Last night was BUSY at work, but thankfully the group of nurses I worked with were big on the idea of teamwork. There were two new graduate nurses on the floor last night, and it reminded me how far I have come in almost seven years as a nurse. One of the two is doing pretty good for where she is post-graduation. The other just can't wrap her brain around the big picture and gets stuck on relatively minor details that don't matter much in the grand scheme, hopefully she will catch on. As I don't work on that floor often, it may be a month or more before I go back, so maybe there will be visible improvement.
I got an admission of a teenage girl, who by the what the ER told me when they were describing her symptoms, etc sound like she might have HIV, which broke my heart in thinking that it might be true. However, when she got to the floor and getting to talk to her and her mom, the symptoms sound more like an autoimmune disorder, most likely lupus. Thankfully there are tests for lupus, but I don't know why she has never been tested before as these are chronic problems, some symptoms since she was four.
However, thinking about HIV made me very aware that the kids AND their parents need some real education. Most parents and teens worry about pregnancy, which is legitimate, unfortunately sometimes pregnancy is the least of the problems. HIV and Hepatitis are HUGE problems, not to mention the many other STD's that kids can be exposed to during unprotected sex. I have had a few kids come in who are on birth control pills, with their parent's knowledge, but have had gonorrhea, pelvic inflammatory disease, or other issues.
As a parent, I want my children to make good choices and I don't want them to become sexually active while in high school. However, as a realist (and a pediatric nurse,) I realize that if they AREN'T sexually active, they will be in a significant minority. I also want to make sure that my children, should they decide to become sexually active, make safe choices.
On a more chipper note, Drew is in the kitchen doing one of his favorite things, he is baking chocolate chip cookies. Drew loves to make cookies. I like to bake, but cookies are tedious for me, I prefer to bake cakes, brownies, etc. I want to get my mom's recipe for "Death By Chocolate" Cheesecake to make sometime. I love that cheesecake, but I need to make it when we have company as it is VERY rich.
I am car shopping, not SERIOUSLY yet, but soon enough. I won't buy anything new at this time, maybe in a few years. However, we are a one car family at this time, which we have been for quite a while, so that is not the issue. BUT, our one car is a Chevy Suburban and my one way drive to work is about 26-27 miles. I want to buy a small car to go to and from work and for errands that I do on my own, or with just one child. I used to have a Honda Civic, which I loved and would be ideal again. My mom drives a 2000 Toyota Echo and gets about 40-45 mpg on average. The Suburban is necessary for all of us to fit, our Jeep only seated five and now we are six. I do miss the Jeep, though the gas mileage is about the same in the Jeep and the Suburban, but the Jeep was significantly smaller. The Suburban is big and cumbersome, I am getting used to driving it, and more specifically, parking it, but it seems like overkill for me to drive it by myself to and from work.
My other thought is that I blessed with my family, I have healthy and happy children and I am married to a man that I love more and more everyday.
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