Genesis

Okay, so my sister in law has inspired me to start a blog. We shall see how this goes. I decided that I will share my journey of becoming a nurse, while married and a mother of two. It has been a dream of mine for so long now that I can't remember the exact moment I made the decision to become a nurse. I remember the exact moment I took action, and made the decision to go back to school. However, I should start just a tad before the big leap!

Halloween is a time of mixed feelings for me. My children dressing up, parties, the changing of the season, my father's birthday. Yes, he was born on Halloween, along with his mother, my grandmother. Odd huh? But I am a little saddened on Halloween, because my father died nearly 5 years ago, where has the time gone? His death has left a hole in my soul, but it was also the catalyst to my going back to school.

My father's death did not initially instigate an immediate action. It took another friends death a year and a half later to really ignite the fire. He was a dear friend and he is so deeply missed by many. I am not writing these things to make people sad, just as an insight as to how a good can come from tragedy.

I remember sitting in my daughter's bedroom floor crying and thinking to myself, "life is so crazy and short. It can end at any moment. There is no warning in most cases and I am tired of sitting here waiting for my life to happen."

The idea of going back to school had been toyed with in my mind for several years; it was time to stop playing!!! I went to the local community college and registered for school. There was no turning back now. I quit my job, and embarked on a new journey.

WOW!!! Going back to school was like tying to blow dust off of a bookshelf that has been sitting, lonely, for decades. It took such an effort for me to get back into the groove. My brother, who has been my biggest supporter and encouragement, told me I would get used to it, "School will become your new normal." And that it did!!

I made it through my first year, although it took tremendous effort, with a 4.0. I also worked at my daughter's preschool 30 hours a week. I was ready for the big time!! Oregon Institute of Technology. I was accepted and spent a summer full of hope and anticipation for the future.

Two days before school started my husband was laid off. HUGE BLOW!!!! I seriously questioned going back to school. My dearest friends, Heather and Wade, encouraged me to continue, so I did. This was a whole new level of difficulty for me. Not only was my class load difficult, Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Human Genetics, clinical hours, and a PE class for that one credit I still needed, we were losing everything we had. We were in a small town, there was nothing for employment. We had to make some major life decisions.

I continued to go to school. We lost our heater in the onslaught of winter. Snow and ice and chopping wood daily to heat the house. My children were distraught. We were leaving the only life they could remember. We had built our life in Oregon. Our friends had become our family. I continued to go to school. My husband left the area to find a job. I was a single mother. I continued to go to school.

On the last day of my final exams, I went home and packed up my house. This was December 13th, the anniversary of my father's death. We decided to move back to Houston. If we were going to be poor, we wanted to be in the warmth and have the moral support of family. We left Oregon on December 21st and arrived in Houston with two kids, a dog, a cat, two cars, and a VERY LARGE moving truck on Christmas day. I will never forget that Christmas eve, driving through the middle of Texas, oil d.......,sorry, can't remember what they are called, moving up and down in rhythmic time,children sleeping in the back seat, staring at the back of the U-Haul truck for miles upon miles, and listening to "It's a Wonderful Life" on the radio. Isn't that irony????

Thanks to an angel, we had a place to stay for six months while we got back on our feet. I continued to go to school. I transferred to the local community college, and continued on my path to becoming a nurse. I finished my semester, took summer classes and was prepared to go to Prarie View A & M University. I had been accepted there. For those who do not know, this is a predominately African American university, that I am not!! No matter, I was working toward my goal. Two days before school started, yet again, I was told by the Nursing program that they would not accept me due to my grades from my first attempt at college, 15 years ago!!! I am a national Cum Laude student, I was confused. I have since solved the puzzle but will let you figure it out on your own. So, again I am back at the community college. Waiting to get into a nursing program.

Where there is a will, there is a way!!!! My desire is not to make large sums of money, although admittedly it is a nice bonus. I want to me a trauma nurse, maybe even a helicopter nurse. I have a passion for those who cannot receive health care. I want to go to Africa, India, El Salvador, etc... with Doctors Without Borders to help people who do not have access to health care. I am passionate for people here in our own country who do not have access to health care. I am following my heart, and am still holding on to my hopes and dreams that they will come true. I apologize for the length of my first blog but it was the genesis. They won't be so long in the future. Thanks for reading! Take care of each other, let the little things go. There are far worse things in the world to get upset about. Love!!!! <3