If I Had Only Known... and Happy Pi Day!

Is it embarrassing to admit I was a Mathlete in 5th grade?

Yeah. We went to STATE people.

It wasn't long before I gave that up for other (way cooler) pursuits... like band, theater, Key club, and writing the advice column for the school newspaper...

If I had only known what could have been, I might have stuck with math, and gone on to find fame and fortune as a BYU Mathlete.

A Gentle Nudge and Thoughts on Sibling Order

Today I received a message from Capri Vanderwonken:

For those of you that are NOT a 12 year old girl from my hometown, Capri Vonderwonken is an alias - for Capri (real last name) - that she thinks is keeping my parents from knowing she belongs to the Facebook world. 

I shamefully admit I am guilty of helping Capri in this deceptive endeavor. She probably would have figured it out on her own anyway, and then who would be the spy that let my not-so-naive parents know what was going on in their childrens' virtual worlds?

Besides, I feel bad for the girl - she's the youngest of 6 with 2 incredibly fair parents. This means a LOT of waiting for Capri; one sister didn't get her ears pierced until she was 14, so Capri has to wait; another wasn't allowed makeup until 13, so Capri has to wait; I didn't have an iPod until I was 17, so Capri can't have one either - never mind they weren't invented until I was 17, and I probably would have had one sooner had they been. 

You get the picture. Most youngest children get a reputation for being spoiled - I should know, I married the youngest of 6, and he gets teased all the time! 

It does seem like Capri does less chores, and I don't think she's ever had to get up before the sun to go hoe pumpkins like we did every summer of our childhood...but youngest children have their trials too! (like never getting new clothes, and not being allowed Facebook when all their siblings, cousins, friends, and 845 million other people find it an enjoyable social network.)

I know a lot of people have strong feelings about oldest/youngest children - oldest are bossy, youngest are spoiled, middle are boring, etc. (jk about the boring). But I enjoy helping my youngest sister in her pre-teen rebellion, because hey, I know I was a rebellious pre-teen, and it's only fair if she is too!

(and the fact that Capri is the only one of my 5 siblings that reads my blog has nothing to do with it.) 

Any other oldest or youngest readers out there with strong opinions? 

Capri wearing my old sweatshirt - pro and con of being the youngest: 

Pro: automatic great style and endless hand-me-downs. Con: endless hand-me-downs.

Capri and me, circa 2008. 

(Again, Capri sporting another hand-me-down coat) 

Rude!

Have you ever been walking along and looked down at a sign that advertised your birthday as the "worst day of the year"?

I have. It was not nice.

Happy Graduamabirthday* To Me!



*Graduamabirthday - a word you can only use when someone's graduation and birthday fall on the same day. This might be the only time you can wish someone a happy graduamabirthday, so be sure to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. =)

Last, Last Day

First Day of Nursing School:

October 28, 2010

Last Day of Nursing School:

February 9, 2012

(TODAY!)

Yup, today was my last, last day.

(I think I look a little more tired and a lot more happy)

You're probably wondering how I'm feeling, on my last, last day. On every other last day of school I've been really excited for the vacation that the last day entails. But I've always know the vacation will end - and I will be back at school again. 

It's exciting to be done with school this time, but I don't have that, "YAY VACATION" feeling. I have the, "oh crap, I've REALLY got to get a job, and soon, because I've only been done for 5 hours and I'm already B-O-R-E-D, and because medical school costs more than a small island" feeling. It's not as fun....

It's a pretty bittersweet feeling. No more feeling guilty for watching a movie instead of studying. No more student discounts. No more waking up early for clinicals, or staying up late cramming for an exam. No more hilarious study groups with way too much sugar. No more boring lectures, and no more cracking jokes on Facebook during the boring lectures to spice things up... 

I also might be having an identity crisis. I started pre-school in 1991, and have been a student ever since - that's 21 years of being a student. And I have gotten really good at it, I am a good student. I know how to suck up to teachers, have the discipline to study, how to cram for tests, get good grades, look like I'm paying attention in class... you know, the things that make one a good student ;-) .

But now I don't really know what's next, and I don't know if I'm going to be good at whatever that is. What if I can't find a job? What if no one wants to hire me? What if I find a job right away and I'm not ready? What I am actually a crappy nurse?

Probably the most overwhelming feeling right now is the "I wish medical school was free" feeling, so I could keep going to school, where I'm comfortable and happy. Alas, small islands aren't cheap, so it's time for me to grow up learn how to not be a student any more. 

As I look around my office now, clean and empty and echo-y, I feel satisfied, but also sad and nostalgic. All those nights I worried about getting a bad grade, the times I thought I would fail, the stresses of school - it all seems sort of silly. 

And I feel lucky, so lucky. Blessed, actually, to be where I'm at, and to have the education that I have. I am so, so lucky and I already miss it. 

So, after saying time and again "I can't wait for school to be over!", "I can't wait to graduate", "only blank more weeks, months, days, etc." now, on the last of lasts I'm saying,

"I can't wait to be a student again."

I have one of those faces?

Almost every time I go to a department store I am mistaken for an employee. This is not an exaggeration, people. I am talking 9 out of 10 times. Doesn't matter if I'm browsing alone, shopping with girlfriends, or looking at ties with Nate, someone will undoubtedly come up to me and ask, "where is the maternity section?" or, "Do you have this in blue?" It has been happening for years, and it happens everywhere - Gap, Dillard's, Target, etc - I have no idea why.

It used to be this incident was confined to department stores, mostly in the clothing sections. But it's getting worse. The other day I was at Wal-Mart and a woman asked me where the marshmallows were. At first I thought maybe I just looked like a person who knows where the marshmallows should be, but then she noticed I was holding a basket and a purse and realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry, you're wearing the same pants as the people who work here." 

Khakis.

Honest mistake. I was able to tell her where the marshmallows were though (baking section, on the bottom shelf - one of the trickiest items to find!)

When this happens it is usually awkward for both the mistaken shopper and myself, though I am getting pretty used to it.

But the other day, something happened that even I couldn't believe. 

I was shopping at Costco, pushing a cart three times my size, maybe four. It was after my clinicals at the hospital, and I was wearing - get this - BRIGHT BLUE NURSING SCRUBS. And squeaky white nursing shoes. 

This is literally what I looked like:

(with matching bright blue pants that you can't see in the picture.)

A woman walked up to me and said, "Excuse me, where do you keep the Epsom salts?" 

I was speechless. I looked down at myself to make sure I hadn't unknowingly changed into a Costco uniform. Then I looked back at the lady, who was still looking at me, waiting for an answer. 

"Ummmm.... I think they might be next to the pharmacy, like by the soap?" 

She then asked if I could show her where that was.

I escorted her to the Epsom salts. 

She never seemed to realize I was not a Costco employee, and, in fact, wearing nursing scrubs.