Moving Days

The closer the summer comes to an end, the busier it seems to get. Yesterday was a patho test (90! W00t!), today is moving some of my things in with A. Major problem with moving is not knowing where to put all of our things. A has a lot of stuff...

My friends and I were talking the other day about starting a time capsule type deal. Journaling all of our nursing school experiences. When we're all done, we'll sit down together with several bottles of wine and read them out loud and eat tacos!

This summer has been hard, hard, hard. I've never physically felt stress like this before. I was telling A that I didn't understand this at all, considering I've dealt with much bigger monsters and much harder obstacles in the past. That being said, the last three months in Tuscaloosa have been.... different. I'm reluctant to use "depressing". That is far from the truth. But I guess the further I get away from April 27 and the more life goes one, the more I realize that dealing with the storm is much like a grieving process. It's just one of those things everyone deals with differently. I just happen to deal with stresses like that by putting more stress on myself. Makes it easier for me to pick myself up, dust myself off, and get back on the horse again.

I guess when I think about it, the physical manifestations of the stress of this summer is probably on par or better than expected. Wish I could have had the 40 lbs weight loss again... Storm, 13 straight days of work, little time off before starting summer 1 nursing school, passing my nursing classes AND working at the same time, moving... It's been a busy summer and full of change!! with change comes beauty like a butterfly

Progress

Sorry for the distance. I'm a little hesitant to park too close because I don't want to pick up any nails in my tires.

Days go by

My drive in to work every day requires me to drive through damage from the storm. I believe I have mentioned this in a previous post. There is literally no route from my job that I can take without seeing devastation. I have to admit that it's kind of numbing to see it everyday and that seems to make everything a little bit more bearable, a bit like a seasoned doctor or nurse who sees blood everyday or sticks a needle in a vein. It's becoming normal.

I don't know if it's the stress from school, because upper division at the Capstone College of Nursing is intense, or if it's just part of the grieving process, but recently, seeing the same things I've seen everyday have stirred up some of the first identifiable emotions I've had from the storm; the shock, the heaviness in my stomach, the sadness. The sadness is always there, numb or not. But it's a rollercoaster ride and I guess right now, I'm going up a hill.

I realized today they are working on Rosedale. I don't know what words to describe because you can't tear down what's already torn down. It's more like, consolidating the piles of rubble.

Outside of Rosedale Court, April 28, 2011

It's no longer mounds of brick and wood in the now fenced in remains. It's larger mounds. They are starting to clean it up. And while I thought that it would maybe be a relief to see that debris finally disappear, I have to admit that it took my breath away.

I realized this morning that it's the change that's getting to me. It's so much change in so little time. I'm still having to learn the streets all over again because nothing is recognizable along many roads. As soon as I have begun to learn new landmarks, they change again.

This says so much to the hard-working men and women out in this 1o0 degree heat, every day, picking up the pieces of our lives and throwing them away as we all move on. The miracle that our spirits are still so high in Tuscaloosa bodes so well for our future and despite the stinging pain that finds it way up from time to time, it's going to be exciting to see what the future holds for this resilient town.

In other news...

Life has gone on since the storm (and before considering my lack of writing!).

I used to be such a dedicated blogger... and now I just fail at all corners of this because of school but you should know that this had paid off! I started upper division nursing at the Capstone College of Nursing! Roll Tide!! If you thought I didn't write enough before....

So far, I've studied literally two solid weeks for a pathophysiology test ONLY to make an 80 on it. Only? Yes, "only"! The grading scale is Completely Different! How about an 80 is a C+... This is my first C in ANYTHING since I was in chemistry... I even got a tutor for the first time in my life. I'm going to be learning lessons not only in patho but in humility and realistic expectations.

What's really awesome is how much the school did for the community during the storm. Many of the nurses in the program hit the streets and helped the Red Cross and other blood donation sites, medical treatment sites, etc, with paperwork and triage along with other donation sites and hard labor work. I can't say Roll Tide enough to all of the hard workers and volunteers who have worked non-stop since the storm that have made such a remarkable change in our town!!

The nursing building is now located in a new building on the UA campus that is completely state-of-the-art. I'm exhausted but that doesn't begin to smother my excitement to be there! The second floor is just a mini-hospital for us to get hands on training! And we have little red scrubs with little crimson and white patches with the UA logo on it. Confession: I put them on as soon as they came in and...well...they're unisex... and unisex pants apparently don't forgive women's hips... so no carbs for me!!!