Night shift makes me very contemplative, but it dampens my thought process at the same time. Tonight is the last night of five 12-hour shifts in a row. That means 60 hours of work in 5 days, during which most people were asleep! (I don't know how some people work 60 hours a week, every week). I'm exhausted, yet it's weird to think that when I'm off work, I have absolutely NO plans. How do you fill a day when you don't have school or kids or pets? How do you make a day useful/valuable/worthwile instead just watching re-runs to pass the time? Life is such a wonderful gift and I can't tell you how many days I have spent just "passing time"! It's kind of depressing.
Right before we moved out of Fort Worth, Christ Chapel was talking about a medical mission trip to India this spring. I really wanted to get involved, but with the move I didn't think I should try to be a part of a group residing in another state. However, the organizer contacted me this week saying they were desperate for more nurses! I'm going to apply for the "scholarship" and hopefully go to India February 11-21. I'm so excited! I'd been looking into Mercy Ships and Doctors Without Borders. I've been a nurse almost 2 years now. It's time to use my skills and my blessed education for a greater good.
Speaking of education, we're still waiting to hear from grad school. I can tell Ross is getting very restless and he's also frustrated that he has a college degree and can't find a job! If anyone has connections in KC, we'd be so grateful. He wants a job in the architecture/design/art realm, but at this point any job will do.
We have a lot going on right now and it's hard to put all of it into words. I often read something and it will strike a spark of recognition in my mind: 'yes, that IS the idea I was trying to form into words!' Therefore, I basically collect quotes. Here are a few that apply to my life right now.
*Tough times never last, but tough people do.*
-Robert H. Schuller
*Babies are such a nice way to start people.*
-Don Herrold
*Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate*
-Captain Jack Sparrow
*Of course, we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas, eating cereal straight out of the box and staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure).*
-Elizabeth Gilbert
*Who knows whether we have come into the kingdom for such a time as this*
-Esther 4:14
*For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin-- real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time to still be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. Happiness is a Journey, not a Destination.*
-Alfred D. Souza
Hey girl! Hope you get to go on the mission trip, that would be great. As far as the "killing time" goes, even w/o kids or school I think eventually you'll realize that is precious time for sleep, laundry, cleaning house, grocery runs, Christmas shopping, etc. I certainly don't wish to be in your "night shift shoes" but do wish I had the daytime to get more errands and things done around the house. Glad you have a few days off! :)
ReplyDeleteYou should start scrap booking or learning to knit/sew. Those are both big time consumers and once you get it down you can make hats for "your babies". Don't forget that amazing park we did the 5k at. You could devote an hour or 30 minutes 3 days a week there.
ReplyDeleteI will be praying for you and India. I think the enrichment you would gain from an experience like that would be beyond rewarding!
Love you and miss you!