English Composition and A Deck of Cards

Now that I’ve attended class for each of my course subjects for this quarter, I can report that I’m still smiling and still casting a golden glow in my shadow!

You never know what new idea or plan a teacher will bring to the classroom. (Are they called teacher, instructor, or professor?)

Our English teacher came into class today shuffling a desk of cards.

The psychology professor asked us to put our name on a piece of paper and place it on the front of our desk for instant recognition (smart).

Our Anatomy & Physiology instructor is also a massage therapist and a Myopractor (look it up).

But alas, there will be some MATH in Pharmacology. Our Pharmacology teacher is the only nurse instructor so far. She is brimming with experience and extensive knowledge of nursing!

Bohecker College in Westerville (sometime referred to as in Columbus, but it’s actually in Westerville, Ohio) is a fairly new college so it’s still having some growing pains. Perhaps some former students felt its birthing pains in the last couple years, but all have lived to tell the story.

In our first two days, we have adjusted to some changes in every course including a mix-up in posted classrooms and some modification of class times. I like the adjustment of A&P because we loose a couple extra breaks, but get out an hour earlier than expected.

For some reason, Bohecker offers a 10-minute break out of every hour! Most classes are 3-5 hours long, so I guess it keeps the momentum going. The instructors take roll call every hour too. I suspect too many skip and run students forced that rule!

i hope we keep every teacher presently on staff because I like all of them – and each is as different as the leaves on a tree! It doesn’t appear that we will be overloaded with homework, though one will need to organize notes and plan ahead to succeed. I’m sure there will be some difficult assignments but I still say, “Bring it on!”

What I like best is the large classroom where we spend most of our time – especially the morning classes. One wall of the second-story classroom is all windows that look out over a small subdivision where the trees are changing into fall coats of Autumn color and onto a busy street where Jim’s bus goes by taking him to work in the city.

“Hi Jim. Have a good day! Bye Jim!”

Psychology is in a room with all the windows at the back, so it feels a little stuffy and because the time frame is 12:30 to 3:30, it seems to drag on a bit. Maybe it’s those photos of old men like Aristotle, Wilhelm Wundt and, of course, Sigmund Freud make me feel even order than I really am! (That’s okay, Sandy, I didn’t know who those men were either!)

Our instructor is teaching this class for the first time, but it sounds like he’s already read the book and will keep us on our toes. He asks questions that our blogger friend, Floyd, would love to answer.

Like, “Do we think with our minds or our heart?”

The subject I think I will enjoy the most is (you guessed it), English!

While I have been a writer since I could hold a pencil, I have not had the opportunity to enjoy leaning the details of correct writing and rules of the English language. I'm surprised how far I've come with so little formal education in that area.

I just hope that my book, "Dusty Angels and Old Diaries" is never put on a pedestal. It's too personal and close to my heart to be taken apart like that. Otherwise, I'm eager to learn every nuance about proper writing! And, do even better with my next published book, "The Laughing Place."

The biggest problem so far is the massive weight of all my books! Heavy backpacks and book bags do not go hand-in-hand with lower back pain! If you were to actually look at the lower part of my back (the distal end), you would see some swelling that is painful to the touch. Imagine a heavy backpack hitting against that spot with every step!

I finally broke down and ordered a rolling organizer briefcase from the Nurses Station Catalog. (I give you that link because it’s a wonderful place to do Christmas shopping for a nurse too!)

In the meantime, I’ve dumped any extras and all the heavy books I had in my current backpack onto the kitchen table until the rolling briefcase gets here.

Most quotable quotes from teachers so far include...

“Grades are not all that important in nursing. You just want to pass so you can sit for the state boards. Grades don’t matter in the long run.”
“No texting! No sidebars. No excused absences.”
“Most of you have recently graduated from LPN school.”
“My wife and I are on the outs…but don’t feel sorry for me.”
“LPN’s don’t do assessments”. (They do! RN's sign them.)

An English classroom assignment today was to write a paragraph answering these questions.

If you could invite four people from history (past or present, dead or alive), for supper, who would it be and why? What would you serve, and where would you serve it?

Briefly, I wrote that I’d invite my two sons because I don’t see them very often. I’d ask the English teacher over because I enjoy talking with other writers, and I’d invite a student in class named Katy who seems to be lonely. The menu would include my, “Mama Linda” homemade cheesy lasagna. I'd also make a crispy green salad and some hot garlic toast because that’s my sons’ favorite meal at home. We’d eat at home in our dining room to encourage small talk, and so that my oldest son, Billy, could discretely pick out the bits of tomato from his lasagna. (I didn't put that in my paper. lol) If I was suppose to invite President Kennedy or Obama, that wasn’t on my menu today.

Oh yes, the deck of cards in English class? It was for us to select one to determine what group we would subdivided into for discussion groups.

Speaking of groups, I've already made several friends from school. Of course I'm the oldest and have been a LPN the longest. (Everyone now knows I've been a LPN for 38-years. The class applauded me when I told them!) The next longest-time LPN is a woman who has been a LPN for 17 years and wants to go on to be a Nurse Practitioner.

Every LPN is our class has high hopes that becoming a RN will help them make a difference in the life of those who are ill.

We have four men and 20 women in our RN class, but there are about 20 others who are on a different schedule for the same program.

By the way, I noticed a large classroom of very noisy students down the hall. I asked who they were and discovered these are a group of about 100 student LPN's!!!!! I don't think there's a nursing shortage at Bohecker College!

I’m really tired tonight, so I hope this gives all of you a nice overview of my first days of the RN program without my overwhelming feeling of tiredness coming through.

Jim and every dog in the house is already sound asleep. I went straight from class today to check on the little boy I take care of because his parents are out of town and he's quite sick. I ended up staying there for five hours until his grandmother could arrive from another state. He's better now and was very happy to see his grandma! (So was I.)

Nightly-night.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com
E-mail: bestnurse@usa.com

Tomorrow Is The Big Day (Orientation at Bohecker College)

Jupiter reaches out to the moon in the October sky. (flickr photo)

First, for those who depend on me to keep you updated on world news: OJ is found guilty of armed robbery - all 12 counts - and is handcuffed in the courtroom after the lights came back on and taken to prison to await sentencing. There's a very interesting story that includes a bizarre twist of the number 13 for OJ but it won't save here. You can goggle OJ Simpson for the story with the words "snake eyes" in the title.

For those who watched (as I did) and to those who simply heard the news reports, Sarah Palin did not fall on her face during the vice-presidential debate. She looked right into our living rooms with a vibrant strong voice and said just what she wanted to say! While I'm still NOT going to vote for McCain, I have to admit she carried herself beautifully and even caused the "church-mice" quiet audience to chuckle a time or two. Woman-to-woman, she does have a figure to die for! But, that does not make her qualified to run the country.

Nor do I think McCain will be actually do more than Bush has done for us in the last eight years.

Well, it's almost like a wedding day at our house!

My RN program starts at Bohecker College in less than 24-hours on October 6, 2008 although my first full day is Tuesday because of the class schedule. Life as I know it changes on that day! Jim and I have been discussing our early morning schedule. While we don't have little kids to get off to school, he catches the city bus for his ride to work, and I'll be picking him up from the bus stop in the afternoons. This because we made some driving changes in order to save hundreds of dollars in gas money by not driving to work every day. Jim's got the route under his belt and actually enjoys reading the paper on his way to the city and back.

During the summer we made another change in anticipation of Old Man Winter here in Ohio. Modern technology has offered a way to avoid cleaning off the snow, scraping the frozen windshield and sit shivering on the icy cold seat waiting for the heat to warm our frozen fingers. We had an auto starter installed in our car!!!!

So, on a school day I'll go to the bedroom window and clicker-start the car with the defrost and seat warmers already turned on. After breakfast we drop him off at the bus stop (about a mile away) and I'll go to school (about two miles away).

On non-class days I plan to spend several hours at the local library so I'm not tempted to do housework or watch my favorite show, The Baby Story. Also, when someone is home during the day, the dogs think they have permission to ask to go out every hour on the hour!

I'm wondering how many of you who know me have asked the question already?

"Is Linda going to keep working while going to school?"

Yep. You know me well. I ask myself the same question several times a day. Yesterday we sat down and put our entire budget on an Excel program and it's very very close with expenditures and revenue! But it IS possible to get by without me working if there are no unexpected surprises.

As Jim and I enjoyed our weekend treat of supper at Cracker Barrel last night, we discussed how we could save even more by planning meals during the week (like my sister Sandy does) and limiting how often we give in to the temptation to enjoy someone else doing the cooking (and cleaning).

"If my boys and my sister hear that I'm trying to work and go to school, they're going to be very mad," I told Jim.

He agrees that this is a time in my life to do something 100 percent for me. He will tie my hands behind my back if he thinks I'm dialing my agency to offer to work! On the other hand, the first four months of school will be a light schedule due to not doing clinicals at the hospital. We agree that I might work 8-12 hours a week during these months if we find that I'm keeping up with school work and it will mean a little more spending freedom for us. (I hate when I can never go shopping!!!!)

But nobody's getting the call yet! It's a wonderful feeling not being pressured to WORK! Thank-you hubby for doing that for us.

Last night parts of Ohio had its first mild frost. They say the leaves will be in full color within a couple weeks but we aren't seeing it yet. We've pulled out the jackets and mittens but are enjoying every minute of the misty cool nights and sparkling beautiful days of Indian Summer here in the Ohio Valley. (Jim says it's Indian Summer until the first full moon of October.)

On the way home last night we were enjoying the sky constellations and commenting that almost 11 years ago Jim wrote a poem to me about Jupiter, Mars and Venus coming to a conjunction around the full moon in the October sky. We were married a month later on November 23, 1997.

While the news is good here, it reminds me that not everyone is feeling so 'happy'.

Jobs are scarce. Money is tight. Families despair and work hard as they hang on to tiny threads of hope. Friends seem too far away, and there are not enough hours in the day to keep up! I am aware of the frustrations and fears of those around me and those I love. Just know that I do care, and I believe in YOU.

As my friend, Kathryn F. used to say, "Write, stop by or call anytime."
We can add e-mail to that now.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda

Home: http://dustyangels.blogspot.com/
E-mail: bestnurse@usa.com

They're Not Heavy, They're My BOOKS!

September 29, 2008... (First posting for this blog)
Wow! The magical number 55 still follows me as I start another chapter in my life.

955,000 driving miles, 455 months of marriage, motherhood, divorce, and remarriage, 15,500 days after I became a LPN, I'm finally a student nurse again.

This time I'm getting my RN after almost 40 years of working as an LPN! Even my Ohio LPN license has the number 55 in it.

The vibrant, colorful, school textbooks decorate the kitchen table. A quick peek into several reveal that they are written in English, and the information is not all Greek! (Click photo for close-up).

These are my study guides for the first quarter of my RN program at Bohecker College! Almost $855 dollars worth of books and about 55 pounds of dry weight to lug from class to class.

"They're not heavy...They're my BOOKS!"

The magic number 55 cheered loudly again today! Cars with 55 in the license plates surrounded me as I traveled the two miles to school. The president of Bohecker College announced that after our class graduates, Bohecker College will have graduated 455 nurses (LPN and RN's). And, my drive-through lunch came to $5.05. As if I need more affirmation!

Orientation was scheduled for 8:30 a.m., but I was saying good-morning to the college landscapers by 8:15. Not surprisingly, I was one of the first student nurses to arrive.

Almost 25 other students trickled in for the next 45 minutes. But absolutely no one wore a bigger smile than I did! Our class has more students, but we are divided up into different orientation days.

The crispy morning air seemed perfect for my first day although early fog caused some schools in the county to open a couple hours late.

On the whiteboard at the front on the room, the words blazed out at me. "Welcome RN Students". Orientation included a welcome to many Bohecker students who were returning after finishing the LPN course on the same campus.

As I glanced around the room full of LPN's, I looked to see if there was anyone I knew or had worked with, but all were strangers with almost no expression on their sleepy faces. The young man next to me looked way too young to be a nurse. He shivered in the cool classroom. The young lady on the other side said she'd been working as a LPN for a year, but there was no shine in her eyes. she was already tired?

Most of the class agreed with the admissions director that the main reason for advancing their education is to make more money. My numbers-minded husband has put together some figures, but my goal when I'm an RN is TO WORK WHERE I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

For too many years I've been an observer in the team-making process of care-giving when my abilities and experience could have been used if the letters after my name had been different. I feel like I've been walking behind the horse in the parade, cleaning up the mess even as I listened and learned along the way.

Yep. At the golden age of 58, I will be the oldest, wisest and most grandmotherly student in the school. (That's not to say the smartest.) Hubby advises to choose my study partners carefully because, he says, many will be coming to me for advice. I'm not convinced of that, but do hope to have the same opportunity to learn as if it was my first year on the job!

Much of the orientation time today was spent listening to motivational speakers urging students to not give up and to keep their goals in front of them at all times.

"You'll want to throw your books at the wall and give up. You'll have excuses to call off. Kids will get sick. Cars will break down. You will be tempted to give up!".

I wanted to raise my hand high and argue.

"Not me! I've looked forward to this year for 38 years. See me smile! Nothing you offer will beat me down! BRING IT ON! "

My smile didn't fade as I signed my name to a $800+ bill for my books!

My smile didn't fade as I lugged the pile of textbooks to my car in several trips.

My smile didn't fade when my uniform fitting was about at least 6 sizes larger than the first time I was a student nurse in 1970!

My smile didn't fade when I noticed that I was older then most of the administration and ALL of the students in my class

My smile will glow in the dark tonight as I snuggle next to hubby Jim who must take some credit for directing me on the path!

Jim's faith in me is unwavering!. His belief in my dreams and gentle nudges to keep me focused on the goal are priceless! He has promised to "hold the ladder" and I am sure he will not only hold the ladder but build a bridge if I need it.

After orientation today as I was loading the trunk with boxes of books, another student stopped to say hi. He asked why I had waited so long to get my RN.

My reply... "I finally have a husband who believes in me and wouldn't let me give up my dream."

I'm also appreciative that my sons are grown, educated and supportive. They've grown up knowing that mom always wanted to get her RN, and I'm sure knew that someday I would achieve my goal.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda