Sleeping with the enemy...

      

My new endeavor has begun and it seems as if I may have found my niche. I realized that a huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders. Tomorrow a brand new group of students will join the ranks on their pursuit of a nursing career. How exciting to be a part of their journey.

       This weekend has been very relaxing, no pager to interrupt life with my family. I however, cannot say that about the alley cat who decided to birth a litter of kittens under my house. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love kittens. They are adorable. They are so sweet. I love kittens.

       However with that being said, the cat that deposited the 4 kittens under my house does not seem to be a  good mother. Those kittens cry loudly all day and all night. Which in turn keeps us awake, as they are right under our bed…

They seem to be thriving, as noted by their strong, loud meows…. The only time they are quiet (I gather) is when their mother finally shows up for care, which seems very rarely. We keep a constant check on them just to make sure that they are ok and healthy.  I don’t know what cats do all day other than nap, surely she could nap with her offspring.

       I try not to judge any parents journey as every family is different, but this mama cat is the sorriest piece of carbon that has ever been. The cats that I have been around in my lifetime have been great mothers, hardly leaving their litter at all until they are older. These barely have their eyes open and their ears have not opened yet.

       Jeremy brought two of them in to see me, there are 2 Russian blues and 2 blacks. They are adorable. I am so tempted. My only thing is that we have had enough pets.  Poor Nettie couldn’t resist eating at least one of them as she is an ex member of the Hispanic gang, the Latin Kings (She was a shelter dog and told me she did it just to survive, apparently the Chihuahuas run everything on the inside).  I would never tempt her or risk the life of those kittens, but man I wish they would play quiet mouse, still mouse for one freaking night.

       Oh well, if that is all that I have to be concerned with (other than poor Bruce Jenner) then I’m ok for now. I’m gonna go to bed with ear plugs tonight so maybe I can get some rest. I’ve sent Jeremy back out there to nestle the little houseguests in for the night with fresh linen. It always makes me sleep better, I hope it works with the kittens.  

Happy Vasectomy Day!

       So my blessed little Charleigh Joe just turned 4, how time flies. I was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the fact that I was exposed to both sexes of children as she was the last of our four and surprised us with her gender.  We never found out the gender of any of our children were, it was like the last great Christmas gift that wasn’t hidden with the rest.  The one that you couldn’t quite get unwrapped enough to identify.

       My husband felt like this was it, that four children made our family complete.  He decided to get a vasectomy, and I was agreeable, it was easier than me getting a tubal. 

I was very pregnant and I accompanied him to the urology office just 3 days before our precious bundle of joy was due to arrive.  My husband, normally quite shy, was beside himself with anxiety. 

       Once we were in a room, the nurse presented with instructions for him to get undressed from the waist down and lie down on the table. Already visibly upset, it only got worse when his pant less torso lie freezing on the bed. It didn’t help that the pretty young nurse didn’t like the shave job that I had performed at home.  As she revamped the ‘do that I had previously styled, my husband had apparently reached the zenith of his anxiety and ask for a drape to be put up.  The nurse kindly obliged and shortly the doctor came in and gave him some IV Valium. 

       Soon after his injection, I slowly began to watch his body loosen up and eventually began the rhythm of a regular, soft snore. He only briefly roused up when the doctor came in and began his procedure.  It only took around 30 minutes to render my man safely sterile. 

       About halfway through the procedure, the pretty young nurse left our room and another, more mature nurse came in to assist the doctor. Jeremy never even roused until the procedure was finished. While taking down the drapes, I got up to assist my husband to a sitting position, he quizzically looked up at the nurse and having noticed the change for the first time from the pretty, young thing to a more mature nurse ask me, “how long have I been asleep”?

       Happy Vasectomy Day to my husband.

Leaving Las Vegas...

So as my last week of one job is about to begin, I am feeling more than a little melancholy.  After all these years at the same employer, I have made more than a few friends. I will truly miss them. I have not really advertised the fact that I am leaving because when I talk about it, I get tearful.

       These are not just my coworkers, they are my friends and confidants, many who have been for years.  I know that the relationships will change, I will no longer be privy to the intimate details of their lives that are shared when you see someone as much as we have.  We have shared in births, deaths, marriages, and divorces.  All of these things are part of life and its changes.

       As I lie here with Charleigh Joe watching Mulan, I know I have made the right decision. My heart is sad that I will be so removed from so many relationships but I know that this is also the beginning of a new life. I already have relationships with my coworkers and am forming new ones each and every day.

       One group will never take the place of another, but there is some consolation knowing there is someone else to get to know and new things to learn. If I didn’t talk to you and didn’t let you know that I was changing jobs, it was probably because I was afraid of getting tearful. Please forgive me.