Let's Go Fly A Kite...

It's been a long past 6 weeks. I finally wrapped up my urgent care clinical rotation week. I loved it except for being away from the kids for 14 hours at a time (aka not seeing them on the days I worked). If they knew in advance I would be gone the next day they would wake in the night demanding snuggles. This is charming but at 4:00 am it's tough especially knowing I'd have to be awake very soon which meant I usually did not fall back asleep. It was such an incredible learning experience as exhausting as it was. I learned some valuable skills that will be useful not only in my career but also in caring for my family, particularly in emergent situations. 

I cannot say enough about my preceptor. She has 17 years of experience and has the ability to remain calm and patient in tense and frustrating situations. Remember what I said about how I was having a tough time connecting with her at first? It turns out we are totally kindred spirits. I also thought I was probably one of her average students, too, although, she would compliment me on my sewing skills. She gave me my evaluation on Friday and it was perfect. I told her I did not feel it was deserved in that some of my assessments are still a bit shaky particularly in the realm of dermatology. She said rarely does she give all excellent ratings but felt it was deserved. I was honored by her words because she is not one to offer compliments unless merited. With dermatology it just takes time and seeing a lot of different rashes and other skin issues - this is something one cannot gain without experience. I am glad to have had this experience. As much as I dreaded the hours and commute, 40+ patients in a day kept my mind off missing the kiddos so much.


With all that behind me, I move onto my final clinical rotation - asthma and allergy. I have 101 hours to complete there before graduation in 40 days. I absolutely have to impress and be at the top of my game there. This is where I am hoping to hang my NP hat and practice. I have quite a bit of experience here but not as a nurse practitioner. It will be a steep learning curve but I think my last rotation prepared me for this at least in part. This is something I'm really passionate about having dealt with a young child with asthma and severe food allergy.


The past 6 weeks have left all of us a little stressed and on edge. Today I could not figure out what was wrong with me. I was just grumpy for no apparent reason. I have not had much in the way of stress relief. I usually try to work on some crocheting or sewing to burn off steam and I've done great at keeping up on my work outs, but nothing was working today. T Rex Dad declared he was taking the kids to the park to fly kites and I had strict orders to stay home and relax. He would call and let me know when they were headed home.


He and the kids left for 2 hours. I cannot even remember the last time I was home alone. Maybe before Lil Sis was born? T Rex Dad has taken the kids while I stayed home working on projects with family or friends like cookie baking or soap making but staying home to do nothing - what's that? Well, I experienced it tonight and it was heavenly. I finished up a cute little crochet bunny for T Rex and started on Lil Sister's, too. Then a long, very hot bath. There was no hurrying, no rushing, and no multitasking. They called when they were a few minutes out, I put the pizza in the oven, and when the kids arrived home I was calm, collected, happy and refreshed. I guess the stress finally caught up with me. How fortunate I feel to have a husband who recognized the signs and symptoms and offered an intervention. I guess I was so busy taking care of others I needed to slow down and take care of myself.


So where did they go for 2 hours? A Sunday drive up to the lake and back in a rain storm followed by some kite flying at the school. It was Lil Sister's first kite experience. I was so glad T Rex Dad took plenty of photos so I could see her excitement. I'll post additional photos on each of the kids' blogs, too. Here are some from their outing - there were several great ones so I picked my favorites (there are still about 8):

 

 

 

 

Here's to more kite flying and less stress...