Into the home stretch

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The thing I am liking most THIS year about Thanksgiving is two whole days off of work and that the end of my first semester of nursing school is coming up fast and furious. I survived! I survived 48 tests, 5 speeches, 8 clinicals, 2 holistic reports, 8 evaluations, 2 simulations, 16 four hour labs, and 12 papers. I worked two jobs, have three kids, a home that is in absolute shambles, financial problems and I made it! I'm dragging myself across the finish line of this first lap a little bruised and beaten but I'm still kicking. Three more laps to go.
I still can't see the other side of the mountain but by the end of next semester, I should and maybe even see myself as a Nurse and not an IT person. It's still a role that feels very very unfamiliar. Nursing school has consumed my life, challenged every fiber of my being mentally, emotionally and physically. Sleep is a foreign concept. Humiliation, frustration, exhaustion, and insecurity are constant companions and Stress...let's talk about stress! Gotta make the grade, can't screw up the clinical or the simulation. BUT, I've learned a lot. I've met some awesome people. I've taken care of some great patients. I showed myself that with all that I have responsibility wise, I can do this ......with copious amounts of sacrifice and hard work. So now I enter the home stretch. One more week of clinicals. One more lab. then finals. Then I enter the second semester, rested, with new reserves, and hopefully ready to tackle the challenges that await.

It's a lot to be thankful for.