Where did September go?

Well, I am going to fail at getting this up before the official end of September, but October 1st isn't bad, right? And it's not for lack of effort- I tried to write an update at work yesterday, but they're still running on an ANCIENT version of internet explorer, and blogspot's new updates aren't supported on it. So fail. Instead, I'm spending my free minutes at work typing this entry into my gmail, so it will be nice and ready to post first thing once I get home!

 

But you probably don't care about that.

 

September has gone by fast for me, probably aided by the fact that I flew to Texas for Valerie's wedding in the middle of it. It was so wonderful to be with good friends, though so surreal that one of us was actually getting married. I still can't believe it! The wedding itself went by fast- I wish we could have all spent more time together, but I've very grateful for the time we did have. I also had some good talks with Annas, especially Anna P., because I spent Saturday night after the wedding at her house. It was wonderful to get to talk with her about life in person after the wedding. If there was one thing I would change about my life if I could right now, it would be living close to these girls again. Without them, I am always feeling something lacking. I think I'm not as honest with myself without them around.

 

Life in Nashville has just finally started to settle back into a semi-routine after a hectic summer. Neighborhood groups just started back with church, and it's nice coming back to a group of people I already know on various levels vs. coming into an all new environment again. Also, tutoring at the middle school my church meets at just started back this week. I'm so glad my schedule will allow me to continue serving this way, because I really enjoy it. Plus anything that gives regularity to my week is a plus- it helps my remember what day it is!

 

I've started feeling the lack of walking to work mentally and physically. The exercise and thinking time was a blessing, and it's just not the same when you're driving for the same amount of time vs. walking. I'm stilling trying to figure out how to replace that in my schedule, but just this past week or two I've realized I really need to get up and moving more. I keep trying to go to classes at this dance studio I found on my side of town, but a lot of the classes meet either on nights I usually work, on mornings I'm usually sleeping, or on Sunday night during church. I hate when scheduling just doesn't work out.

 

I haven't picked up my knitting projects since I went on vacation in July- my routine got thrown off, and then I brought home a new kitten, and then it was hot and I just didn't feel like working with yarn. I think maybe I need to put my most recent project on hiatus, and get back to some of my handmade gifts, because those will go a lot faster and be less stressful than the blanket design I was working on.

 

Just this week I looked at masters programs in nursing briefly- just what all the various speciality options were again. And for the first time in a long time, I was actually a little excited about the possibility of returning to school. But I'm still faced with the multitude of possibilities and no idea how to start narrowing it down. I feel like it would help to talk to someone about the different options, I just don't really know who. So I keep going back to basically waiting for a "sign." Which is... well. yeah. At work, things are going fine, but I'm definitely feeling a "one-year slump" of some kind. I don't disenjoy it, but it just feels more like work. Some weeks are better than others (this week has been good, with patients and family members thanking me a lot for my care, but other weeks I spend with rough, demanding families, or patients who I almost feel cruel to be treating. Families and doctors like to hold on to patients much longer than I would if it were my loved one. It can make it hard.)

 

Neville is as crazy as ever. I'm starting to look forward to the day he gets fixed (within the next two months), because I hear they mellow out a lot after that. He is growing fast, and I recently bought him a bunch of new toys, like a "big boy" litter box (one with a cover), and a fun drinking bowl/fountain, because he always comes running to the sound of running water. This is clearly a sign that I am going to spoil my children.

 

Looking to the future, I have my brother's wedding to look forward to- in just a MONTH now. I can' t believe it. Other than that, I'm just waiting to hear what my holiday schedule is going to be, so I can figure out when/if I'll get to go home...

 

I'm still making a video every friday here, and sometimes even update my personal channel here. Check it out sometime!