Hello? Hello? Anyone there? I wouldn’t be surprised if I were typing into a black hole after the lengthy silence but I am thrilled to be able to report that I have my life (or some semblance of it) back again after my final exam. And yes 83 is a perfectly respectable mark if I do say so myself. Now, just a few clinical shifts and it will all be over except for the certificate. Yeehaw! One of the new graduates at work said “there aren’t you glad you did it?” and I replied “no, at this point I’m just glad it’s over”. It has been a major commitment of time and energy for the past year. Apparently the program is being revamped and will be shortened to 10 months from 12, one exam instead of three, one clinical instead of three and all the irrelevant to rural emergency RNs material – as in mechanical vents, arterial lines etc. will be made electives for the tertiary centers and rural folks will get to choose palliative electives etc. Makes me (yet again) feel like a woman ahead of my time.
“Having more joy does not necessarily require a life overhaul—you may just need to create more space in your life for moments of joy.”
— Debrena Jackson Gandy
— Debrena Jackson Gandy
Speaking of free spirited women as I was announcing my mark to a coworker (who unfortunately is a widow) we were discussing her upcoming first cruise and she said “I’ve been checking out the spa, it looks really good” Couldn’t argue with that. She confided that she’d been going to the tanning bed as her former partner hadn’t approved of that. Now, I can’t imagine him forbidding her or in fact her heeding such an admonition but sometimes it is easier just not to argue. So she said “now I’m doing all those things he didn’t agree with” and I countered with “well I’m doing all the things I want to do now and he’s still around” so we both chuckled at that.
Speaking of freedom and the ‘freedom 55’ way of thinking, a coworker the other night (who actually IS a pension prisoner) was moaning about the fact that she’d likely be participating in the ‘freedom 75’ plan and would be living in the Manor attached to the hospital and the staff would change her depends and send her over to work a 12 hour shift with her walker saying “see you at 7”. In the way of nurses black humor at 3 a.m. we found that hysterically funny. In fact when I think of it - the following logo is pretty apt as well. So much for that "age is just a number" way of thinking eh?Reminds me of my Dad telling my mother-in-law on his birthday when she had dropped our kids off for his birthday celebration, while we were vacationing, that "there's been a mix-up, the numbers are reversed I'm really 18 not 81 you know" and those who knew him would certainly believe that. I was reminded early this morning though that no matter how much things change, they stay the same when I checked out FaceBook to find another old nurse online at 7 a.m. and when I questioned the reason for this she said “checking out an online tutorial for making bows”. That would be the change; the same would be the fact that we’d both been driven out of bed by our lobstering families. She by her husband and daughter who is going this fall to band lobsters (another change in the demographic of young men heading west to work in the oil patch) and moi by the ringing of the cell phone which the shore captain left home for the second time in four days.
The shore captain has been officially put ashore this fall and he’s grieving a bit although he’s been much too busy for several years to do it justice. It makes me feel as if I’m working as a UN negotiator when the two generations are under the same roof at the same time. The senior male has letting go issues and thinks the boy doesn’t want him to help - the junior one feels as if his father is telling him what to do (he is) although as I advised him “it isn’t always about you, he’s struggling with the succession planning you know”. With the hours they are keeping and my shift work, sharing a house with them is like caring for feral cats. You leave food out for them and it disappears, sometimes there’s a mess you have to clean up and occasionally you have to go looking for them or coax them to eat.
My early start got me underway to town for a Frenchy’s shop – and you know you’ve scored well when you spend $62 and the bag is bigger than groceries of the same cost. When I was in line at the checkout for groceries actually the man ahead of me turned and said “do you have an Air Miles card?” and I wasn’t long stuttering yes, producing it and thanking him. He said “Merry Christmas” and was off so I asked the cashier if it was a big order as I was still recovering from the gift and she said “over $180” so I was very pleased, as well as shocked that someone WOULDN'T have an Air Miles card????
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| Sunset in paradise |
So while waiting for the men folk to come home this evening I enjoyed the beautiful sunset of the unseasonably warm day and a cup of Lady Hannah tea which always make me think of the western daughter as that is where I’ve purchased the tea. Although according to my online search it is widely available. http://bit.ly/s0tPPi The electrician daughter is beginning her apprenticeship this week. Memo to self to call and see how that is going. She’s been working in the oil patch but if you’ve studied, you really want to work in your field. She even had an invite to the Christmas party before starting with the new company – a company box to watch the Edmonton Oilers – woohoo! Much better than what nurses get for sure - carols in the front lobby just don't come close.
Speaking of Christmas music, the teacher daughter has been making her way through Christmas concerts with her grade 3/4 class and it has been fraught with all kinds of drama. Projectile barfing on the way to the stage, yowls from struck elbows, and tears of fear of disappointing a parent. Oh the trials of an elementary school teacher.
The nursing student wrote her final midterm in Microbiology today and pronounced it “tough” but had marks to ensure a pass before writing. She pulled off an A- in Community Nursing and scored a reference from her clinical instructor so all is good in the academic world. Her crisis du jour was a breadmaker question – that I can handle.
So, now it's back to work in the morning but at least my 'days off' from here will be filled with holiday preparations versus studying trauma algorithms. I may just go wild and crazy and read a novel if I feel like it. And of course getting in to the cruise planning swing of things. Woohoo! Or perhaps I'll just simplify my life as per this Huffington Post article http://huff.to/tRIBNN. Actually, life is pretty good when the only complaint you can make is that you didn't get Air Miles on your L.L. Bean order eh? More travel info in a next post.
