Comparisons!

SO, here are some pictures of my trip! I thought the first couple were crazy! Look at the differences in weather! These pictures were taken 2 days apart!


This is looking down the mall towards the Capitol building. The building on the right is the Smithsonian Castle.






And the Washington Monument...in the snow picture, you can hardly see it!

Stranded!

SO, I was supposed to be on my way to the airport right about now. Unfortunately, this morning, DC got about 6 inches of snow dumped on it in about 3 hours or so! While it IS beautiful, apparently planes don't like to take off in it. Michael and Jen's plane was cancelled too...so now we are sitting in a hotel room, getting ready to watch the Oscars. My plane leaves tomorrow at 6:40ish and theirs leaves in the afternoon...so we'll hopefully all be home for dinner...or at least to pick up our puppies from the Pets Hotel! This morning, I got a call from Becca while walking through the INSANE amount of snow...she's in Fort Lauderdale in 80 degree weather getting ready to leave on a cruise. It's a horrid comparison...me in my 32 degree and big giant snowflakes and her and the sunshine and 80 degrees! Ah well...so I guess my idea of vacation involves lots of snow...at least this time it does!

I've had a really great vacation, and I'm still not ready to go back to work! I guess I should be...but I'm not! I have not heard about the transplant coordinator job yet, although I really wish I would know something. It's been almost 3 weeks since I interviewed, and I am SO impatient! I know that patience is always something I need to be working on, so I PATIENTLY wait...and hope.

It's finally stopped snowing, but the snow piles are still much bigger than we EVER see at home. Please pray that the runways will be nice and clean tomorrow so I can get home to my precious puppies! I'll post some pictures as soon I get home and find the cord!

Awake...and not happy about it!

EW! It's 4:48AM, and with the exception of about 30 minutes, I have been awake since 10AM yesterday morning. I'm currently sitting at the airport, unhappily blogging away while I listen to Desperate Housewives on ABC.com. I have no idea why I couldn't sleep last night. I tried all my tactics...TV, silence, and then by the time I figured out those weren't working, it was too late to take anything to put me to sleep. I thought that sleeping through my alarm and missing my airport shuttle at 3:15 this morning would not be a good plan. SO. I sit here. Awake. And tired. I did make a split decision to upgrade the long leg of my flight up to "business" class. I have no idea what this means, only I am sure it means a bigger seat. And maybe some food that's more substantial than the typical cheddar whales. I will NOT fall asleep and miss this opportunity. Guess I can fall asleep on the way to DC from Atlanta.

That's pretty much the extent of things going on here. I took Oliver and Liberty to doggy day care on Friday to get them used to the place they will be boarded next weekend. I was SO paranoid that Oliver was going to attack other dogs, but he was SO good! They said he did not snarl, bark, or even growl at other pups. I was so happy! This means that when he goes next weekend...he will behave! :)

Okay, well, they are getting ready to call my row. I'd better go. Bon VOYAGE to me! :)

No work for 2 weeks!

Hooray! I don't have to work again until the 28th! This makes me HAPPY! :) I've had a really rough couple of days, with the precious patient on the verge of death (who told me I was his Valentine yesterday...but I think he told everyone that!) and a really terrible intern I am trying to train. I'm really glad to be given this break...and hopefully I will have a brighter outlook when I return. I have to do two leadership clinicals before I come back...and that does put me at the hospital, but I'm not going to go up to the floor or anything. I need a clean break! :) Sometimes, it just gets like that! I LOVE the people I work with, and it's not to be rid of them...but mostly just away from the day to day routine! :)

I haven't heard whether I got the new job yet, but I do know they are still interviewing and will make a decision by the end of next week. I'm really at peace at this point because I know I did the best job I could. I don't believe I left anything out, and I think I effectively communicated my love for transplant! I'll just wait peacefully to find out and if I don't get it, I'll go back to work without a regret because at least I TRIED! :)

Sunday morning, at the ridiculously early hour of 5:34AM, I am flying to Virginia to go play with Kimberly for a couple of days. I'll be with her at her newly purchased house until Thursday, then drive back to DC to hang with Michael and Jennifer at their fancy Ritz Carlton for the next couple of days. I LOVE Washington DC and am so excited to go again! It's a lot of walking, and it's sure to be cold, but that's okay...museums are heated! :) While at Kim's, I won't have access to internet and my cell phone service probably won't be the greatest there...so it will be interesting! :) BUT, I know my sister wants to show me around her new life, and she's worked really long and hard to get a bunch of overtime hours so we can have fun in the afternoons! :) Liberty will be having tons of fun with her brother and sister at Becca's house for the first part of the week, then she'll go with them to the PetsHotel to be boarded so Becca can leave for her cruise. I'm sure they will be a WILD trio when I pick them up Monday afternoon! I'm kind-of afraid of what they will do to me!

Perhaps I should get back to class....or maybe not. :) I guess I should, especially since I'm learning about how not to be sued for malpractice! :) That would be HORRID!

Reaching deep inside

Have you ever cared for a dying individual...a person who truly is on their last days? I have cared for children that I didn't know were dying...and died suddenly. Those are always hard because it's like a cruel surprise. I've never been there, being the primary caregiver for a dying child. It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

This child I have had the pleasure to care for this whole weekend is a child who is well known to me. I've known him the entire two years I've worked as a nurse...and it is hard to see him on what we know will be his last admission. It takes every ounce of me to not burst into tears every time I see him in his deteriorating condition. He's still the same sweet boy...who loves music and Beyonce...and yet it's hard for him even to speak anymore. He's so scared and nervous, and I have to be strong for him. He can NOT see how upset it makes me when I have to do EVERYTHING for him when I know that 2 weeks ago, he was doing this for himself. He says thank you every time I leave the room, and doesn't want to be alone...which I totally understand.

Death is not a journey I wish for any person's child. Parents should not have to outlive their children. As a nurse, I see the entire spectrum of grief...from all the family parading in to say their final goodbyes...to the mother who can't figure out how to say good-bye. I am expected to stay strong...and not waver. But that's just not possible. I am human after all. The last two nights, I haven't slept well...and am having all kinds of bizarre dreams. I find myself wanting to call up to work to find out how he's doing, both afraid of the bad news I'll hear but not wanting to be left out of the loop.

So, I sit and wait. And pray. Prayers for his family, prayers for his nurse today, but mostly prayers that he will cross into Jesus' arms without being afraid and without pain. I think that's the most we can offer any human, but especially a child.

My interview!

WELL, so most of you don't know that I applied for a new job this week. Since I started at the hospital, I've been really interested in the transplant program. I absolutely love taking care of our transplant kiddos...and have aspirations of one day being a transplant coordinator. That position follows the kids from before they are transplanted until afterwards and forever! It involves time in the operating room, the heart clinic, the floor, and the ICU. It is a really big promotion, but does take me away from the bedside. Well, a spot opened up as the heart transplant coordinator..and I took a leap of faith and applied! It was actually for a nurse practitioner, but the current coordinator told me that I needed to apply. Today, I had the marathon of all interviews. I had SIX interviews...lasting from 8AM until 6PM. I had a break in the middle of the day, but it was still the longest interview I have ever been on. I thought it was going to be just this little thing....and it turned into a huge thing! I thought it went really well, and I don't know when I'll find out anything. SO, after that long rambling paragraph...I'm gonna ask everyone to keep this situation in your prayers. I felt really calm about the whole situation, but I'm not exactly sure it's what I'm supposed to do...but I did feel at peace during the interviews. If I don't get the position, I'll still happily work on my floor because I really do love it. I'm not applying for this job because I don't like mine. I LOVE my floor, but this is a really big deal! SO...that's that.

Other than that, I am SO tired right now. I'm counting the minutes until I can go get in my bed...and I hope it is soon! :(

Winter weather continues...

Well, the cold snap has gone from a snap...to a forever long streak! Not that I mind, I would actually rather it be COLD than HOT! I just wish it would be cool, rather than cold! :) It's not all bad...even though my apartment usually feels like the Arctic Circle!

School is still chugging along. I have technically finished the class time for the first one...Nursing Research. EW. I have to turn in a paper tomorrow and then edit and comment on another paper due next Thursday. Now, I'm getting ready to start Nursing Leadership and Professional Nursing. Not my favorite classes, but I am SO glad that research is over that it doesn't really matter what the alternate classes are! :) I have to do some clinical hours for one of those classes, so I'm not really looking forward to that, but at least I can do it at my hospital. I'll be shadowing the manager of the Cardiology clinic...so at least I'll get to see all the kids I take care of!

Tonight, I'll be hosting a Mexican fiesta/Grey's Anatomy party for whoever wants to come and crash! I figure, I've been doing nothing but typing for the last two day (trying to finish papers!) and I have to work the next three...so the fun might as well happen tonight! I switched so someone could be off for the superbowl, but that puts me at three in a row...which everyone knows is my ABSOLUTE favorite! :) Oh well, it could really be worse. I could be doing five in a row! :)

Well, the teacher is saying something about actively participating in class...so I suppose I should actually pay attention...or something! :)