Is it possible to take a short vacation from life? I feel like that is what I need right now. My life has been running on overdrive for quite some time now, and I am beginning to feel like I could break down at any moment. Work has been absolutely insane lately, and shows no signs of calming down in the very near future. Our house is in complete disarray at the moment, so there is no escaping the chaos here either. There is not a single room in the entire house that is clean or in any sort of presentable state. Seriously. Not one. I have the day off tomorrow, and while I would love more than anything to spend it all doing absolutely nothing, I am afraid that is completely out of the question. If I want to have any hope of salvaging my sanity, I am going to have to spend the day attempting to get this place somewhat close to resembling a place of residence. Of course Megan will be here working on things too, but she also has the final exam for the Maymester course from Hades to prepare for. I feel like at some point life simply has to slow down. It can't keep going on in hyperdrive forever, can it? I don't think I will survive if that is the case.

Ok. Rant over. Time for some perspective. Life is not all bad. Yes, it is busy, but it is good. I have a great job, doing what I love, working with great people. I live in an amazing house that is going to be even more amazing when we finally finish all the work (we will finish all the work, right?). I have a fantastic roommate who is also a fantastic friend. I only have to work one more day this week, and then I get to spend the weekend with my wonderful boyfriend who is coming to see me tomorrow! And most importantly, I serve a God who is bigger than all of my stresses, and who will carry me through them all. I am blessed!!!

Somewhere there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I can't see it yet, but I believe that it is there. Hopefully I will stumble across it soon.

So I thought it was supposed to be summer. That should mean that things slow down a bit at work. Today we had 13 patients. That's not what I call slowing down. Especially when you compare it to the last day I worked, when we had 4 patients. Oh well. A little busyness won't kill me.

Phyllis officially moved out of the Majestic today. Sad day. Off to go do big, wonderful things in the big, wonderful world. Good luck, friend!

Today at work, a very cool thing occurred. Towards the end of the shift, one of the girls who works night shift came into work obviously upset by some news she had just received. She was talking to our charge nurse about her fears and concerns, the way people do when they need to process. As Elaine tried to comfort her, she began talking to her about the fact that God will take care of her and that she would be praying for her. Then, she gathered up all of the nurses who worked today, and the ones working tonight who were there already, and we circled up and prayed for her, right there in the nurses' station. It was a very awesome moment. I realized in that moment how lucky I am to work in an environment that allows me to express my faith openly and freely. Hendrick is a Christian hospital, founded on Christian principles and ideals. And while it may be true that there are times when those Christian values are not overly apparent, I was happy to be a witness to and a part of the demonstation of God's love there today.

So I've kind of been pretty horrible about updating this thing with any sort of frequency or regularity, but, well, I don't have an excuse. That's just how it is.

I am in Arlington currently, enjoying the last of my 6 days in a row not working. Beautiful! Today also happens to be my dad's birthday. Happy birthday Dad!! I love you!

This afternoon I will be headed back to the great city of Abilene to spend one last night with my good friend Phyllis before she leaves me for Vermont, via Philadelphia. Life at the Majestic is going to be so weird and different without the 3rd roommate! Phyllis, you will be missed! Don't forget to come back to Texas sometimes!

So I feel like I should be really excited because it is the beginning of the summer, but then I realize that seasons really have no effect on my schedule anymore. This is still slightly odd to me. There are, however, a number of reasons that I am excited about the coming summer months. Topping my list of exciting events is Charles moving to Abilene at the end of July!! Yay! I am very much looking forward to being done with the whole long-distance aspect of our relationship. That's not to say that it's been a bad thing, by any means. I don't think I would want to trade any part of our relationship thus far, but I am definitely excited about having the opportunity to see him on a daily basis, instead of our time together being limited to weekends only. And I don't think I'm wrong when I say I'm pretty confident he feels the same way...

Other exciting things to look forward to this summer include going to a Kenny Chesney/Sugarland/possibly Taylor Swift concert on June 16, and going to Las Vegas for 4 days at the beginning of August! Not to mention a number of weekend trips to Arlington. And, somewhere in the midst of all these excitements, we are supposed to be doing some pretty major home-improvement projects at the Majestic. Oh yeah, and working a full-time job. Looks like it should be a pretty great summer!

I am happy. Life is good. God is good. The end. :)

I have been told I need to update my blog more frequently. Well, I can't make any promises on the frequency, but here is an update.

Life is good. I have spent the vast majority of the past few weeks either at work or in Arlington, spending time with my family and a certain boy I know. :)

Work is pretty good. I can hardly believe that I will have been working at Hendrick for a year this month! Time sure does fly! I feel like I have come a long way in a year. I feel pretty confident in my ability to do my job and do it well, which is huge. I feel like even though I am young, and I know I have a lot to learn, I have earned the respect of my coworkers and superiors, and that's a pretty good feeling! Starting in June, I will be assuming the role of coach once again, and orienting a brand new graduate nurse. I think it's kind of funny that just a year ago I was the brand new baby nurse, and now they are trusting me to orient a brand new baby nurse. It's definitely a confidence booster, that's for sure! I just hope I don't let her down!

Life outside of work is fabulous. Charles is still amazing, and continues to give me new reasons to smile every day. Right now he is in the process of looking for a job in the Abilene area so that we can actually live in the same town in a few months!! I am so excited!! Long distance is hard. I have no doubt in my mind that our relationship would survive being long distance for another year until my commitment at Hendrick is fulfilled, but neither one of us is very excited about that idea. Everything is still very uncertain and up in the air right now, but we are both praying that God will take care of every detail. I am so excited to see what happens in the coming weeks and months!

I have to say goodbye to one of my roommates and best friends in a very short time. :( Phyllis graduates on Saturday, and will be moving out just a week or 2 later. I am very sad to see her go, but oh so excited for her and the exciting adventures she will have in grad school and life! Phyllis, I love you girl and I am going to miss you bunches!! I hope you know that you and I have a special bond, and you pretty much can't get rid of me, even if you do move thousands of miles away!! Best of luck with school...and other potential developments in life. ;)

The loss of a roommate means big changes here at the Majestic. Megan and I have some pretty big plans for home improvement projects that will hopefully be accomplished fairly early this summer. The end result of these projects will leave not one, but two empty rooms to fill! And as far as prospective roomates to fill these rooms...we've got nothing. So, if anyone knows of a couple of fun girls who need a place to live, send them our way!