Getting out of the boat!

My three Angels, June 2005

So, I'm a single mom of three--one has special needs--and I've been trying/thinking about going to nursing school for well over two years now. In fact, when I started my current job two years ago, I was just three classes away from being able to apply to nursing school! And here it is, two years later, my kids and I all two years older, and I still have three classes (or so, depending which way I choose to go. . .AA or BSN) until I can apply.

But on Monday, I took the big step and got out of the boat. I told my boss that as of January 1st, I would no longer be a full-time employee as I was heading back to school to follow my heart and chase my dreams.

I wish I could start classes sooner, and it looks like I will have to go the AA route. I will need daycare assistance to go to school, and the local AA program is considered a technical/vocational program, so the state will pay for my childcare so long as I work at least 20 hours/week while taking classes. My good friend and angel, Heather, is going this route right now, and will graduate in about four months. Boy, am I ever envious of her! ! !

So I have a few pre-requisite classes to finish, and the hope is that I can apply and be accepted to start nursing school in the fall of 2006. That's really not that far off. That's what I keep telling myself. It will be here before I know it.

And then, before I know it, I will be taking my licensing exams and such. Then, after a year or two of nursing, it will be back to school to get the RN to BSN program finished so that I can head off to Frontier Nursing for my Nurse Midwife training. Oh, I can't wait to deliver babies! ! !

Well, today has been busy. And I'm still doing lots of research about what to expect in school and in nursing while I'm online. I'll share more later!


On another topic, Mike got his first spacers put in at the orthodontist today. These will enable them to put bands on the back teeth next week for the arch expander. All of this is time-critical as his lateral incisors are about to erupt and the bone grafting to the alveolar ridge must be accomplished before that happens so that we don't lose those two permanent teeth. The bone grafting will be done in a series of two surgeries as his cleft is too large for a "good" single graft repair. The first of these surgeries will in late October, and recovery will be slower than the others. The mouth will stop hurting, or so I'm told, within a few weeks, but the donor site (most often the hip) will continue to ache/hurt for about 6-10 weeks. I plan on taking at least a week off work, but the nurses tell me that I should expect him to miss at least two weeks of school. Aaargh! If only I had help. . .but Dad doesn't plan on being here, so I'll just muddle through the best I can.

I also am considering some orthodontics for my upper teeth. I have quite a bit of space in the upper front teeth, and crowding in the back. I know that I have a major overbite, but the jaw break/wiring procedure just won't do with me raising three little ones on my own. I have told them that at this point I am concerned about the upper teeth only and that oral surgery, if any, would have to be very minor. But the orthodontists we are seeing are phenomenal! Let's see what they can do!

Well, I better get back to the job of raising the kids. Tomorrow's my long day at work, and that means an earlier bedtime for all of us tonight. Life continues to move on, and I'm moving forward.