Dorm Check

Yesterday was the day I hate. My daughter went back to college. I knew she was ready. I knew she was excited. And while I am excited for her adventures I am never ready to watch my children leave my house.

Since my daughter is in a dorm with a community kitchenette we discussed buying her dishes and things she will need. However, we decided to wait for most of the bigger items since there are a total of 4 roommates sharing the space. After all there is no need for them to have 4 toasters or 24 place settings for dishes.

We came home from camping, quickly cleaned the mud off my Jeep and loaded up her stuff to go. I quickly became aware that my daughter and husband didn't care how the stuff came home from college in spring as long as it made it home. We looked like a redneck bunch of hillbillies moving into the dorms from good o country living. Many families had all sorts of organized totes and boxes. Not us. We unloaded one thirty one bag or Wal-mart sack at a time.

Reflection

Reflection is a great thing if you use for the right reasons likes to figure out what went wrong, what can I do better, and where do I go from here. There have been times in my life that I have used reflection to beat myself up about choices I have made. But today, as I look back on the last 10 weeks I see growth, and determination, stomping my feet like a two year old, and begging for my friends and family to pray for me because I didn't feel strong enough to pray for myself.

It's been no secret that nursing school was never my end game. I want to go to PA school. I want to figure out what is wrong with the patient and be able to chart a course of action for my patient. Pathophysiology is interesting to me. The way medications change your body fascinates me. But along the journey of nursing school I thought it might be best for me to not be a nurse. I thought it would be best for me and my family to take another road that would eventually lead me to PA school. I even went to my instructors and told them I didn't think I would be back and pretty much told them I wanted to quit. The instructors being as wise as they are would not accept my resignation and told me to think about it some more.

Today as I embark on the end of the summer semester I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for nursing school. 32 weeks stands between me and the end of nursing school. At the end of nursing school I won't simply have a degree in my hand, I have a career waiting for me. A career that will assist me in the next part of the journey. I am sure during the next 32 weeks there will be plenty of tears, lots of frustration and not understanding why we have to do certain things, and lots of "I'm sorry I can't go and do that fun thing with you." But at the end of those long weeks I will have the journey to show my children that hard work pays off and lofty goals and aspirations require you to work hard for them.