Back to School!

Today… some about my husband, we'll call him "Joe".

Joe is in his final year of completing his BSN (Bachelor's of Science, Nursing). He took a full course load this summer to get ahead and will (fingers crossed) be finished in March. Then he will work as an RN for a while before he starts the next chapter in this journey… apply to the graduate program and get a double Master's as a Nurse Practitioner and Nurse Educator. Ambitious much? Yes, Joe has some serious drive. This is a man who back in the days before he went back to college for this new career would create projects around the house to keep himself busy every moment of the day, even after working a 60hr work week. "Down Time" is a dirty word to him. I am in awe, and sometimes annoyed, as I am exactly the opposite. Oh, I should also mention he has a degree in marketing and worked for 12 years at the mgt level. He was extremely successful in the business world. The career switch was to make a change to a career that was more personally fulfilling and in line with his beliefs and desire to serve others.

For his senior year he got the coveted clinical rotation of the ER. Only 5 students out of his class of 150 or so were assigned to the ER. He definitely excels in his studies and it doesn't hurt that he has a pretty tight relationship with the Assistant Dean of the College. So in addition to his full course load and working 2 shifts a week in the hospital he is putting in 2 12-hr shifts in the ER each week for his clinical rotation. Yesterday was his first shift in the ER. He had one pretty exciting case that he assisted with (chain saw injury to the leg, ick) and he came home exhausted but I could tell he was just LOVING what he was doing. He was in the thick of trauma, making quick decisions on the fly, exactly what he was hoping for when he started this process over 3 years ago.

So, surely more interesting stories will come from his clinicals this semester. But for now it's just so great to see him excited about what he's doing. Talk to me in 6 weeks though after I've been basically a single parent for that amount of time and we'll see if the honeymoon stage we go through at the start of every semester is still there.

Little One, as I will call our daughter, starts 2nd grade next Wed., and was super irritated that Daddy got to go back to school before her. The girl LOVES school. In fact, her playroom is basically a mock classroom where she is the teacher and her stuffed animals and dolls are the students. Most Saturdays she puts on her "fancy" clothes first thing in the morning, packs her lunch (no joke) and heads off to teach school in her playroom. Little One can keep herself occupied with this for HOURS!

That's enough info overload for one post I guess! I'll get to myself eventually but honestly find the two of them way more interesting than myself. :)