Peterson Family Update, #5902908 Gamma (Hiatus Announcement)

 It's that time again:  Deploy the Bulleted List!

• I've been gone between class, clinical, and work enough that Luna sees me as a novelty and/or rare commodity when I'm home.  As such, there is much moping in my office (so I'm told) or she is my little red shadow when I'm home.  
  

• I have enjoyed being in person with my peers more than I had thought.  The random side conversations, the friendly waves, the occasional shared "WTF" expression from across the room, it's...nice.  Maybe that's the extravert in me.  I was content learning from home, but there is something about a classroom that feels different.  I am, however, burnt out on group projects.  
• Simultaneously, there are a lot of extra logistics in going to class on campus--parking, allotting enough time to walk to the building, packing a lunch, ensuring that Luna gets out in the morning, etc.  The needs are different.  The balance is different.  Also, now that I have places to go, I've been having fun rediscovering some of my favorite parts of my closet. 
• Had a patient in one of my clinicals that was a level of confused--even when they were threatening to throw their water at me or were actively yelling at me to get out, I didn't have any kind of "I can't do this profession" kinds of thoughts, which I think is a good sign.  I am learning so much as a CNA and it's definitely taking huge chunks out of the impending imposter syndrome as a nurse by furthering my independence and confidence now.
• One of my favorite things to do both in working and in clinicals is asking people what their "secret move" is.  Everyone seems to have some trick that they have picked up or a technique that they developed along the way, some special way of approaching a problem that makes things easier.  I've learned a lot of helpful things and allowed different folks to share their own expertise.  
• Some of my peers at the hospital have been noticing my particular patterns of expression.  Lately, this means I was teased for saying that someone's IV was "deedling" rather than "beeping," which I felt was still clear from the context clues.  Oh, that will be just the tip of the iceberg for weird phrasings from me.
• Had our first roadtrip since the pandemic started to attend Josh and Morgan's wedding--a delightful day to share with some lovely folk.  Congrats, you two!
• Random project toward my own random learning--I have learned how to draw winged eyeliner and the effect is quite fun. Also have been practicing how to do a Dutch braid now that I feel pretty confident on a French braid, because random things are always fun to learn. 
• Had a dream the other day that one of my patients was a penguin.  Spent most of the dream trying to find out how to properly put the heart monitor pads on him, while he held his wings out so patiently.
• Andy has been doing a LOT of work leveling out the lawn--the backyard looks much different than it did last year.  
• I saw an owl in our magnolia tree this week.  For reals.  
  

• Andy has been doing videogame streaming every Saturday and Sunday morning!  My favorite parts are definitely the panicked squawks when he misses a ledge or has a surprise enemy pop up.  Please, check him out on Twitch or on YouTube whether you're able to watch the livestream itself or revisit the videos later.  
• I am having a hard time keeping up with everything right now--last week, I was very activated in my depression/anxiety/PTSD wombo-combo, between a number of different factors.  As such, I'm pulling back on things that can be pulled back to help reestablish some balance:  I am officially putting my blog on hiatus for the first time.  I have every intent to start it again once nursing school is over, and I may even sneak in a couple more updates here and there, but I am taking away the pressure of a schedule.  

Homestretch, Homeslice

So, yes, I've been a wee bit behind on blog posts, hence the void last week.  The summer is here with a roaring presence, and I'm keeping up well with most places, yet specifically I haven't honed down any kind of writing schedule.  

Okay, so that's not entirely true.  I've had space to write.  I've had ideas on what to write.  But there's been something lately about staring at the expanse of blank, white page.  

And in the end, there are a lot of words happening but none that solidify on paper.  It's a buzzing sound when I sit down to pour it out, sometimes because there are too many words or because I don't know how to isolate them.  Or maybe there is that deafening silence, which then I feel the need to fill with something else--that's the space where I have the TV, my computer, and my cell phone all going at once in some capacity.  

Too many things happening at once, poor writing hygiene, adjusting to a new schedule and its obligations, it's all an excellent list of excuses.  But it's also what is real to me in the moment.  

We're in the last stretches.  The pressure is there, but the excitement is too.  It's just a matter of time and taking one task and then another until we've completed this goal.  A goal that I've been working on for about three years, all told.  And there's a lot of processing to do there, working through these adjustments.  

That means there maybe some shorter posts in the meanwhile and a few more gaps before the end.  But we'll get there.