Boston winter?

I don't quite feel right calling it winter. Last week it was 60*. It snowed once back in October, but nothing since then. I'm really hoping it snows (and sticks) before I leave this city. I want to walk through Boston Common and see the trees draped in white.

My time in Boston has been interesting. When I first got here, I was feeling pretty low and lonely. There was no pack of travelers to go through orientation with, not many young people working on the unit, and far far from home. Eventually I made a couple friends on the unit that I can hang out with outside of work.

Some hightlights of my time here: Trip to Kennebunkport, ME (even though it was raining), walking the Freedom Trail (multiple times), seeing Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) in a small venue acoustic performance, and a ferry trip to Nantucket with a new friend :)
I'm also looking forward to spending next weekend my good friend Kayla. We've known each other since we were 13 and I love when we can hang out, even if it's only once every year or two.

Next stop: Houston

Have I ever mentioned how AMAZING God is? I was dealing with some job drama and uncertainty this past week and received these wise words from my dad: "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future."
I thought my next assignment was going to be in Seattle, working at the outpatient chemo unit at the VA. I wasn't originally excited about it, but then I realized how much good I could do for veterans. I was looking forward to the job. A couple days after interviewing for that job, a posting was placed for jobs at MD Anderson in Texas, the #1 cancer center in the country, but the jobs weren't for sure. We couldn't be certain about those jobs, so I decided to take the Seattle job. However, when doing the paperwork for the job, I discovered that it required ACLS, which I don't have. During this uncertainty, I received a call for an interview with MD Anderson. I really wanted the Texas job, but was already verbally committed to Seattle. There was a lot of thinking, soul searching, and praying going on. Did I want what was best for me, or what God wanted me to do? Was His challenge in stepping out of my comfort zone and not going to a big name hospital? Was the challenge in sticking with the commitment I'd already made? I decided to fully invest myself into going to Seattle. However, there were no available classes to get ACLS certified. That pretty much closed the door on that job possiblity.

With Seattle a dead end, I was free to accept the position in Texas. There was even some drama with that job. During my interview, I was offered a days only position. However while my background check was still going through, before the official offer came down, the account manager emailed my recruiter to say all the day positions were filled. Then I had to decide if I would take a nights only position to go to this hospital. I prayed about it, and decided that yes, I would take it if I got the offer.  The good news was that I did get a job offer, and the great news is that it's for days only :) Turns out my position had already been set aside when that email went out.
There were definitely a handful of tests in there from God. I am confident that my faith is in Him and He is the one who guides my path. I am truly thankful for His guiding hand, and for His faith in me :)

Boston

I've been in Boston now for 2 months. There's definitely a lot of history here and I've seen some pretty cool things, like the Bunker Hill Monument (which looks like a mini-Washington Monument) and the USS Constitution. I've driven to Maine and New Hampshire, which may seen far, but each was only around 2 hrs to my destination. I've been to Cape Cod. So many things that I never thought I'd do. That's the point of what I do right?
I love seeing new things and places, but it's starting to feel a bit lonely. It may just be this place. Work is okay, but I don't love it. Once again, there's mostly older ladies working there, which is fine and I like them, but it's hard to find people to go out and do things with.
They asked me to stay for another full assignment, which I refused. However I did agree to stay until the end of the year. I made my own timeline, 6 more weeks. I don't so much regret staying at all, but I do regret not saying 5 weeks. Then I could go home for Christmas and not worry about coming back for another week of work. Then I wouldn't once again be driving on New Years Eve. Oh well, I've made my proverbial bed and now I'll lie in.
Last weekend, I went home to the mitten for my cousin's wedding in Grand Rapids. It was so great to see so many family and friends that I haven't seen in a long time. It was hard to come back. This may also be where my melancholy is coming from...

mistakes

I made a mistake. The repercussions hurt a friend of mine. I've apologized and he said 'don't worry about it', but I still feel awful.

We all make mistakes. We're human and sinful. Why is it so much easier to be mad at and/or accepting of other people's mistakes, than it is get passed mistakes of our own?

As always, if you seek answers in God's Word, He'll show you maybe not what you were looking for, but what you need. Opened my little devotional/100 fave Bible verses book seeking some guidance/condolence. "The Hebrew word for sin literally means 'to miss the mark'... When you miss the mark, ask for God's forgiveness, learn from your mistake, and keep moving forward."

I missed the mark with my friend. All I can do now is pray he accepts my apology and forgives me and that I don't lose this new friend so soon.

Camp Pioneer 2011

Earlier this summer, I learned that Camp Pioneer (where I attended confirmation camp and first met my friends Nate and Laura Hartke) was in need of a nurse. My first thought was "I could do that". After some prayers and phone calls, all was worked out and I'd be heading to NY for 2 weeks in August. The beauty of my traveling job is I can pretty much arrange my jobs however I want to, securing time off when needed.
A huge bonus about the location of Camp Pioneer is that Nate and Laura live about 25/30 min away. I went over to NY a day early to help celebrate 1yo Jacob's birthday. Those little redheads are the best. Being part of so many important days with my surrogate family means so much to me.

I didn't really know what to expect when I was going to camp. I didn't remember a lot of specifics about my time there when I was 13. The first week was interesting and maybe a little disappointing. There was another nurse working with me which made the work not so bad, but we pretty much stayed at our office all day. Most of the counselors didn't talk to us if they didn't have to, and I maybe knew 3 of their names by end of the camp week on Friday. There were good parts too though. Seeing the counselors and kids interact with the special Agape campers was pretty great. My fave was prob Z, who was in a motorized wheelchair and communicated with a dynavox. His humor was infectious and seeing the impact he made on his counselor was touching.
Friday afternoon I spent some time with one of the volunteer counselors and the youth leadership trainees. It was nice to know some names.

Saturday was when things really started to be great. I'd been invited to go ziplining with the staff. So we get there and it's really a high ropes challenge course. It was so much fun. I learned the names of everyone who went and most of them said they were impressed that I joined them cuz none of the previous nurses had done any of the staff activities with them before. Granted, most of the other nurses were 40+, but I like to think that me and my 28 yrs give off an "I'm awesome and fun" vibe.

From there the week went much better, well, once I got through the first couple really busy check-in days. I made myself get out of the office and at least observe some activities. I'd just put a sign on the door with my number and where I was in case they needed me. Apparently that was a novel idea, because everyone commented on it and expressed their appreciation of knowing how to find me. I won't even go into how astounded I was by that fact.
I think my favorite part of the week were the nightly fireside chats I'd have with one of the counselors. At 22, he was older than most of the other counselors who are still in their late teens. There was venting on both sides  and my attempts at sage advice. He says I helped him through some stuff and I can guarantee the talks sure meant a lot to me. It's comforting to my soul to interact with adults who have the same values and can freely discuss God.
The directors of the camp have invited me back next summer. They'd like me to come for the whole thing. If it can be made into a travel contract (which is not uncommon for summer camps), then I would love to do the whole summer. If not, I'll at least be going for a couple weeks again.

Road Trip Home from Phoenix

July 10-11: 13hr drive from Phx to Denver. Stayed at Grandma's house for 2 nights. Lucky for my sanity, my mom was in the middle of a 3 week visit there as well.

July 12: Stayed the night with my Aunt Randi and Uncle Paul (and their 3 youngest kiddos) in Hastings, NE. Had burgers, played mini-golf, and did some good catching up.

July 13: Made my way over to Nebraska City to hang out with my cousin Ames, her hubby Aaron, and their 1yo Austin. We went to the Arbor Day Farm/Arboretum, did some wine tasting (don't worry, Austin didn't have any), and talked nurse stuff for a while :)

July 14-17: Springfield IL- spent the long weekend with my God-brother Paul, his wife Jessica, and their kids. We started with the midnight showing of Harry Potter part 2. Friday night we went out to dinner and drinking with their friends for Jess's birthday. So fun. Saturday we spent the day teaching the kids how to fish and then hanging out at the pool. That night we had family birthday fun at their house. I absolutely love those people!

July 17: Made my way over to Springfield, OH to see my former traveling friends Kelly and her hubby Mike. We had some dinner and then played HP on the wii :)
July 18: Home a day earlier than I had planned, so I got to spend a day doing NOTHING and it was glorious.

The rest of Phoenix

It's been months since I've written here, but I'm not going to try to remember everything I've done, so I'll summarize :)

I joined a sand volleyball league with my friends Denise and Michael from work. We played on Thursday nights and it was awesome! We usually only won 1 of 3 games each week, but it was still fun :)

In April I went to Chicago to spend time with my sister. We went wedding dress shopping (for her) and had some good quality time.
Straight from Chicago I went to Boston for an Oncology Nursing Society conference. Randomly met some former work friends and we had a great time sightseeing (and learning important nursing stuff too of course). We went on a Duck Tour, walked the Freedom Trail, and even took in a game at Fenway :)

When I got back to Phx, I moved out of J and BPR's place and into my own apartment. Nice to spread all my crap out again haha. We still got together a fair bit. We took a day trip to go hiking in Sedona in May and then in June we spent the weekend at the Grand Canyon. Beautiful and amazing.

I really enjoyed my time in Phoenix, until it got up to 118*. Then it was just gross. I even survived a Haboob (dust storm). I would love to go back some day, but definitely not in the summer! It is a nice feeling to have an open invitation to come back to the unit anytime. They'd love to have me as a snowbird :)