Tag: travel nurse
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In A Border Town
I spent a few days this past week working per diem at a facility on the Texas border (8 hours from home). I have a few possible opportunities pending at home, but I wasn’t able to find any local per diem shifts to work while waiting for one of them to come to fruition. I…
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Leaving the Islands
We made it back to the islands with just a few weeks left on my assignment. We spent that time revisiting the places that we enjoyed the most, knowing that we may never be back. We have the best of intentions to return one day, but you never know what life has in store. It…
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The Island (Week 8 & 9)
It has been difficult the past two weeks. So many things… The positive: I made plans for a quick trip home. I couldn’t wait to see Wookie. It had been 8 weeks since I had seen him and prior to this, we had never even gone 8 days without seeing each other. I took him…
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The Islands (Week 7)
This past week was the one year anniversary of my twin sister’s death. It forced me to re-acknowledge that she is gone, which brought up a wealth of emotions. I realize now that I have spent this entire past year angry at her. Very few people know that. The anger has been strong enough that…
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The Islands (Week 6)
When we first arrived, I remember losing sleep and being slightly annoyed by the footsteps above me and the loud birds in the jungle surrounding us. Now I find it comforting (more evidence that perspective is relative). It is the first time in my existence that I have been alone. My husband went back home…
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The Islands (Week 4 & 5)
There are no pretentious people here. I mean that. I have yet to see one person in a suit and tie, high heels, or carrying a brand name purse. It is refreshing. There doesn’t seem to be a “rat race” and no one is chasing “the next best thing”. I have never been around a…
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The Islands (Week 3)
I just finished a stretch of 4 shifts in a row that have left me exhausted. When I chose the condo that I am currently in, I knew that it was 54 miles from the facility. To some people that may sound like a long commute, but I made that decision based on travel conditions…
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The Islands (Week 1)
This past week has been full of “firsts” for me. Let me tell you about it: I flew in an airplane for the first time! It is something that I have spent most of my adult life avoiding for sake of fear. I have been able to justify driving my car every time we have…
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Intermission IV
Saying goodbye is always hard, as I have mentioned in the past. But this one was a Damn good, good bye (like Mike Ryan’s song). We went out with a bang that last night in Red Cloud, Nebraska. It was a wonderful time spent laughing, hugging, and reminiscing. The relationships that I developed on that…
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The Midwest (Week 12)
Murphy’s law has been in full effect this past week. If anything could go wrong, it did….. I sent everything to the board of nurses for my new license. I got an email from them that they would be returning the money orders. I sent the amount listed on the application, but they sent me…
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The Midwest (Week 11)
Happy Nurse’s Week! My sister sent me this cup as a gift to celebrate. It’s a time in which we honor Florence Nightingale (The lady with the lamp) and commemorate her birthday. She was a legend in her own lifetime and one of the most famous women in British history. She became a nurse despite the…
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The Midwest (Week 10)
My husband is here for a visit which allows us the ability to explore (see previous post for more information). We visited the center of the contiguous United States this past weekend. It was a quiet little place with a covered area and picnic tables. We would have packed a lunch if we had known!…
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The Midwest (Week 7 & 8)
This assignment is flying by! I seriously don’t know where the time is going. I have found myself in uncharted territory. The car trouble that I recently encountered has become compounded by the fact that there are no parts available to fix it. I purchased this car in January to ensure that I would not…
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The Midwest (Week 6)
What a wonderful weekend we just had! As I travel nurse, my husband team ropes, and the kids are grown and in different places -It becomes increasingly difficult for us to all be together. Our son came home to visit from the military (Army MP) and I was able to manage a trip home from…
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The Midwest (Week 5)
I experienced another “first” this past weekend. We went to the horse races! Neither one of us had ever experienced them before, so mark another item off of our list! We actually won a few bets, but never enough to break even. I am sure there is a science to it, but we had fun…
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The Midwest (Week 3 & 4)
I have found myself feeling sentimental about home and reminiscing about the beginning of this journey. It was almost exactly one year ago that we packed up the camper and started off across the country to my first assignment. It seems like forever ago and yesterday at the same time (time is strange that way).…
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The Midwest (Week 1)
There was snow on the ground when we arrived this past week, much colder than where we had come from! I had to unpack Wookie’s little fleece suit. He was very excited to see it. We had not used it since being in the high desert. I think he had forgotten all about it (it…
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Intermission III
We had to “kiss” the coast goodbye this past week (along with the tropical climate). We had a week to spend at home preparing ourselves and the camper for the next location (miscellaneous repairs are necessary after every move). But this time we performed a little re-model. My husband has fulfilled his commitments at home…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 15)
I don’t always have the opportunity to stay at an assignment long enough to see the official results or impact of my presence. I usually get verbal affirmation for the positive impact, but since that is subjective I don’t place too much value in it. I prefer to have both subjective and objective data for…
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The Gulf Coast (Week 14)
I made a trip back home last week and was greeted with this (ice). I forgot how cold it could be! I was quickly missing the tropical weather on the gulf coast. The trip home was eventful. Of all the miles that I have traveled (driven) over the past year, I have not been stranded…