Life is Beautiful

I took a drive today.

A drive up the canyon is one of my most favorite things. And lucky for me Utah has lots of canyons.

I've lived in SLC for almost ten months and I still hadn't been up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Today felt like a good day to change that.

I piled my pups in the car and we went driving. Windows down. Sun roof open. A good playlist playing. And of course, a diet coke.

It was good for my soul.

I feel at home in the mountains. Maybe it's the living in Utah my whole life thing, but I love being in the mountains.

As I drove through the canyon, I couldn't help but be amazed by the beauty of my life. If you would've asked me 5 years ago where I would be in 5 years I probably wouldn't have got one thing right about where I am now. But I'm so glad I am where I am. It's not perfect and I'm not perfect. It's hard and ugly sometimes, but it's also shaping me into the person I want to be. And I have a lot of things I need to change, but my life is beautiful.

Workaholic

Can we just talk about how much I love my job for a second?

I love what I do. I love where I do it. I love who I do it with. I love who I do it for. I love what it teaches me. I love when I do it.

I work in the Float Pool or the Central Staffing Resource Unit. That means I work on every unit in the hospital. Children's Medical Unit, Children's Surgical Unit, Infant Medical and Surgical Unit, Cancer/Transplant Unit, Neuro Trauma Unit, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. I get trained on each unit and work on each unit. It's taken over a year to train and work on each unit. And now, in just 4 short weeks, I'll be done. And each shift I work will be on a different unit. It has been amazing and terrible. There have been days when I want to give up. When I think to myself what I have gotten myself into. But there have been days when I think about where I was a year ago and how much I have learned and I'm so grateful I work in the Float Pool.

I work three 12 hour shifts a week. I love it. I love having 4 days off a week. People always ask me how do you work 12 hours straight? You get used to it. And it really isn't so bad. Except when I get home my feet hurt, my legs hurt, my shoulders hurt, and my back hurts. Usually my brain hurts and sometimes my heart hurts. I think being a nurse is the most physically  emotionally, and mentally challenging job there is. And I love it.

I recently had someone ask me what my most and least favorite thing about my job was. What? I don't know. I can't answer that. Everything is my most favorite and nothing is my least favorite.

I knew I would love my job. I didn't realize how much though. The past year working as a pediatric nurse has changed me. I'm a different person. A better person. I've learned so much about so many different things. I didn't know my brain could learn this much. I didn't know my heart could learn this much.

I've seen things that have made my heart stronger. I've seen things that have broken my heart. I've cried. I've laughed. I've cussed. I've yelled. I've sang. I've hugged. I've comforted. I've been comforted. I've healed. I've been healed.

I honestly think that I work with some of the best nurses in the country. It's been incredible to learn from them the past year. Not just about being a better nurse, but about being a better person.

My job is the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's the hardest thing that's ever happend to me. And I can not imagine doing anything else.

Well after almost a year of no blogging. 

I'm baaaaaaaack! 

Let's see how many people still read this thing.  More posts to come. Stay tuned.