7 hours turns into 30 hours

I arrived at the Portland Airport on Sunday at 4:30am PST. My flight left at 6:05am. I had to fly standby and they told me it didn't look good. In the mean time I prayed and prayed, and then wondered, is it OK that I pray that someone sleeps in or misses their flight. Well at 6am I got the go ahead to go on the flight...a few people had missed their flight. Then I flew to Phoenix. That flight was no problem getting on and my third and final leg was looking good with plenty of open seats.

That is when the weather hit. Tornado's in Colorado, flooding elsewhere, and thunderstorms across the middle of the country. When I arrived in Baltimore I found out that my flight was hopeless. With weather delays and cancellations my flight was now overbooked and I had to sleep overnight in the Baltimore airport.

The nice lady at Southwest airlines gave me a blanket and pillow which made the night bearable, but it was still not my favorite night of sleep. Some guy was moving chairs all over the place up on the upper level food court, people were vacuuming and in general the floor and the chairs were not very comfortable. After enduring that night I got onto the morning flight with no problems. Once I arrived in NY, I spent the rest of the time on buses and trains until I finally made it home. Home never looked so good. Needless to say Faith was just a little excited to see me. She couldn't contain herself. She just kept running in circles, laying on her back for a belly rub, and then jumping up trying to lick me.

Vacation back to Oregon

The past week and a half I spent in California and Oregon. First I spent 3 days with my aunt and uncle in the bay area. They had their twin grand daughters there which made for a lively week. The girls quickly decided I was the hairstylest and their questions were never ending. "What are you doing, why are you doing that, How does that work...." Even the simplest thing of brushing my teeth got questions. They were a lot of fun. The weather was 103 or so most days. Compared to the East coast humidity this was wonderful. I spent a few days in the outdoor pool working out which was refreshing.

Then I was off to Portland, Oregon where I drove all over Oregon seeing friends. I got to spend 2 days with my best friend Robyn and her family. Robyn and I went out without the kids, Rob watched them. As we were out, Robyn couldn't think of what to do with her kids free hours. We ended up eating at Red Robyn, our favorite place, shopping and sitting in the car as we read our new books. Such exciting girls we are.

The rest of the week I spent bumping around between friends, trying to see everyone. It was great to see old friends and relax. It also affirmed that my life is here in NJ now. How crazy is that. I don't like the place as much as I like Oregon, and I miss my friends, but my life in NJ is where it is supppose to be. I am growing in my relationship with God, I have a great church, Work is good and life is peaceful.

God is good and provides each step of the way even on my trip I saw it.

Sunday in Portland

My first full day in Portland. I got up early for Portlanders but for me it was sleeping in. Since I have been on the west coast I have been waking up at around 3:30-4;30am. Early by West coast standards but sleeping in by my standards of waking up at 5am (2am PST). I got up and went to my old church. It was so nice being back somewhere familiar and seeing old friends. As always the message from the Pastor was exactly what I needed to hear at that time.

After church I went with my friend and running partner, Julie, and her family to Panera Bread and hiking. Panera bread is this great bread place. If you like bread you will love Panera Bread. Following that we took her dog Lucy, 2 and 5 year old son and daughter as well as her husband hiking at Tryon creek State Park. This is a beautiful tree enclosed park with tons of trails, streams and places to explore right inside the city limits.

Vacation

After working over 5 weeks worth of overtime in the past 4 1/2 months and the prospect of a grueling future year with nursing school ahead, I chose to take a short break. I flew to Oakland on Tuesday and spent a few days with my aunt and Uncle. I then flew to Portland where I will spend 7 days visiting my mom and some good friends.

My roommate gets the priveledge of watching Faith (my dog) while I am gone. However, Audrey was gone for 4 days so my brothers took on the task.



Sean texted me over the couple days telling me that he had her out chasing cars, had her tied to a telephone pole for the day, another picture was sent to me showing an empty telephone pole. All this and I am confidant that she was never neglected.

Jimmy even jumped on board, allowing her to stay at his apartment with him. He even let her up on the couch with him. So though my brothers tried to make me think she was lonely, neglected and lost, I know that she was well taken care of and even spoiled.

Work work Work

A few weekends ago had been a rough one at work. We were short handed and I had 14 patients. 4 of them were dying, 4 incntinent patients who needed to be changed every 30min. I spent the days running nonstop and was exhausted by the end. 2 of my patients died, 1 went to hospice (where they will be kept comfortable till they die), and another went to ICU. This was my hardest weekend since I began. As tired as I was I walked away knowing I was in the right place and that God had given me the gift and desire to do this job. A great thing in light of the fact Nursing school is possibly on the horizon. I feel as though I have found my calling. I have always been a caregiver but to care for people at their lowest point is where I thrive.

This past week, I worked 72 hours in 6 days. The hospital census has been low so we have been having staff pulled. Our floor has been only 1 patient below the point where they pull so losing a staff member has been tough. It was an exhausting week but then I got to go on vacation so I can't complain.

I have decided that if Nursing school works out then I will try to work 20 hours a week. I will try it for a month and if it is too much then I will drop work. Doing this will maintain my benefits and help with expenses.