity has come my way.  The chance to work with patients again in a case-management setting, via telephone, from the comfort of my own home.  Yes, I will be working forty hours a week, which I haven't done in ages.  But I will be at home!  Traffic jams, bad weather, wardrobe malfunctions...they won't affect me.

I have five more shifts left at the hospital.  It is bittersweet.  I will miss the friends I have made there over the years, especially the many people I have met as a supervisor.  I will not, however, miss the ever-increasing stress of the job.

The best thing about nursing is the opportunity to do so many different things with your degree.  There is no reason to get burnt out...get out and move on.  That's what I'm doing...and I can't wait!

Sixteen years and counting

October is a great month in so many ways.  The cooler temperatures, the gorgeous colors, the ability to wear boots with every outfit...

We have lots of reasons to love October this year.  Our 16th wedding anniversary, our family cruise vacation coming up, my last-year-in-my-thirties-birthday, a booming photography business with lots of photo shoots scheduled during the month.  I am loving October of 2012 so far, and we're only four days in!

Joe and I kicked off our celebrations with a day trip to Caesar Creek State Park, hiking and taking pictures and being silly together.  I love that we can still have so much fun, probably even more fun than we had while dating.  We are so comfortable with each other; even when we get on each other's nerves, we know that we are in this for the long haul and we learn to just get over it.  As his beard gets grayer, and my hair requires more frequent coloring to hide my own grays, I hope that we have even better days ahead.

Happy anniversary, honey.  I love you like crazy, even when you leave your dirty laundry on the floor :)