Today I was driving back home from West Seattle looking at a view of the water (Puget Sound), the shipping docks, Olympic mountains, and tall Seattle buildings. I've never been a city girl, but I'm learning to find a city beautiful. I always thought mountains and plains were picturesque, but man made buildings? Yesterday another nurse said that seeing the shipping docks reminds her that there are other places in the world.
I stopped along the way at Uwajimaya, a huge Asian food market. My friend had been wanting fresh basil plants, and they had them. However, they needed to be potted, and I realized I don't have a pot, potting soil, soil period! I don't have a yard or a pasture. I need to clean the inside of my windshield and thought if I did it outside in the sunshine it would be more fun. Where can I do it outside? On the street? My life has changed. I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building right in the middle of tall buildings.
My life has changed in other ways. Now I drive to people's homes and nursing homes to provide hospice care patients and their families. Instead of caring for people in the ICU with all kinds of beeps and alarms, I am meeting them on their own turf. Instead of being relatively in control of the situation, I far from in control as I try to empower them to work through issues and deal with disease and the end of life on their own terms. My job is to trouble shoot for possible solutions with them, but when I walk out of the door, they get to do what thy want to.
Another change: now that I'm married, I no longer eat tacos, salad, sandwiches, and soup every day. I have enjoyed trying all kinds of new foods here in Seattle and expanding my cooking horizons as well! With my new job, my hours tend to be around 8-4 on the days that I work, so I have time to keep up on the house, groceries, laundry, cooking, and cleaning.
My friend, Elaine, wrote me a very special email about how much she has enjoyed my blog over the last few years. I'm going to make another attempt to get back into it. If not for everyone else, for myself. Over these last few months, I've had to refer back to posts about experiences at work to remind myself of why I love nursing. Like a journal, it gives me occasion to laugh and cry. In the present, though, it helps me process the things I am dealing with in life. For those of you who enjoy the photos, I hope to continue to post them, but my computer where I have most of them is so slow that blogging takes forever. I'll find a way soon.
Possible upcoming posts: my job, end of life issues, euthanasia, Seattle, mountains, cooking, books...
