I miss the simplicity of Kuwait. I miss my routine there. I miss all the time in the world to work out and visit with friends. I miss not having to worry about bills, cleaning, all the projects and collaterals around the hospital. I miss my friends from Kuwait.
On the other hand, I have started to get back in the swing of the busy life back here in DC. Today, I went to church, met up with Andrew for lunch at the mall with his kiddos and then went shopping. After this, I'm going to sit down to write my mission statement for the online college I'm applying for and will spread the word of our storytelling project on facebook and myspace. I did my taxes. I've fixed up my apartment. I've been attending meetings at work and I'm finishing up orientation on a new floor. I started a cystic fibrosis walk team for May. I'm set for my surgery in April. I've started playing around with ideas for the nursing slideshow for May. I also manage to have a life and go on a date or meet up with friends downtown. Life is busy, but good.
My main goal for the Navy. I want a ship. I want to be on a carrier. I've been watching "Carrier", which was a reality show from PBS following the crew of the Nimitz a few years ago. I want to feel like I'm in the Navy. In order to do this I need to be an OR or ICU nurse, really. Maybe ER possibly. I'm trying to work my way into the ICU. I really wish I could have extended here in order to have the time to transfer to Bethesda's ICU. It would have been such a great learning experience. They are a busy unit and I would have seen ALL kinds of things. But, no. The Navy needed me in the APU (ambulatory procedure unit). That was the last place I ever thought they would place me. It's the furthest thing from bedside nursing or the ICU. I'm still a little burned on how the process worked and that I wasn't involved AT ALL on the decision to transfer to a new floor. I wanted to stay on 5 center, since I couldn't move to the unit. Well, then I'm a few weeks from coming home and they tell me I'm going to the APU. wow. That was a shock. I'll roll with it because it's temporary, but I hope that my command will understand and let me take classes or "shadow" in the ICU if possible. I want to go to Jacksonville being able to say that I've done all I can to try and progress into a critical care setting. I signed up for a wound and ostomy course and I hope I will actually be able to go with our schedule being so tight.
I made a meeting with one of our senior LT's the other day to sit down and pick his brain on how to get where I want to go. I'm going to try it. I'm trying to keep my eyes out for classes and opportunities to get some experience where I really want to be. I haven't picked up my stethoscope since I got to the APU. You just don't really use it. A quick focused assessment and sending people out the door with paperwork. It's important and I try really hard to do good teaching, but still. All the nurses on our floor, besides 1 or 2 are just looking to transition out and become a housewife. I don't belong there.
I know in the end that the reason I joined the service was to give up part of my life to go where they needed me. Makes me think of when Jonas avoided God's call to go spread the word and he got eaten by the whale. I'm hoping to avoid being eaten. :)
As John Michael Montgomery said, "Life's a dance. You learn as you go. Sometimes you lead. Sometimes you follow."
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