Nursing

I was reading some other blogs just now... well, more like glancing at them. Sometimes people write too much, and sometimes not enough. Blogs seem to be a way to let people into one's life - is that what I want? My newest thought is that I should begin blogging about nursing. This makes me nervous, because privacy is so important in this line of work. So, I changed some of the information attached to this blog, to create a sense of anonymity.  But there is so much to say, and so much that I'd like to remember, and mostly so much that I would like people to know.

But is anyone interested?

Let's find out.

It would also be an interesting project (for me) to try to incorporate my faith journey into this nursing vocation. Honestly, I've pretty much abandoned my faith journey. It's not just on the back burner. It's on the grill outside. Underneath the charcoal.

Recently a friend of my boyfriend asked me to answer some questions for her about the nursing program I went through last year. I did one of those crazy accelerated programs, and this one was about as crazy as it was made out to be. I studied a lot, more than I ever did the first time I went to college, and it took up as much time as a full-time job and then some. Anyway, this friend had taken the time to develop a list of serious, conscientious questions. I was so impressed, and it brought me (not for the first time) to the realization that I am not as reflective about my life as I would hope to be. I let life pass me by, and while I notice it happening, I don't always actively participate.

I don't have a plan, yet. At all. I think I'll start by trying to get something typed onto this every day. Is that bold? Of course it is. And maybe unreasonable. Gotta start somewhere :)

A forgotten space

I remembered this today, because I felt like I had something to share. It is not world-impacting, and it is probably not interesting to almost anyone.
I am grateful.
I have not been grateful for a long time, and it took a long conversation with an old friend to bring me back to this particular state of being.
Last night I spoke to Sr. MAD, formerly Ray X. She has decided to dedicate her life to God, and she is doing it with a full, open heart. As I listened to her contarme the story of her life in the past year, I remembered all of the joy we have shared! Because if anyone is to call me an eternal optimist, they have not met this woman. She is more than a few steps ahead of me in the happiness department. And she understands something that it is hard to convey to many people - there is joy and growth and peace to be found in all walks of life. The good can be found anywhere, if one looks for it. It is not always overwhelming. Good can be difficult to uncover, especially in a hard situation. But it is there.
At the risk of revealing too much, I will say that my Ray X received some bad news that makes her and her family very sad. They will be struggling for months, perhaps years, with this news and this reality. It is cancer, and a future of illness and death. And I wish I had recorded the words that flowed to easily from her mouth, because she is praying even as she speaks, and voicing what good there is even if it is not instilled in her heart. She knows, as I know, that speaking the good, hearing the good voiced, is the first step to making it your reality.
So today, I am grateful. For my life, my job, my family, my friends. Life is good. I can see the good.