On Hiatus

I am officially halfway through my master's program. Only a year and a half to go. It has been a time warp, feeling like the fastest year and the slowest year at the same time. I'm constantly busy, running from work to the gym to clinicals, as well as trying to cultivate some sort of social life in between. It's been an interesting semester, to say the least. There have been some tears, some mysterious eye-twitching, and many sleepless nights, yet I came out on the other side.....and with good grades(amazing!).

The good news is I absolutely love what I'm learning. I love spending time with the patients and figuring out the mysterious problems that they have arrived with. I love learning about all of the normal and abnormal variants that the body can come up with. Not that its all sunshine and butterflies, but its helping. Having my end goal in mind is also a great motivator. To (hopefully) end up in orthopedics, my current place, as a nurse practitioner is such an exciting concept. Nothing is for certain, as who knows what positions will be available when I graduate, but it has been discussed and would be a dream job. Its so great to work in a place that I feel valued and necessary, as well as one that keeps me interested on a daily basis. Pretty wonderful, really.

So now I'm on a three week break from school, and it will be twice as many clinical hours while working full(or over)time. Someday, I'll have to go down on my hours, but it hasn't been possible at work, nor have I really wanted to remove myself from parts of this job yet. As long as my grades aren't suffering, I'll keep it up.

But while I'm on break, what to do....what to do.... well, tonight I'm going to start with a blog followed by starting a book for pleasure. "Then Again" by Diane Keaton....a memoir of her and her mother. I'll most likely share it with my mother once I'm done. After all, I probably wouldn't have been half as successful in school as I have been without her help. Running errands for me, periodically cleaning my aparment, or bringing me meals when I don't have time to eat, let alone cook.....really have needed my parents this year, and they've always come through.

so tonight, i'm just feeling thankful.....and restful.....and ready to turn the first page in my book that has nothing to do with nursing :)