Up In The Air

As of this blog, my nursing school status is up in the air. "Up in the air?" you ask, "What does that mean? Didn't you get accepted into the nursing program?"

Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I did get accepted into the program. The plan was to start this coming January. Ray and I have done some talking, and we toyed with the idea of me starting NEXT August instead, but it still looked like January would be the time. Then Ray suggested perhaps I just start THIS August! What?!?!? Oh my gosh, I have so much to do. I want to do it....get it done, but the problem is we are not sure that I will go this August. So I can't go get my drug test, do my background check, get my fingerprints, get my physical, do my CEU courses (these are continuing education courses that I would need to work in a hospital and keep my license current), buy books, and uniforms, and a PDA, and a stethoscope and a nerdy rolling backpack. I can't do any of that yet!! I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed at this moment.

I have registered for my fall NURSING classes already, and while, under normal circumstances I would be gleefully excited, I am trying to be cautiously optimistic, because chances are I will be registering for real in January.

What's holding me up, you ask? Well, quite honestly, we're dealing with the issue of what to do about Nate. He may go to school 3 half days a week, and stay with Ray's mom some of the other time, and stay with Ray other times. My first semester will be the most hectic. I have lecture class on Momday from 9-12, then I have pharmacology class from 5-7pm. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I have clinicals from 630am-3pm. Thursday I have off, and I have lecture class again on Friday from 9-12 and a nursing math class (doasge calculations) from 1-5pm (but this class only runs 5 weeks).

I will need to do A LOT of studying in the in between time. But the biggest concern is that Nate says he doesn't want me to "be a nurse" and go to school. Sometimes when I leave now for my Micro class, he says he doesn't want me to leave, he wants me to say, etc. I mean, what do I do? Unfortunately, I can't really grasp how much this would really affect him because this is just how he is with everything. When Ray leaves for work, he tells him he doesn't want him to go. Tonight, Ray took Grace out to dinner, just the two of them, and Nate said he wanted to go, too. I asked him if he wanted to go out on a date with me, and he says he wanted Ray to be there, too. So needless to say, we're trying to figure things out. Part of me feels guilty.....I'm his mom, he's only young once, etc. etc. But another part of me feels like he'll be ok. He won't be with strangers, he will be with people who love him and care for him, and this is a really good thing for our family.....a steady income, a secure job, health insurance. At this point, its all still up in the air.

I told the Health Science Admissions Coordinator that I would let her know by this Thursday if I needed to defer my seat, this way they can offer it to someone else still waiting to get in. The up side to starting now is that I have a lot of people I know through A&P class, as well as Micro class that will be a familiar face to seek out and study with in the program. One of my friends, who is also my neighbor, only living a few buildings away from me, will also go in January, and we could carpool and stuff sometimes, so that is a plus. Also, starting now would mean that I only have to attend ONE summer semester which is a 4 week shorter semester and if I start in Jan (or May, as that is third start time the school offers) I would have to attend TWO summer semesters.

Anyway, just keep me and my family in youtr thoughts and prayers while we figure this out.

Look for an update about my lab quiz and lecture exam coming around Tuesday.