Saturday, December 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Confessions of a Working Mom: Then A Hero Comes Along
I think we all have that "dream job" somewhere in our minds.
You know, the one that we've always wanted, but the one that-- for one reason or another-- we'll never have.
For me, it's being a nurse.
When I was a high school senior, I applied to college thinking I'd go into medicine. That career path lasted all of five days. When I got my first semester class schedule the week of freshman orientation, I saw that I'd been scheduled for a six-hour intro to chemistry lab on Friday afternoons. That just didn't jive with my idea of living the college high-life, so I dropped the course-- and my pre-med major-- before the first day of classes even began.
It wasn't until years later-- eight years later, to be exact-- that I realized what a mistake I'd made.
My daughter, G, was born on time... but she was born with a medical condition that forced her to spend the first nine days of her life in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, better known as "NICU". Those were some excruciating days for my husband and I; we didn't know how serious our daughter's situation was (blessedly, it was minor as NICU cases go), or when she'd finally be allowed to come home with us. But it was the nurses-- the women, and in a few cases, men-- who guided us through the rough waters.
They called us in the middle of the night, when our daughter was screaming her head off because she was in pain from the medications she was on.
They gave me tips on how to nurse her, even with the octopus of cords and wires protruding from her little body.
Most importantly, they gave us a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, when the doctors in charge of G's medical care didn't give us the time of day.
When G was discharged from the hospital-- happy and healthy, but a week later than we'd initially planned-- I whispered in her ear that she would return to those hallowed halls one day... to work.
For months after her birth, I considered making a career change myself. Did I have what it took to be a nurse? Did I have the mental fortitude and the compassion to tend to the sick, the suffering, and their families? Ultimately, I knew myself too well. I knew there was a reason why I dropped my pre-med major without really giving it a chance; I didn't have what it took. I didn't have the perseverance to get through the overnight rotations, or the gumption to tell a grieving mother the truth she longed to hear, or, quite frankly, the stomach to deal with bodily fluids on a daily basis.
What I do have, though, is the dream that maybe one day my daughter will do what I cannot. No, I don't dream for my child to become a doctor; I want my girl to be the most stalwart of all medical professionals... a nurse.
Source: http://www.squidoo.com/cash4you
You know, the one that we've always wanted, but the one that-- for one reason or another-- we'll never have.
For me, it's being a nurse.
When I was a high school senior, I applied to college thinking I'd go into medicine. That career path lasted all of five days. When I got my first semester class schedule the week of freshman orientation, I saw that I'd been scheduled for a six-hour intro to chemistry lab on Friday afternoons. That just didn't jive with my idea of living the college high-life, so I dropped the course-- and my pre-med major-- before the first day of classes even began.
It wasn't until years later-- eight years later, to be exact-- that I realized what a mistake I'd made.
My daughter, G, was born on time... but she was born with a medical condition that forced her to spend the first nine days of her life in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, better known as "NICU". Those were some excruciating days for my husband and I; we didn't know how serious our daughter's situation was (blessedly, it was minor as NICU cases go), or when she'd finally be allowed to come home with us. But it was the nurses-- the women, and in a few cases, men-- who guided us through the rough waters.
They called us in the middle of the night, when our daughter was screaming her head off because she was in pain from the medications she was on.
They gave me tips on how to nurse her, even with the octopus of cords and wires protruding from her little body.
Most importantly, they gave us a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, when the doctors in charge of G's medical care didn't give us the time of day.
When G was discharged from the hospital-- happy and healthy, but a week later than we'd initially planned-- I whispered in her ear that she would return to those hallowed halls one day... to work.
For months after her birth, I considered making a career change myself. Did I have what it took to be a nurse? Did I have the mental fortitude and the compassion to tend to the sick, the suffering, and their families? Ultimately, I knew myself too well. I knew there was a reason why I dropped my pre-med major without really giving it a chance; I didn't have what it took. I didn't have the perseverance to get through the overnight rotations, or the gumption to tell a grieving mother the truth she longed to hear, or, quite frankly, the stomach to deal with bodily fluids on a daily basis.
What I do have, though, is the dream that maybe one day my daughter will do what I cannot. No, I don't dream for my child to become a doctor; I want my girl to be the most stalwart of all medical professionals... a nurse.
Source: http://www.squidoo.com/cash4you
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Can you ever just be whelmed?
A line from one of my favorite teeny bopper movies: 10 things I hate about you!
I'm whelmed! Not overwhelmed yet just whelmed! I've got a bunch on my tiny plate right now and need to get more organized than my usually organized self. Here is what I am thinking about at this current second...
picking my daughter up from school early (Wednesdays are early release which means I have less time to do what I need to do)...and here I am blogging hahaha!
I have 3 assignments due this week and I have only begun the research!
My communications class is proving to be a challenge in so many ways! There is a lot more reading and writing and this week I also have to make a power point presentation which I have not done before!
My new blog and reviews and giveaways...I have a folder now just for my blog stuff!
ChunkyMonkey (aka Jay) has regressed again into complete shut down mode, when he gets sick all progress that was made goes right out the window!
Spring break is coming up and I do want to do something fun but with so much going on and time isn't slowing down for me to catch up I'm not sure we will do much it may have to wait until May! But I am still thinking about it and researching stuff!
There are other stupid little things on my mind all the time but those are just a FEW of the biggies! I am also doing a week of drastic dieting to see if I can lose another 10 pounds....Im hungry and tired! I am so tired that today I forgot to put coffee in the maker and just made a pot of hot water!
So I am whelmed, but whats new?!
I'm whelmed! Not overwhelmed yet just whelmed! I've got a bunch on my tiny plate right now and need to get more organized than my usually organized self. Here is what I am thinking about at this current second...
picking my daughter up from school early (Wednesdays are early release which means I have less time to do what I need to do)...and here I am blogging hahaha!
I have 3 assignments due this week and I have only begun the research!
My communications class is proving to be a challenge in so many ways! There is a lot more reading and writing and this week I also have to make a power point presentation which I have not done before!
My new blog and reviews and giveaways...I have a folder now just for my blog stuff!
ChunkyMonkey (aka Jay) has regressed again into complete shut down mode, when he gets sick all progress that was made goes right out the window!
Spring break is coming up and I do want to do something fun but with so much going on and time isn't slowing down for me to catch up I'm not sure we will do much it may have to wait until May! But I am still thinking about it and researching stuff!
There are other stupid little things on my mind all the time but those are just a FEW of the biggies! I am also doing a week of drastic dieting to see if I can lose another 10 pounds....Im hungry and tired! I am so tired that today I forgot to put coffee in the maker and just made a pot of hot water!
So I am whelmed, but whats new?!