Becoming Nocturnal

It's official. I survived my first week working 12-hour night shifts. I'll be honest. I thought I might die. I thought that the completely worn out feeling I had before the week even began couldn't possibly withstand staying up all night for 4 of 7 nights. But I made it. And it really wasn't so bad.

I also expected to feel much more overwhelmed than I did. I definitely learned a lot and had to really fight to think about what I needed to chart and what assessments needed to be done once 4am rolled around, but all in all I felt like I transitioned pretty smoothly into this next phase of orientation.

I had two different preceptors this week: Beth last Monday night and this past Sunday and Tina on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They were both so great...so patient and willing to answer all my questions. I couldn't have asked for better nurses to work with.

This week I only worked on Sunday night and am now taking 2 paid days off (as part of my sign-on bonus) to study for and take the NCLEX, the exam for obtaining your nursing license. This will allow me a few days to get back onto a day schedule so that I'll actually be awake and functional at 2pm on Thursday!

Since I probably wasn't going to study much anyway, I have a special visitor from Bloomington coming tomorrow! I've got a few surprises in store for him, but just in case he's reading this, I'll have to tell you about them later in the week!

This past weekend, I was up in Bloomington (again) to see Mr. Bryan Schoenecke and to attend the wedding of his good friend Joe. I worked Thursday night, slept until 3pm on Friday, and then took the train up to Bloomington. We drove up to Geneseo first thing Saturday morning since Bryan was an usher and had to be there early for pictures. It was a beautiful wedding, and we especially had a fun time dancing at the reception!

Here are a few pictures from the wedding:
















































That night we drove all the way back to St. Louis since Bryan had to be at Scott Air Force Base early Sunday morning. It was a very late night, and I felt surprisingly very awake by the time we arrived at my apartment. I didn't go to bed until after 4am, but then slept most of the next day before going into work at 6:30pm.

Today when I woke up and looked at my alarm clock, it took me a minute to figure out if it was AM or PM. That has to be a bad sign, right? Praise God. He's brought me through a challenging week in one piece and still rejoicing in Him!

If you have the time, check out this 10-minute video. It's a part of the Nooma video series by Rob Bell, and it really touched my heart. We have been given sooo much more than we need, and it takes so little to bless others.

http://player.flannel.org/compassion?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SP_ADV-0212_NOOMA%20(1)&utm_content=&referer=corner

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21