LIFE AND STUFF

I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster ride this past month. Life changes so fast and causes a domino effect that can’t be controlled. Sometimes you just have to hang on tight and go along for the ride.

As all of you know, I lost my grandmother on October 15th. Her name was Doris Chapman aka Magranny. She was truly an amazing person. So much so, that it is hard for me to even describe her. She had been sick for about 5 years and it was time for her to go to a better place.

She died peacefully with 7 of us surrounding her bed. I won’t post the details, but I will say that we witnessed a miraculous event. We saw God take one of his children home. We knew that she was young again, and with those that have passed before us. It was a true honor to be with her when she left this earth. And, I know without a doubt, that she knew we were there.

Please continue to pray for my grandfather as he finds his way without her. He is full of life and loves to laugh. It will just take him some time to get into a new rhythm. They used to like to get a Frosty from Wendy’s every Saturday night. :-)

After the funeral, I came home and took my last series of tests and got ready for my pinning ceremony. I graduated from nursing school! I took a huge leap of faith by leaving my career, dealt with hours upon hours of driving, no sleep, tests, and presentations. But, I finished! I still don’t think it has hit me yet.

I have been job hunting. I’ve gotten used to this phrase, “No new grads.” I will keep applying until I find something though. I also want to continue my education. I know, I know! But, I do! I want to work full-time and go to school part-time. My mind is made up. I want to get my Master’s and maybe even my PhD. But, I will have to do it slowly as work will be my priority.

The pinning ceremony itself went great. My parents, Aunt Regina, Will, Kelli, Kaitlyn, and Hannah were there to watch it. Chris stayed home with Emily, because we were asked not to bring babies. I still got to take some pictures with her when I got home though. She will get to look back at them one day and know she was here when I graduated.

The ceremony itself was beautiful, but very fast. I compared it to my wedding day. So much planning and then…BAM....over in an instant. I made some great friends in nursing school and I hope that we will stay in touch. Here I am with Mrs. Revis, the instructor that pinned me. She was also my very first clinical instructor.

And here is a picture of the much anticipated pin itself.

My family thought the hat I had to wear was funny. So, guess what? They all got to wear it!

We went out to eat after the ceremony and had a great time. Will surprised me with this cake. It was strawberry shortcake. My absolute favorite.

It has been strange to not have an agenda. Today, I have washed enough clothes to last a lifetime. But, the difference was that I did it without having to worry about schoolwork in the back of my mind.

I still have to take the NCLEX exam to get my license. The school said it will take a week or more to endorse us and then we will have to pick a test date based on the board’s schedule. When I do find out the date, it will be a secret. That will take some of the pressure off of me. I will let you know about it after the fact.

It’s so hard to apply for jobs and not have a license yet. Most everyone wants online applications and when they ask for your RN license number, I have nothing to put there. However, I have been able to put in a lot of applications and now just hope someone calls me for an interview. I guess they are used to new grads telling them that they don’t have a test date yet. A friend of mine, who works at a hospital, told me they will hire with a status of “pending licensure”. That sounds good to me. At this point, I just need to know that I am going to have a job.

The flu clinic that I was working for is out of seasonal vaccine and they aren’t sure if they will get any of the H1N1 vaccine so I haven’t been able to get any hours there. I am hoping that will change soon. Otherwise, Nurse Vandervort just might have to work at Cracker Barrel…again. Don't think I wont make them put RN on my name badge though! Ha, ha!