My girlchild is becoming a bit too smart for comfort these days. She’s recently embraced the concept of time. It’s all very exciting until someone uses their shiny new time knowledge to petition for a later bedtime. Spätzle fritz! Clocks are ruining my life! Gone are the days of sending wayward children to bed on a whim with the logic that it’s dark outside, (daylight savings for the win!). Now there’s this distant, well defined finish line towards which I can’t seem to make any progress. Oh the struggles! The incessantly talking, questions for days, adorable little struggles. This is where I would put the usual disclaimer about how I love my children more than life itself and how it’s all worth it even when it’s messy, etc, but I’m pretty sure we’re cool enough that I don’t have to tout my motherly devotion every time I’m honest about some small difficulty. Yes? Sweet.
I took a road trip the other day. A giant, life changing road trip to sit for that final, epic nursing exam of which we do not speak. You know the one. My husband went with me thank God, even though I told him he didn’t need to. I’ve added it to my list of reasons to love that unbelievable man. He drove me through peanut country, distracting me with offers to stop for gator jerky and Amish butter, and honking at fields of extremely unimpressed cows. Although the bonsai trees were tempting, we managed to pass the roadside markets without succumbing to a single box of salt water taffy, and all those terrible gator heads remain on their creepy roadside shelves. We were quite entertained by the powerball spectacle at the Alabama state line, and to my great relief we didn’t have to stop at any of the treacherous rest stops along the way. As far as bathrooms go, rest stops feel extra rape-y, don’t you think? They’re always dripping with MRSA and mold. Shudder! In any case, we arrived, found the testing center, checked in to the hotel, and went out for a nice dinner. That sweet man of mine wisely made no comment when I requested more bread after dinner, to sop up all the feels. What a guy.
After a long night with very little sleep, I finally sat for my boards. None of the other test takers seemed nearly as freaked out by the whole ordeal. Why is that? Emotional C. Diff. again I’m sure. Seriously, I could do without all the drama, but in the end I know that the emotions that make test taking so painful, are the very same emotions that make empathy my newfound superpower. The test was extremely hard, but the whole thing took less than an hour. Shocking! It’s absolutely incomprehensible considering I’ve been preparing for and stressing about it for literally years!
When it was all over, the hard part began. Waiting is officially not my forte. My demons went straight to work, hacking away at any shred of confidence and reinforcing rampant self-loathing. There were meltdowns, crazy eyes, and more than one ugly cry. I ate tasty cakes for lunch that day. They tasted like hope and I regret nothing. Can I just say, to all of my nursey type friends who took these tests back when it was all done on paper, and then had to wait MONTHS to get results through snail mail, YOU ARE SO BOSS! *Insert Nursing Gang Signs*
I only had to wait 24 eternal hours to get my results.
I passed, by the way.
I made a dream board years ago after watching The Secret with my husband. It’s hanging on the wall of our bedroom, full of direction and magical dreams. A nursing degree was the very first thing on it. These moments, graduating, passing my boards, becoming a nurse, they were all just pipe dreams on paper once. Now it’s real life, and I’m happy to report that the magic of it all does not disappoint! Next on the list: epic body makeover, and a little less chin. Better retire the tasty cakes for this one.
Acutely aware of the time,
The Glittery Nurse
I love the way you write! And I knew exactly what road side shops you were speaking of having traveled that way a time or two myself! Jake likes to honk at the cows even though they literally couldn’t care any less.
And I’m pretty sure I had a moment or two of sinus pause when my test cut off!
Once again you made me laugh out loud and think harder than I have in a while.