I'm BACCCCKKKKK!

I’m ashamed at how long it’s been since I’ve last blogged. Between nursing school and working at the childrens hospital, most of the things I do with my day are protected by HIPAA, meaning I can’t share any fun stories with you! But to catch you up a little bit, here are the things I can share:

1. I finished my behavioral health rotation with an A!
2. I got a JOB at the local children’s hospital. I’m working on the pediatric oncology floor, which is exactly where I wanted to end up. I love my coworkers and my kids.
3. I went to Nashville, TN for the Hungry for Hope conference and it was life changing. I made some amazing friends and learned some great lessons.
4. I finished my adult health rotation, where I was on a gynecological oncology unit. I hated it.
5. I went to a crazy bachelorette weekend for my best friend. I don’t do crazy.
6. I turned 24. Yikes!
7. I got on an airplane and flew to Connecticut ALONE (which is huge for me!)
8. While in Connecticut, I went to my cousin’s wedding and we took a day trip to Mystic, CT and Watch Hill, RI. I want to move to Watch Hill. It was gorgeous beyond words.
9. We found Taylor Swift’s house in Watch Hill and mom made friends with the security guards. She’s never met a stranger, that mother of mine.
10. My best friend, Emily, got married and I got to do fun bridesmaids things all week. It was a beautiful wedding, but it was emotionally and physically exhausting.
11. I said goodbye to said best friend, as she left for Croatia for her honeymoon and then is moving to Tennessee. BOOOOO.
12. I drove to Florida with my roomie to visit our friend Katie.

And now on Saturday, I’M MOVING! I’ll still be in the same city; I’m just moving to a house closer to school and work. I’ll be the 4^th girl living in the house, so it should be fun. The whole street is owned by the school, so it’s all houses with students and people from my classes. I’m excited for this next chapter in my life, but I’m also nervous. First of all, I hate packing and unpacking and the physical act of moving. Second, I’m going to miss my current roomie. Linds and I have lived together for a total of 3 years now, and we’re very comfortable together. It will be different moving in with strangers and moving so far away from Lindsey. Third, I have never lived in a house with 3 other people before. That’s a lot of girls under one roof, so we will see how that goes.

Anyways, I’m going to try to get back to regular blogging once I get moved in and settled!

Hungry for Hope and Bachelorette weekend!

my birthday, Taylor Swift's sign outside of her house, and me and my cousin at a wedding!

pouting about Em moving, laying out in Florida, and me and Em at her wedding

Babies and Weddings

I am 23 years old. I have been to 9 weddings in the past 2 years. I’m currently having a scheduling conflict because one of my friends is having her baby here in Charlotte on Friday and another friend is getting married in Elon on Saturday and I have a lunch date with a newly pregnant friend in Greensboro on Monday. I’m also trying to figure out how to plan a bridal shower and bachelorette party for my friend in June, while attending my best friend and my cousins weddings back to back in July.

In case you were wondering what it’s like to grow up, this is it. Babies and weddings ERRYWHERE.

My friend, Jaimers!

This article ran in the school newspaper in 2007:

“Four years ago, Jaime Cathell was climbing the steps to her third floor Staley dorm room when she had to stop, gasping for breath. That’s when it struck her that something was wrong. Cathell wasn’t out of shape; she has cystic fibrosis, an incurable genetic disease that causes mucus to clog the lungs. “My freshman year, I was the healthiest I’ve ever been, and I kick myself now for throwing it all away,” she said. Cathell’s life wasn’t much different from any other student’s when she entered college as a freshman. The history major followed the norm for many freshman and took advantage of her newfound freedom by letting loose and partying. She started her year faithfully performing her twice-a-day treatments, during which she spends an hour wearing a vest that pulsates, shaking loose the mucus in her lungs. She took her pills when she ate like she was supposed to, but before long her treatments started to take the backseat to college life. “By then I was doing my treatments, maybe, once a week,” Cathell said. “It contributed to a pretty dramatic decline in my health. But if I hadn’t I never would have learned the importance.” Until she got to college, cystic fibrosis was never a problem for Cathell. Her parents always encouraged her to have as normal a childhood as possible while she was growing up in Chapel Hill. She was active in church, a competitive swimmer and went to summer camp every year, accompanied by her mother who administered her treatments. Before Cathell had the vest she now uses, her treatments were administered by hand. Her mother or a therapist would pound on her back to shake loose the mucus in her lungs. “Basically, it looks like they’re beating you,” she said. For Cathell, those sorts of things were just a part of life. Her illness was diagnosed when she was three months old, so there was never a time that she remembers it being any different. Now a fifth year senior, the 23-year-old looks no different from her peers. “You would never know I’m sick unless I’m really feeling bad,” Cathell said. “Cystic fibrosis has no outward physical signs.” In reality though, she is at high risk for life-threatening lung infections. The mucus in her lungs is over thick due to a defective gene. The mucus is present in every person’s lungs to keep them free of bacteria, but the thick mucus is difficult to cough up, which can clog airways and cause bacteria to build up. Cathell had never missed school because of her health until December 2006. She was hospitalized and given IV antibiotics for a serious lung infection. She recovered, but had to increase her treatments for four or five times daily. Since then, she has been hospitalized for lung infections numerous times. After her scare of the stairs four years ago, Cathell got involved in Campus Outreach, an evangelical Christian organization at Elon. Cathell learned to study the Bible, and now she leads Bible study sessions and mentors younger girls. Her faith is what helps her deal with the implications of her illness- the knowledge that she will eventually die from it. Her disease has no cure, and the median age of survival is about 37 years. How Cathell feels about it depends on the day. When she’s having a rough day, the knowledge weighs on her, but typically she comes to terms with it. “Well, we all die,” she said. “I just might die a little sooner.” Cathell believes in heaven, which makes it much easier for her to deal with. “The Bible says that when you die, you’re rid of everything you have in this world,” she said. “So I think, what’s a few years with this disease compared to an eternity without it?”

I was blessed to meet sweet Jaime 6 years ago when I was a freshman at Elon University. Shortly after beginning my freshman year, I got involved with a campus Christian organization called Campus Outreach. Jaime was also involved in Campus Outreach and lived with some other girls I knew. I didn’t know much about Jaime at first; all I knew was that she was always smiling, had a great sense of humor, and gave the best hugs! It wasn’t until much later that I realized that Jaime was sick. As a 5^th year senior, Jaime was incredibly busy, yet she always made time to schedule lunch dates or hang out times with me. I would frequently pick up milkshakes and head over to her house so that we could watch Oprah together at 4. We laughed about a stuffed pink poodle, watched numerous Youtube videos, and attended baseball games. Even after she graduated, Jaime and I still stayed in touch. She came to visit me at the beach over the summers, and I would drive to Greensboro for lunches sometimes. Jaime is not only a GREAT friend, but was also a huge spiritual influence in my life. She showed true bravery and what it really meant to be a woman pursuing the Lord. In fact, I drove over the Jaime’s house at midnight the night I became a Christian and Jaime stayed up to celebrate with me. She has such a big heart and has loved me so well over the years, which is why it was amazing to be able to celebrate her at her wedding last night! The ceremony was gorgeous and it was the perfect day for a wedding. With her illness, Jaime has overcome so much already in life. It was amazing to see her walk down that aisle, looking beautiful and grinning from ear to ear. If anyone deserves to be that happy, it’s Jaime.

I don’t see an illness when I look at Jaime. I see an amazing friend, a beautiful young girl, and a woman actively pursuing Christ daily.

 

Lessons of the Week

This past week has been crazy. I have had friends in town, packed, unpacked, road tripped to Maryland, and performed bridesmaids duties! Here are a few things I learned this week:
1. ‘When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long’ is a fitting quote in almost any situation.
2. Mapquest and the GPS have very different routes. Trust the GPS always.
3. You'll never know if you don't ask.
4. It’s almost never okay to wear a shirt that matches the exact color of your pants.
5. Playgrounds are fun at any age.
6. Emotions catch up to you at the strangest of times.
7. I can’t deal with fake nails. At all.
8. Sea turtles are precious. But maybe not the smartest.
9. Do not leave things til the last minute. It just causes stress.
10. My tilt table test was pretty accurate and I probably shouldn’t stand for more than 4 minutes at a time.
     10a. Bridesmaids actually do pass out at weddings. It’s not just something you see on TV. Oops.
11. Always eat and never lock your knees.
12. Roadtrips are designed to make people fat. All you do is snack.
13. I have a bladder the size of a pea.
14. Moving is exciting and stressful.
15. There are few things better than seeing your hometowns skyline after a long car trip.

The Royal Wedding

Unless you live under a rock, you know that yesterday was the royal wedding and I am not ashamed to admit that I was one of those girls who woke up at 5:45 to watch the wedding live! It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and you could almost see the excitement in the air. Kate looked gorgeous in her Sarah Burton wedding gown. It was classy, elegant, and timeless. It was fun to get to see Kate stand next to her sister, Pippa. It is amazing how much they look alike! Kate then entered the long walk into Westminster Abbey…seriously, it took her like 10 minutes to get down the aisle. I could feel the anticipation building as William had his back turned. Luckily, Harry turned around and spied on the bride-to-be for his brother and was seen mouthing the words “wait until you see her!” Oh William and Kate. Such a great couple. You really can see that they love each other.
When trying to explain to my dad, and all the other clueless males in my life, about the excitement and hype of the royal wedding, I found it was best explained like this: It is a Disney fairy tale that has come to life. An ordinary, but beautiful girl meets a handsome young prince. The two fall in love, however he does not want to pressure her into marrying into the chaos of royalty. She is too madly in love to be with anyone else and eventually accepts the prince’s hand in marriage. This “ordinary girl” weds to her love with nearly 1/3 of the world’s population watching. After stepping out onto the balcony and sealing the marriage with a kiss, or two, the ordinary Miss Catherine Elizabeth Middleton became Her Royal Highness Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
Um, hello? What girl doesn’t dream of that? It’s like Disney, all grown up! And while the Royal schedule of events may have included arriving at Westminster Abbey, schmoozing with royalty from all over the world, and getting the entire Buckingham Palace cleared out, I did find a way to celebrate. Here is MY schedule of events on this royal day:

5:45am: alarm goes off
5:45-5:55am: lay in bed and wonder what I was thinking
6:00-7:30am: watch the wedding live on TV and wish I were there.
7:30-11:00am: go back to bed
11:00am-1:00pm: various morning routine activities
1:00pm-6:00pm: wear a plastic tiara everywhere I go, including the bookstore.
6:00pm-10:00pm: various college-like activities (IHOP, concert, ice cream, photoshop my face into a picture of the royal couple)
10:00pm-11:00pm: Watch the history of the royals on NatGeo
11:00pm-2:00am: Watch the story of Princess Diana
2:00am-3:00-am: rewatch the actual wedding. Again. In my crown.

So I’d say I celebrated in style. What did you do to celebrate history in the making?

Me and William...a girl can dream, right?