So Jim is home, and my mood has definitely improved. After a crazy week of him prepping for his trip to Nicaragua and then him being gone and me playing the single parent role for a week, it is so good to have him home!
He got back late Saturday night, Em and I picked him up from the airport. I recognized his backpack from the other side of the baggage claim area as we were walking in and so did Em, she bolted, ran across the baggage claim area and tackled him. The group Jim was traveling with thought that was quite a welcome home greeting. She missed her Papa no doubt!
So we've been just catching up, letting him try to get some rest, and talking about his experiences from the trip. He took over 600 photos in the 8 days he was gone. From hiking a volcano to spending a day on a private beach on the Pacific side of Nicaragua, he had some gorgeous shots of the local landscape. Also several days of more health care related things, visiting a local orphanage and working on PT with the kids who were physically and mentally handicapped. He spent a day in the local woman's hospital and helped care for new babies, post-partum moms and high-risk pregnancies. The pictures of the kids are just amazing, from babies to toddlers to school-agers their eyes are just so gorgeous. You just want to scoop them up through the photos and smooch them. Gorgeous kids who are so happy with so little. We sent a backpack stuffed with toys and goodies that Jim took to the after school program that the organization runs and Jim said it just about caused a riot the kids were so excited. The backpack went to a child that had just received a scholarship to attend 7th grade. The government only offers education through the 6th grade and then it's only from 9 until 12 noon each day. So going to school beyond that is a huge privilege for them.
Jim finally got around to listening to his missed voice mails on his cell on Sunday evening and found he had 2 from the nurse manager of the surgical ICU at the hospital he currently works in, wanting him to come in and interview for an RN position. That was a FABulous way to wrap up the weekend!
Showing posts with label Nicaragua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicaragua. Show all posts
Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Post Weekend Let Down
I am definitely feeling down today and all I can chalk it up to is that the past weekend was so full of excitement and fun that there was nowhere to go but down. Kind of like the day after Christmas when you were a kid.
So Jim's pinning was Friday evening, Graduation was Saturday afternoon and then my niece's graduation from college was Sunday morning with a party in the afternoon for both her and Jim. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but so good to get to see so many family and friends and celebrate! Jim graduated with honors, Cum Laude, and as part of Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society of Nursing. I am so proud of him!
On Saturday evening we drove to Dayton (about an hour from where we were in Columbus) so we would be there and ready for my niece's graduation from my alma mater on Sunday morning. I LOVE being back on campus, the University of Dayton is such a beautiful place, especially in the spring. After the party I convinced Jim and Em that we need to drive by campus on the way back to Columbus and walk around to see all the changes that had happened in the last year. UD graduation is in their arena which isn't on campus so we had to make a trip specifically to walk around. We stopped at the book store and get Emily a t-shirt, then found they'd installed a new fountain on campus, the kind perfect for a little kid to take their shoes off and run around in on a hot day. It was 84 and gorgeous out so we spent a half hour just letting her play and enjoying a mental break after such a hectic weekend before we headed home.
Today it's back to the grind of work and school. Jim is working 4 days in a row this week to make up for having to take next week off for his trip to Nicaragua. He works 2nd shift so that means we'll be sleeping in the same bed but never up when the other is. Hate weeks like that.
On a happier note, here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend.
So Jim's pinning was Friday evening, Graduation was Saturday afternoon and then my niece's graduation from college was Sunday morning with a party in the afternoon for both her and Jim. It was a whirlwind of a weekend but so good to get to see so many family and friends and celebrate! Jim graduated with honors, Cum Laude, and as part of Sigma Theta Tau, the National Honor Society of Nursing. I am so proud of him!
On Saturday evening we drove to Dayton (about an hour from where we were in Columbus) so we would be there and ready for my niece's graduation from my alma mater on Sunday morning. I LOVE being back on campus, the University of Dayton is such a beautiful place, especially in the spring. After the party I convinced Jim and Em that we need to drive by campus on the way back to Columbus and walk around to see all the changes that had happened in the last year. UD graduation is in their arena which isn't on campus so we had to make a trip specifically to walk around. We stopped at the book store and get Emily a t-shirt, then found they'd installed a new fountain on campus, the kind perfect for a little kid to take their shoes off and run around in on a hot day. It was 84 and gorgeous out so we spent a half hour just letting her play and enjoying a mental break after such a hectic weekend before we headed home.
Today it's back to the grind of work and school. Jim is working 4 days in a row this week to make up for having to take next week off for his trip to Nicaragua. He works 2nd shift so that means we'll be sleeping in the same bed but never up when the other is. Hate weeks like that.
On a happier note, here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Time to renew that passport.
Unfortunately, it's not for me. It's for Joe. We decided last night that he's going to go on a week long medical mission trip with his nursing school and the University of Cincinnati medical school to Nicaragua. They're traveling over spring break, the last week in February into the beginning of March. He'll be done with classes by then (yeehaw!) since he only has to take one clinical that lasts 8 weeks during the spring semester.
He came home and told me that his Public Health professor did a presentation on the trip yesterday and that even though he couldn't go he wanted to figure out how he could contribute. So we were talking about what the needs were and figuring out what we could purchase (clothing, books etc) to send along to the families there. And then we just realized what an amazing opportunity this was for so many reasons. Travel to a new area, putting his nursing skills to the test in a rural environments without the normal supplies, having a chance to really help families one on one and educate them about health care. All things he is passionate about. I've jokingly nicknamed him MacGyver Nurse because he can rig medical equipment out of nothing and has developed that reputation in pretty much all of the clinical settings he's worked in. If they need a certain piece of equipment to do a job and it's either slow to come up from supply or doesn't exist, Joe can figure out a way to make it out of the supplies on hand.
So we're considering it his graduation gift. It really will be pretty inexpensive, they have to pay for their flight (about $300) and then it costs $260 to cover meals, lodging and expenses for the week. He showed me this video about the organization that they're working with on the trip. The scenery looks amazing. The last day of the trip they'll take some time to go hike a volcano. How cool is that?! Here's the video he showed me last night:
I really am so excited for him. So many good things are happening. Completing his BSN and then getting to go out and really use his skills for people in need is a great way to wrap up these last 4 years for him. Now I have to figure out how to stop being terrified about him traveling to a South American country and the possibility being kidnapped, robbed, held indefinitely by a rebel army.... :0
He came home and told me that his Public Health professor did a presentation on the trip yesterday and that even though he couldn't go he wanted to figure out how he could contribute. So we were talking about what the needs were and figuring out what we could purchase (clothing, books etc) to send along to the families there. And then we just realized what an amazing opportunity this was for so many reasons. Travel to a new area, putting his nursing skills to the test in a rural environments without the normal supplies, having a chance to really help families one on one and educate them about health care. All things he is passionate about. I've jokingly nicknamed him MacGyver Nurse because he can rig medical equipment out of nothing and has developed that reputation in pretty much all of the clinical settings he's worked in. If they need a certain piece of equipment to do a job and it's either slow to come up from supply or doesn't exist, Joe can figure out a way to make it out of the supplies on hand.
So we're considering it his graduation gift. It really will be pretty inexpensive, they have to pay for their flight (about $300) and then it costs $260 to cover meals, lodging and expenses for the week. He showed me this video about the organization that they're working with on the trip. The scenery looks amazing. The last day of the trip they'll take some time to go hike a volcano. How cool is that?! Here's the video he showed me last night:
I really am so excited for him. So many good things are happening. Completing his BSN and then getting to go out and really use his skills for people in need is a great way to wrap up these last 4 years for him. Now I have to figure out how to stop being terrified about him traveling to a South American country and the possibility being kidnapped, robbed, held indefinitely by a rebel army.... :0
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