I’ve decided to take a class to become IV certified in the hopes of landing a part time job administering intravenous fluids to people usually in the comfort of their own home. Those are the job descriptions I’ve seen thus far on various job boards. It sounds interesting and something I would enjoy doing. I’m not looking to leave the my job here at the school, I love what I’m doing here. I’m hoping for a part time gig maybe on the weekends but not every weekend. Yes I’m picky.

I’m also looking into maybe…maybe…maybe learning how to do cosmetic injections for example Botox to name the most common. There are many other cosmetic injectables I don’t know them all off hand. I’ve looked into becoming certified in that area of nursing as well. But…most employers require so many years of experience performing that type of work. So it becomes a merry go ‘round of you need experience but no one will hire you because you don’t have experience. We shall see. I’m thinking the fall would be good timing for the training.

As of this moment, what’s next is having a few days off and then summer session begins. I really don’t mind working summer. My school is a 12 month program so we go year round. Summer session is 6 weeks and then we are off almost 3 weeks before school begins in September. Summer is a little different than the regular school year. The people who do work want to be here. And there are staff from other sites who will work at my school for the summer that you’re able to meet and that is always a plus. nice.

I’m on the ferry right now, taking the 7 am boat to meet a women in uptown Manhattan to buy a bag. Crazy huh? But not just any bag; a Louis Vuitton bag. Yeah there it is. It’s a “Speedy” or doctors bag. In a size and monogram that I don’t have. Those that know me know I am a bag whore. I’ve posted about this issue before. I’ve managed to score at the thrift store nice designer bags and sell them to fund my next personal acquisition. That’s not to say I sell all my thrift finds, there’s quite a few I won’t part with. Well, not right away. Never say never.

There are bags that Tommy has bought me that I couldn’t part with. Especially my “I quit smoking bag”. It’s a Louis Vuitton. Tommy challenged me at the end of the school year about 10 years ago. He said, “I’ll buy you a Louis Vuitton bag if you quit smoking!” I was like “You’re on!” I quit cold turkey and the first 3 days are the worst, that’s how long it takes the nicotine to leave your system. I had pretty bad anxiety so I cleaned: A lot. I cleaned out closets, parts of the attic, cabinets…Thomas thought all the cleaning was great! He was a big help taking garbage bags outside and getting me new ones. I don’t remember much else about that time oddly enough. No wait I wanted to crawl out of my skin and be someone else while feeling like that. I also remember feeling strong that I could beat cigarettes, I wasn’t going to let it break me. Plus if I slipped up I’d have to start those three days of detox over again, no thank you.

So I quit all those years ago and never looked back. I’m glad Tommy threw that challenge at me. I don’t know if I would have quit on my own, I enjoyed smoking. But that’s over now. I’m on the 6 train now going uptown to see a woman about her Louis. Let’s hope it’s all it should be and more.

Our middle daughter Daniella (Lelly) has graduated with her bachelors degree from FIT. Not only is she finished but she finished a semester early, she’s only 21 years old. We are so very proud of her. I’m not surprised Lelly finished college quickly. Not much about this child of mine was on the slow side. When I was in labor with her I remember the contractions were so intense and I had to walk from the elevator to the birthing suite. The walk seemed to get longer with every step. When I finally reached the birthing suite the midwife told me to get on the bed so she could check me and I remember having one hand on the bed and felt Lelly descending, I started yelling “She’s coming! She’s coming NOW!!“ and the midwife literally caught my Lelly while I was still standing. Lelly was my smallest baby so we referenced her to a bird. Due to her size. Thomas gave her the nickname Lelly because he couldn’t say Daniella so she was often called “Lelly bird” or simply “the bird”.

Fast forward to Lelly as a toddler about 2-3 years old. She used to think it was a whole lot of fun to run down the street to the corner and give no indication of stopping. So I would be chasing her down the block on a regular basis. It was a relief when she learned to ride her tricycle because she was a bit older and she was taught to stop at the corner. One of my neighbors said she learned to ride a tricycle so she could move even faster than running.

I feel privileged to be blessed with the children I’ve been loaned by our Lord to raise up to adults. All 4 are very different people even though they lived under the same roof and received DNA from the same 2 parents. God saw to it that they are all their own persons. With unique individual gifts and attributes. Wanting to move fast is one of Lelly’s gifts. She didn’t fool around at college she doubled up on credits and simply got the job done…early.

My girl came into this world on her own terms…fast! I have full confidence in her that she will chose the next steps in her life as seriously as she performed in her college life and without hesitation.

Love you my Bird.

Memorial Day weekend. Nice. When we remember those who fought for us and didn’t make it home and we can also thank those who fought and did make it home. I have a friends who fought and did come home and I’m very thankful for their presence.

This weekend we are celebrate with great friends at their lake house in upstate New York. Today the weather is exceptionally good especially after all the rain and cool temps we’ve had. I’m lounging on a beach chair with my friend, Martha on her boat dock/deck. The sun is surprisingly strong. I made sure to purchase sunscreen. It feels so good though. The sun. And listening to the lake lap at the shore. I haven’t gone further than stick my feet in the lake but that’s ok I’m not a big swimmer and there is this wonderful cool breeze that comes and goes so you don’t feel overheated.

A perfect get away for a long weekend. The lake is simply beautiful. Actually this whole area we’re in is beautiful. Lush greenery, mountains off in the distance, ducks swimming in the lake. I love watching the ducks they just go with the flow of the water. There’s a mama and 5 little ones. Just perfect.

The only thing that’s not so perfect are the bugs. On our first morning I opened up the door and there a crapload of moths stuck to the screen door. I was like “ Ahhh!!! Mothra!” For those not familiar with that word it’s from the Godzilla era films. Not cute then, not cute now. I know I should lighten up moths don’t bite as far as I know but still…

So here’s to one more morning of not getting up early, one more night of dinner and drinks with great and generous friends.!

My husband and I met when we were 15 years old. I’ll never forget. Tommy was removing old shoe laces from his sneakers to replace them with new ones. The old ones were all tied in knots and he was burning them off with a lighter. I didn’t know him and asked, “Do you always burn off your shoelaces?” Tommy looked up at me and I remember looking into those green eyes. I was like wow! He answered me back that the old ones were tied in knots, that was the only way to get them off the sneakers. He ended up that September attending the same high school I attended. In the meantime I had dyed my hair blonde and he was looking for me asking around for me. Everyone he asked said yes they knew me; I was a blonde. Poor Tommy kept saying, no, she’s not blonde… she has brown hair. It wasn’t until we met again face to face did he believe that it was really me with blonde hair.

We started off as friends and were pretty much inseparable. We went to concerts together, hung out together with friends. Keg parties. I liked him more than a friend but was afraid that if we dated it would ruin the friendship. Fast forward a couple of years, we were 17 and sure enough we were a couple.

We were married when we were 25 years old. This November will be 28 years married. And Tommy is still my friend. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. He is smart, funny, generous, thoughtful, giving, caring, loving and kind. As time passes I feel like I get to know him better and better that there’s more to learn about him. With our kids almost all grown ( Samantha is turning 16 this August) we are able to spend time together alone and it’s nice. I have to say this is a sweet season in our marriage where I feel I can really appreciate my husband. Not that I didn’t appreciate him before; I always appreciated and respected Tommy but now it feels I do so on a different level. When your children are young everything is about them. Throw a special needs kid in there… what was less about you is even more so. Today I’m thankful for Tommy and the love and patience he’s shown me.

Last week I tested positive for Covid. Of course I was home from work as a result. The first two days all I wanted to do was sleep so off to the basement I went to stay. Our basement is finished so I didn’t feel banned from society or anything. The following 3 days I felt like I had a really bad cold with a touch of flu. Ibuprofen worked well. So after my days of isolation and no longer being symptomatic I was ready to go back to work. Not quite. I had a tooth that abscessed and it was swollen like on the inside of my mouth. I figured my dentist would just change the antibiotic I was on. Nope. The tooth needed to be pulled. Now. So I called a local oral surgeon and the only time they could fit me in was the next morning. Another day off from work. The tooth pulling was not too bad. I was pretty anxious but there really wasn’t any reason to be.

So the next day (Wednesday) I returned to work. I had never been out so long; a week. I received the warmest welcome back ever from the staff. Teachers and paras told me they missed me, I was hugged and received phone calls saying I was missed; I was also told rather sternly “I hope you got that out of your system, you can’t do that again.” I felt so appreciated it was great. You don’t know how much your presence affects others until you’re not there for a while. I did receive texts while I was out and that was so sweet but the in person welcome back was really amazing. And school/work life goes on. Students who require daily care; g tube feeds, staff bringing in students for meds, students who are “walk-ins” to the nursing office with various complaints about how they feel and parents to call. I have no complaints, the past 3 days went well and as expected even though you really need to be able to expect the unexpected at my school.

I’ve been off from work since Good Friday, April 15. It’s been glorious I must say. One of the perks of working for the DOE. We celebrated Easter this past Sunday with a family brunch and that was nice. We didn’t make plans to go away, we never do. I don’t want to be away for the whole week and then jump right back into work you know? Besides I like being home for the week plus how many days. It sounds odd but it’s a good feeling to be able to keep up with laundry, vacuum up after Riley my ever shedding dog and get things done around the house that I put off because I’m working. Plus I’m able to spend time with Lelly and Samantha and my husband after he returns home from work. Samantha is home this week as well.

In a weird way being home is a reminder of when I was a stay at home mom except today I have a lot more freedom. Samantha at 15 doesn’t necessarily “need” me and that’s ok. I don’t miss the days of being totally needed. I don’t miss the days of everyone young. At one point I had 4 kids 10 years old and under. Then as Samantha became a little older I had 4 kids in 4 different schools. Fun times I tell you. I wasn’t unhappy when everyone was younger, it’s just that life was harder then than it is now. I don’t have to explain myself those of you with older children understand and those of you with younger children; well you think these years will last forever. They don’t. I really identify with the saying, “the days are long but the years are short”. With my girls I feel like I turned around and here they are married, turning 21 and soon to be 16. Incredible.

I’ve read somewhere that when you can help someone else through their traumatic experience you have healed from your own trauma. I also believed that if you can tell someone your traumatic story without crying you have healed. I don’t know if any of that is true for sure. There are times I can talk about Thomas being violent with me; which happened 7 years ago; without so many emotions, and there are some times when I speak of that trauma in my life I will become upset at the memories. Its a fine line I would say. However I don’t let that time in my life define me or dictate what direction my life takes.

I’m proud of how I have healed. I’ve proven that I am resilient. Seven years ago I was broken, so broken. But God put me in the hands of a wonderful physician and an equally wonderful therapist. And working with them both set me on an amazing path that helped me to come out of an all encompassing storm.

God has his hands on us all. Even when we don’t feel it. As my wonderful friend Louise once said to me, “I see God’s fingerprints all over you.” That gave me tears of joy because I really needed to hear that and it is such a powerful visual. And God’s hand was really holding me up. He’s still holding me, I’ve surrendered my life to my Savior and I know He’ll never leave or forsake me. And for whatever reason I needed to go through a very tough storm to arrive where I am today. I’m working as an RN, a position I swore up and down that I was finished with. But guess what? God wants me to work as a nurse. I knew this in the past and I realized it fully when those jobs were the only ones that worked out, whether it be the money I was earning or the hours I was slated to work. Both were uncanny in their perfection of how they fit in my life.

No matter what the storm we have to trust in the Lord. He will set you on the right path if you ask him to. Pray for wisdom and direction. He will answer you when you find yourself taking a path you would never have dreamed you would take. God is so good!

I’ve been thrift shopping for about the past 10 years or so. I’ve been a yard sale’r all my life thanks to my family on my Mom’s side. Although if my dad were here he would speak up about his frugal mother and that I also take after her because she was a regular at the thrift store. So I guess you can say thrifting and yard sale-ing is in my blood. When my kids were younger I used to love to put them in the car on a Saturday morning and hit the yard sales. Thomas was the best he loved it. He would always ask what are we going to buy? And I would always answer, “I don’t know… you never know what you’ll find at a yard sale”. And Thomas would agree. It’s one of my favorite memories with him.

So lessons learned at the thrift; what’s yours is meant to be yours. You can’t look at other peoples finds and wish you found something first, it wasn’t meant to be yours to begin with. Keep your eye on your cart! One time at the Sal Val this woman emptied my cart and walked away with it! I was so angry and was looking around when this woman quietly pointed at another woman and there she was with my cart; I knew it was mine because she left a handbag I found in the front seat. I went up to her and said, “You took my cart!“ I was pissed. The woman said oh yes, yes in broken English and gave me back the cart and tried to keep the bag! Unreal! So I said hey, and the bag, that’s my bag! She wasn’t happy about that part but she gave up the bag. So from then on I never take my hand off whatever is holding the stuff I find.

Google is your friend!! If you are not sure something is a good deal; google it (after you put the item in your cart). I’m a self admitted bag whore so I am always on the look out for designer bags and I’ve been quite blessed in my finds. But nothing has been found all at once. There are days I’ve left there without a bag, some days I leave with 2. I’m also a designer denim whore. And again sometimes I find a pair or two, other times not so much.

To thrift you have to have a lot of patience to comb through the racks. The best treasures are usually amongst things you wouldn’t look twice at. But I love thrifting and I love going through rack after rack. My girls say I have this facial expression that’s like, “I’m busy here…no talking..”. Haha. I love the thrill of the hunt and that you truly don’t know what you’ll find. I’ve found Lladro statues, Lenox bowls and vases, the list goes on. But not one group of items were found all at once. You have to decide what you really like, does the item need repair? Is it worth repairing, hemming, gluing, etc? Sometimes the answer is no and you have to leave something really cool behind. Same thing if you find a really cool piece of clothing but totally the wrong size. Too big? You could have it altered, but too small? No.

I wish all my fellow thrifters and yard sale-rs the best finds this spring!!

I work at a school that serves special education students and medically fragile special education students. The majority of the time I see mostly the medically fragile students. There are a large number of students I rarely to never see simply because they don’t need a nurse. One of the private duty nurses asked me recently what I liked most about working here. I had to think for a moment. It’s no secret that I love my job, but what makes me like it here so much? My answer is that even though I have a set schedule of nursing tasks for various students that need to be followed, every day is different. Every time I’m in the office someone different walks in with some sort of need. Sometimes it’s a student, sometimes it’s staff who were roughed up by a student and they need guidance to deal with their wounds.

Every day is the same; but different. The students I provide care for are different day to day. Sometimes they are very quiet and sometimes they are quite loud and very expressive. There are also situations that arise that are totally unexpected and emergent. Not that I like emergency occurrences, but it does get your blood pumping and brain chemicals flowing. You realize you can stay calm and you do know what to do and the staff here is wonderful in taking direction. All your nursing training for that situation comes flooding back like a river and you calmly perform nursing interventions specific for that student in that situation. And emergencies don’t have a time table or wait until it’s a “good” time. They happen when they happen. I’ve had to take care of a student in need at the end of the day, during the middle of PM bussing and everyone is waiting and wanting to go home, on a Friday no less. Everything worked out but I wanted to collapse when it was over.

I’ve decided that if I were to continue my nursing education I would like to go to school to be a Nurse Practitioner. I don’t see me returning to school soon but it’s something I’ve recently thought about.