Coming Full Circle

In High School I volunteered as a Candy Striper at our nearest Hospital. I took great pride wearing my red and white striped uniform. Some of my responsibilities started with greeting visitors and taking them to patients rooms. It eventually grew to filing medical records, to helping with getting x-ray film ready and developing them. Unfortunately, life happens and forces you to make choices. I had to stop volunteering at the hospital.

As time went by, I got married and helped raise our four children. My husband's sudden illness and periodic stays in the hospital re-sparked my interest in the medical field. Under the circumstances, life has guided me back to making a choice in pursuing a career.

Today, my goal is to become a Phlebotomy Technician. A hope and dream of mine is to one day, volunteer with a medical team in a third world country. When I went back to school to get my high school diploma, I realized that those dreams and hopes of mine could become a reality. My dreams had wings and I felt like anything was possible; there was nothing holding me back.

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NOTE: This post has been sitting in my draft section in my potential blog posts and I am just now posting it. I started my Phlebotomy program last month in the middle of September and cannot believe how intense it is and I have at times wondered what I got myself into. The instructor told us that we will be done by and take our final test October 15th. I was under the assumption that it would be the beginning of December and didn't realize that time was apart of our clinicals. I am panicking! The two nights that we attend class each week, we go over a chapter review, then are given a homework assignment and with that will be tested the next night we meet for class. After the second class of the week, we have a little more time to prepare because of the weekend, but after the first class of the week, we are literally cramming everything into our brain. In the second part of class (which is a total of four hours) we head to the Laboratory and start drawing blood on each other. I am surprised with myself that I am not afraid to insert the needle but am afraid of failing. I mentioned this to my husband and told him that even if I fail at this, I think that it would be worse to have not tried at all. It is so hard to think that if I fail, I won't be doing something that I have envisioned myself doing for so long... I can see myself doing this! Last night, there was another student, who has seemed to me, very sure of herself. As we were waiting for the instructor to watch us begin our blood draw, she had a far away look on her face, finally made eye contact with me and told me and another student that she was scared. I was taken back because of the way she presented herself. I asked her what she was scared of and she said, "This class is just very intense and going way too fast." I said, "Thank You! I am feeling the same way!" In sharing, we all three learned we weren't the only one in the class feeling like this. I will just keep doing the very best that I can do. That is all I can do.

I still feel like my dreams have wings. I just have to accept that the wind will take them where it will.

*Candy Striper Uniform photo is from googled images

Catching My Breath ~

mom's backyard ~ mirror on fence

So much has happened, I can hardly catch my breath. School is now in session as of August 12th and I am back to work. At the end of my summer, I welcome being back on a schedule of some sorts and feel more productive than not being on one. The third week into our school year, I was asked to cover someone for two 1/2 hours a day for five days. This was on top of my regular hours 6-10 a.m. At the end of my shift, my mind and body thought that it was time to go home, only to be reminded that it had to go on. I was feeling it at the end of the day. I have started exercising again and would go immediatly after getting off work. It didn't help that week was a scorcher. Those five days were grueling. I could totally rant about not understanding how one is needing time off when we just had two in a half months off... but I won't.

My baby sister Kiersten was in the hospital for two weeks with viral meningitis. It was pretty scary! She was released a week ago and is doing better. My aunt has learned that she has ovarian cancer. My mom, neice, aunt, uncle and I met with her for a quick breakfast while she was down for a funeral. It was so nice to see her! I love how when we get together from being apart for so long, it feels like we just pick up where we had left off. I feel safe with them. My aunt is in my thoughts and prayers.

My son Rob is being processed out of the military. He decided not to re-enlist for four more years. Rob and my lovely daughter-in-law will be moving back to California and will be home in a week. I am so excited! It has been a long four years.

I finally had an eye exam done. My eye sight is not as bad as I had thought. I am excited about seeing clearly again! Diandra was sweet enough to go with me to help me pick out some frames. My glasses will be finished with in 12 working days.

Our computer crashed, and we had to get a new one and I am in the process of getting aquainted with it. We finally got a new washer and drier! I can't believe how quiet this washer is and am now amazed how we ever thought we would use the one we had until it died. It was so loud, it sounded like a cannery inside my home. It was horrible. Charlie and I had dinner with some friends whose daughter had the same brand and model as ours. They told us the washer caught on fire! That was the deciding factor for us. We went out the next weekend looking for a new one.

I feel like I have been gone for so long.... as if I needed to go to confession. Honestly, everytime I logged in to start a post, that is how I felt. Silly! Really, it has been just living in the life stuff. I have to admit, I panicked when the computer went kapuee. The first couple of days was hard and then I was quite amazed how freeing it felt. It is good to be back. Although, it has made me look at the way I spend my time in a different light.

*Spell check is acting kinda funky. It is highlighting the end of one word and the beginning of the next word or just half of a word. What is going on? I need spell check.