Monday, May 31, 2010

things like this happen to me.

This weekend, Bob and I stole away on an impromptu trip to the nearby Wisconsin Dells, Waterpark Capital of the World.  And it was a ton of fun.  Minus the getting stuck on a water slide moment.

This is the Scorpion's Tail ride at Noah's Ark Water Park.


At ten-stories high, it is a little intimidating.  The scariest part is the beginning, when the trap door you are standing on drops out from under you, and you begin barreling down the tube.  Supposedly you are supposed to go fast enough that you zip around the loop upside down.

But I'm brave, so I do it.  I stand on the trap door, let it drop from under me, and zip down the tube in a near vertical position.  I start the curve around the big loop and......

Suddenly, I'm not moving anymore.  I open my eyes which have previously been sealed tight, and find I am still in the tube.  I'm not in the happy little pool at the bottom of the slide.  I am still in the tube and I am not moving.

Slight panic sets in.  I look forward, and can see the peak of the slide just a few feet in front of my feet.  I look back, and see the slide curve downward to where I had just been.  I next envision Bob, who was behind me in line, barreling down at light speed and crashing into me in this tiny space, killiing me instantly.  Later I found out that he is still at the top of the slide, yelling, "She's stuck in there!  She's stuck in there! What have you done to my wife?!" I think this is when I started yelling for help and hitting the side of the tube, all the while thinking they can't hear me and they don't know I'm here.  I try to push myself forward, over the tipping point of the ride, so I would get out of there.  But my feet are above the level of my head, and with the stream of water gushing around me, I can't push myself that way.  So I figure, I have to go backwards, because I'm sure as heck not staying here.  All of this took about 15 seconds, which is, in other words, eternity.

So backwards I go, landing in the curve where the slide first makes an upstroke.  I start hitting the tube again, hoping to be heard, and all of a sudden, a magical trap door opens above my head, and I can see the blessed blue sky once again.  I stand up, step out on the staircase that is there, and am escorted by two members of the staff to safety.

And that was the time I got stuck in the water slide.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Glimpses of Family

Skyping after labor....


Discovering new life...

Laughter all around...

The little peanut...


So thirsty...

Wondering what all the fuss is about....

When the niece and nephew come over to play

We have fun.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Graduation 2010

On May 7th, I mastered science.

Ok, not really, I just earned my master of science degree.

It took me four years from the time I started.  I drove over 5,000 miles this year alone to clinical.  I've seen hundreds of patients.  I have 5-6 weeks of clinical left, then I officially will be done with this chapter of student life. For the first time in my life, I won't be in school.  And I am pumped about it.

In fact, today I also accepted my first job as a nurse practitioner.  In July, I will begin work with the Trauma, Critical Care, and General Surgery service, still at the Mayo Clinic.  In particular, I will be working in the general surgery part of that team, managing (i.e. labs, tests, meds, admissions, dismissals, wound care, teaching) patients in the hospital after surgery.  It will also include some outpatient follow-up when folks check back in after they have gone home.  I spent the day with the team last week and was encouraged by what I saw.  I think I'm going to really enjoy it.  Not what I saw myself doing, for sure, but am happy with my choice.

The thing I'm looking forward to the most about the job: having a normal schedule.  Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm, no weekends/holidays/overnights/call.  Incredible after four years of missing evening events, important holidays, Sunday lunch, and the like. And I can still walk to work in 5 minutes.

Second best thing I'm looking forward to: continuing to wear scrubs for work.  No need to buy an expensive business attire wardrobe!  I get to wear scrubs and lab coats supplied and washed by the hospital.  I love professional pjs. 

Thanks to the Blanshans for throwing a celebration reception for me!  Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and gifts!  I couldn't have done it without you! 

Trip to TN

I'm terribly behind on posting.  Here is my best shot to catch up to speed....


I went to TN for two weeks.  It made me happy to be there. 
You see, home is where the waitress wears overalls and asks if I want "lemon with my cat" when I order a plate of fried catfish.  It's where every soft drink is called Coke, and pop is what a weasel does, not something you drink.  It's where you walk into the church and the staff knows you and has been waiting for you to come and talk with them for hours.  It's where people bring food every few nights 'cause they know your momma is sick. 
It's where little cousins come to play with the very life-like turkey decoy.  It's where the hummingbirds drink sugar water and golden finches eat seed.  It's where teachers proudly wear purple on April 21st for your mom and give hundreds of homemade birthday cards from the students. It's where you stay up till 2am with your bestest after watching twenty people over the age of fifty free jam some bluegrass.  It's where the oncologist says healing is up the good Lord and not her.  It's where you meet your aunt and uncle in the parking lot of a grocercy store to give you a container homemade pimento cheese and where homemade peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream are staples. 

You see, it's just home.