The weekend- then and now.

Weekends have and always will be a love-hate relationship. From the time I was 4 my endless chore lists were rewarded with a good old-fashioned swim, macaroni and cheese, kool-aid, and fun outside. Going to church on Sundays was a great time to be with friends and learn something about God.

Not much has changed. Now, my chores consist of endless reading, projects, and studying. I get more done on Friday nights and Saturdays than the rest of the week. My "expensive coffee," the few extra minutes on facebook, and an extended Bible-reading time make for a more relaxing morning.

I hit the books by 9am. And by afternoon Dunkin Donuts is calling my name. It has become my new favorite place. I get my free donut (recently it has been pumpkin) with the purchase of a coffee or latte, and I hunker down to Skype Josh for the next hour. It's tremendous fun and I hate to end our "face-to-face" conversation. My motivation upon returning to campus quickly weans after that, and I spend time perusing my books or talking to friends amidst my studying. Sundays start at 6 and end when I finish my homework after being in N. Carolina until 10.

Here I sit, Monday night, and wonder where did my weekend go? Not much has changed. I still get my "chores" done, and despite the stress it creates for me the rest of the week, I still make time for those enjoyable moments. Life is meant to be lived. One donut, one phone conversation, and one more weekend at a time.

Operating Room 101

Rule #1: When you are in the Operating Room, don't touch anything blue. Do not cough, sneeze, or laugh over it. Do not smell it. Do not taste it. Do nothing. Stand at least one foot away and say "Oh, that looks sterile!"

Rule #2: When applying a mask, do not peel off the sticker that says, "peel here." When removing the said mask, you get a nose wax with it.

Rule #3: When watching surgeries, don't offer to watch the same one twice in one day.... You will regret it.

Rule #4: Try not to laugh at the patient, despite how ridiculously funny they look.

Rule #6: Talk to the one who makes the most money. They usually have the most to teach you.

Rule #7: Talk to the one who makes the least amount of money. They are the funniest.

Rule #5: It's ok to dance to the music with the surgeon, the scrub tech, and the circulating nurse.

"Anything" of Excitement...

I had a friend ask me the other day what I was excited about.

ex·cit·ed

   [ik-sahy-tid] Show IPA

adjective

1.

stirred emotionally; agitated: An excited crowd awaited thearrival of the famed rock group.

2.

stimulated to activity; brisk: an excited buying and selling of stocks.

My immediate thoughts were of course turned to Josh, but I didn't just want to spout out the expected. So I asked him what he meant. "Anything" he said.

So "anything" of excitement was what I told him.

I was excited that we had left extension early. I had drank an extra cup of coffee at 6, and a medium diet coke at 8. I was awake enough to make the 2+ hour drive back to Greenville, and get some study time in.

I was excited to talk to Josh when I got back, because I didn't use to be able to. I love living in Grad Hall.

I am excited to be a nurse. I love nursing, and when I hear other people complaining about their job, going to work day in and day out, I just get happy thinking about being a nurse. I am going to love what I do. There aren't many who can say that. Beyond that, I know what I am doing isn't just another job in the factory. I will be making a difference, saving lives, bringing new lives into existence. What could be more invigorating and exciting than that? I can go anywhere and do anything.

I am excited to someday move to Tucson and eventually marry Josh. It isn't so much the mushy gushy part of our relationship. It's the sitting on the couch next to your best friend watching the football game, taking walks to the park, promising to teach him how to make pecan pie, telling stories about work, praying together, carving initials in a tree. It's being there together. Not the 1891 miles and 3 times zones apart. Not the "only seeing each other once every couple of months." Not a short phone call or once a week skype date. It's just hanging out and being together that I am excited for..

I am excited to live. I am excited to love. I am excited to someday see God. I am excited to sleep.

Why? Because I expect them? Because my anticipation has been building and therefore my excitement has?

I don't think so. I think my excitement is sheer joy. Reveling in what I don't deserve, but what I have been given. My excitement is in the gifts from God, whether big or small.

Relationships

I found a saved draft from April. I think it still applies....

Sometimes I go insane trying to balance everything- from nursing and school, to sleep, to my friends and family. One of my friends asked me tonight why I wasn't stressed about school as much as I used to be, esp. Freshman year. Throughout my answer I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. Friends, family, room mates, boyfriend, church friends, nursing home ministry, visitors, strangers. The answer? People.

Visit to the Condemned House

On a random day trip Josh and I took around S. Carolina, we stopped in an old condemned house that was falling apart. Creaking floors, broken windows, years of cobwebs, and a rotted leaking roof just added to the musty smell, tin cans, and beer bottles we found in what was once somebody's home.

We didn't stick around for long, mostly because we saw it all in just a few minutes, and it was rainy and cold inside and out. After contemplating the years of work it would take to fix the place up, we decided to just get something a little bit nicer.

Bob Jones-the prison

Stayed up till 2 last night. Up at 5. Paperwork consumes me. Lauren and I attempted to go to Starbucks, treating ourselves for our hard work. 5:45 am + 15 minute walk = blissful delicious coffee awaiting me as the doors to Starbucks unlock at 6am. To our chagrin and bitter disappointment, our hopes were dashed when we realized we were literally locked into the Bob Jones campus. The gates were closed for at least another hour, and we would have had to walk over a mile extra to get to the open gate and around the campus. We trudged back to our rooms and brewed ourselves some Folgers drip coffee, and disappointedly began work on our paperwork.

my life - returning today

I sit here studying nursing research for a test on Wednesday. How boring can you get?

I just spent a week of spring break with my boyfriend, and he flies out today...we said goodbye last night, and my day has been miserable starting school again in the cold dreary rainy day.

I'm wearing my sweatshirt that smells like Josh, the closest thing that brings him back to me.. I miss him so much...but have to go on.

39 days till I see him again, 40 days till the semester is over, and 405 days until graduation, and for now, I return to studying the different research methods..quantitative, qualitative, theoretical frameworks, methods, analyses....