Another Milestone

Where does the time go. This is what Em used to ride around in. As of Saturday she has become a licensed driver, that was one of my goals for her. She needed a lot of pushing to go through driver’s ed. She had been very nervous, but now is very proud of herself and naturally wants her own car. We’re in no hurry for that one.

 

 

To the right is one of her senior shots. They sure do grow up. Right now the biggest thing is the college search, visits and applications. I think we’ll all be relieved when we know where she’s going and how much it will cost.

Derek spent much of his summer practicing the marimba’s. He’s become very skilled and passionate about this particular instrument. On one of the days he was practicing he was overheard by a department head which led to a personal invitation to marching band which he accepted, but he had his sights set on a much larger target, The Wind Ensemble. This is the premier group at school and very difficult to get into. Long story short he aced his audition and has joined the elite group. Looks like we’ll be purchasing a tuxedo for him in the very near future.

Mark and Greg eagerly have been planning for a get-away weekend to Maine so they can hit the trails together. Last weekend they couldn’t go because it was Em’s road test plus it rained. They’re hoping for this weekend.

Since around March of last year I’ve been able to get 2-3 days of work a week due to staffing issues. There is less time available now as new staffers have completed training, vacations are completed and one person came back from a medical leave. I have one day this week and next week and nothing the week after. The time only comes out a few weeks at a time so I don’t know what may be after that. With college for two getting closer and closer I’ve had to rethink my plan. The one perk of working for a large company is there are units all over. For those that don’t know I have been doing dialysis for almost 30 years and all but one of those years in my current unit, but the times they are a changing. This morning I called another unit that is not too far from home to see if my services could be used. Much to my surprise the clinical manager asked if I could work on Wednesday. I was really taken aback as I expected to have a visit, meet the clinical manager, get a tour of the unit and have answered a list of questions I’ve prepared. She was aware of me because another nurse I’ve worked with for years mentioned I was looking. My coworker has a different job and covers several units so she was an excellent resource. I guess her recommendation was good enough so Wednesday I’ll be showing up at 5:30 a.m. and agreed to work until 11 a.m. I feel a bit like being tossed into the fire but it’s pretty much been that way as far as my career goes. I tend to figure things out as I go.

Wednesday will be my test run and we’ll see if more will be in my future if they like me and I like them. I’m not ready for full time work at this juncture due to my little computer business and managing the home front, that may change once we have two kids in college. That’s another reason I wanted to venture into the deep end and decided to see what else was out there. I thought it would be easier and wiser to have things in place now while it’s not as critical as it may become. I would like to remain per diem because it gives me control of my schedule. There are two other units besides my main one giving me four possible units that are all within the same distance from our home. I feel very fortunate.