Love me Tender

Yes, this is being posted in August.. Because I'm lazy at writing, and busy with living!

So Texas wrapped up on one cool sunny morning, with the rising sun in my face as I left Dallas before the traffic even began to get bad... which means, it took me an hour to get into/around/out of the city. Tunes blasting, car loaded to the gills, Soulfire, Kodie, and I took off, ready to head back East.
Having just gotten the final notice for my next contract only two days earlier, my heart finally started to beat at a regular pace again. I'm off to Annapolis, MD. Back home(ish)

Now I needed this time away, and I learned a lot about who I am and what I am made of, and found that it's pretty good stuff. You can't move forward without making sure you are together. Well, I took my first few steps forward. And I'm pretty proud of how stable I realized I really am.

So Annapolis. I love this town! Going to Anne Arundel Medical Center, a place I've only been to once before, for my vicarious daughter's birth. I was very pleased with the staff and facility when I visited so why not?! Need to be in the area anyway for a few dates coming up anyway, may as well be close to home, but not quite back home again.

Dreading the car ride home I decided on a whim to make sure I do what I first set out to do on the way down here. Memphis here we come!! I'm going to Graceland! I'm not really an Elvis fan but I have to stop at this iconic location just because! And wow, I was pretty impressed!

The living room

The Jungle Room

Me just spending the day at Graceland!!

OOOOOH the Original!!

So it was actually pretty fun. And my lord the amount of people there was astounding! No, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Kodie with glasses and sideburns, but I had a good day none the less. Whew, kept a promise I made to myself! Now to just get home without falling asleep. 18 hours to go..
And believe it or not, I actually drove for those 18 hours straight to my good friend's birthday party dinner for a nice surprise! Wow I can't believe I actually was awake that long...

Hope

Hope is a word I use daily. But for some reason I never really learned the meaning until now. Sure I know the definition of the word, but do I actually know its meaning? It's a feeling, a powerful one. One that restores us.

In my line of work there are many hopes. Delivering babies is not as easy as it sounds. It's amazing to me just how often it goes right!

But then there are days, special situations, people, problems, fear... And I find myself saying "God, I hope she lives." that's when I really learn the meaning, the feeling, the power of hope.

It's days like this that my faith is restored in my choice to become a nurse. Days like this that I find so rewarding as a person to walk back into a room and see a smile from someone I, not to long before, was holding a hand praying, hoping, for life.

I am so blessed to do what I do. I will never give that up. Thank you for restoring my faith in hope.