Rhyme and No Reason!

Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

Letter to Self At the Start of my Nursing Degree — March 12, 2018

Letter to Self At the Start of my Nursing Degree

Just under a year ago I was getting excited preparing myself for embarking on my nursing degree.  This morning I had to go to Uni to discuss the past year with my tutor and get bits and pieces for the first year signed off. She gave me a letter that I had written to myself at the very start of the course. We were all asked to write them to see how our journey progresses, particularly in our first year.

Here is what I wrote, complete with typos!

Well, I am still going, and I have had a lot of support from my friends, especially those in my nursing and blogging community. I am starting to get very excited now about starting year 2 in just over a month. Sadly a few of the younger students have left the course for one reason or another but they have all gone on to do other things that suit them better. I wonder what challenges will be facing us this year?….

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Becoming a Nurse One Year On — March 11, 2018

Becoming a Nurse One Year On

As some of you may know I have almost come to the end of my first year as a Student Nurse. I have written a poem about my journey so far here.  I would just like to give a shout out to a very special person that helped me by proofreading a few of my drafts. She painstakingly read through what must have been pretty tedious, not to mention badly written pages of text . Wendy, thank you so much, I really did appreciate what you did or me, and apologise for the quality of some of those drafts!

Although I feel exhausted

And have shed some bitter tears

I am proud to have made it this far

And got through the first of three long years!

Assignments have been tricky

Yet I thought I would do quite well

But I was badly out of practice

And one of them I failed.

My placements have been busy

With so much to see and do

Signing off skills I have accomplished

And learning maggot therapy too!

I got to know so many people

In the short time I was there

But I feel very privileged

To have been a small part of their care.

Becoming a nurse won’t be easy

But I know, at least for me

That I am doing the right thing

And it’s still what I want to be!

#JusJotJan 2018. January 4th Passionate — January 4, 2018

#JusJotJan 2018. January 4th Passionate

We are on day four of Just Jot it January already and I am really enjoying it. I always enjoy the challenge of having to write about a specific subject or use a particular prompt word.It is interesting too what other people make of the same conditions!

Anyway without further ado, here is today’s prompt word.

Your prompt for January 4th, 2018, brought to you by the ever-charming Rosemary, is “Passionate.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Rosemary at her blog, “Rosemary Carlson, Writer” to read her post and say hi! Here’s her link:  https://rosemarycarlson.com/

‘Passionate’ is the kind of word that can be used in a variety of different ways. It conjures up images of ardent lovers ripping each other’s clothes off barely being able to control their lust. (Well, at least, to me it does).

Or, it makes me think of someone who totally believes in and cares what they are doing. For example, raising money for a good cause, and trying to convince others how worthwhile it is, too.

Perhaps it is a football supporter passionate about the game, cheering on his team wherever they are playing, or similarly, a music fan following their group around from gig to gig, buying all the merchandise, and trying to get an autograph.

My passion is my job, or rather my future job, all being well. Throughout my life, I have had many careers from being a (terrible) waitress to working in an office in different guises, both as a civil servant and in an operations department of a holiday brochure company. I have even been a serving soldier and worked in a kebab shop (my first husband owned it). However, it is nursing that I love the best, despite only working in that career for the past ten years or so.

It feels like I have found my ‘niche’ in life which in some ways is pretty ironic considering a), I am clumsy and b), I used to be very squeamish at the sight of blood. I know my family used to joke (well I hope they were joking) that they would run a mile if they saw me coming at them with a needle to take blood! However, I seem to manage doing it quite well.

There are so many aspects of the job that I enjoy; taking care of people, trying to help them feel better, and knowing how the body works (although that Anatomy & Physiology exam was a killer if you pardon the expression)!  Yes, there are other parts of the job that may not be so glamorous but it is all part of the entire process of looking after someone.

I thought that being a Registered Nurse was going to be unattainable for me, due to one reason or another, and that I would have to stay as an Associate Practitioner (Nursing) for the rest of my career. However, there was a small window of opportunity to take the degree and thanks to my boss, I was put forward for it.

All I have to do now, of course, is to pass my degree! Hopefully, my determination and passion will get me through.

Just Jot it January 13th – Sacrifice — January 13, 2016

Just Jot it January 13th – Sacrifice

For Linda’s Just Jot it January today, we have been given ‘sacrifice’ for our prompt word. This to me, is quite a weighty word, especially when you consider the original meaning of offering up the life of an animal or person to a God. However, we now tend to use it to mean giving something up that we value for the sake of helping someone else, or doing something else.

In the society that we live in, we are often told that it is possible to ‘have it all.’ Successful careers, well-adjusted children,  a good education, happy marriages, and domestic bliss. Really? I am not sure that we can truly achieve all of those things without some kind of sacrifice.

Looking back at the 1950’s for example, in the era when many women stayed home to look after the children, and men were the main breadwinners working long hours to support their families, it is clear that neither sex had it all. Yes, the children may grow up being lovingly nurtured by their mother, but many hardly saw their fathers who went out to work before they were awake and came home when they were in bed.

The good education that a woman may have received would not be fully utilised, as many gave up work as soon as they married, and did not pursue any of their own interests, some were actually discouraged from doing so!  A happy marriage may well be enjoyed by both, but I would not be surprised if there may have been a bit of resentment from the wife, striving to achieve domestic bliss with homecooked meals and a spotless house, plus always looking her best for when her husband came home.

Fast forward to the present day,  and a whole range of changes. Men and women are no longer expected to conform to stereotypes.  We have moved on considerably, and now women are no longer expected to stay at home keeping house, they can go out to work, get whatever education they like, and still manage to raise a family. This is the same as men have always been able to do (well except for keeping house of course, but now many men choose to do this for various reasons). We also have same-sex couples, some of whom are bringing up children, but the problems remain the same, we all want to be able to ‘have it all.’

Something surely has got to give. Some people employ nannies and housekeepers so that they can work and not have to worry about the house and kids. Some have one partner staying at home whilst the other goes out to work. Some put off having children to establish their career first, others do it the other way around, having children young, then try to forge a career. It sounds to me like quite a few sacrifices are being made in order to ‘have it all.’

Do you agree, have you managed to find a way to have it all?

 

 

 

Episode 474: New Horizons — August 27, 2015

Episode 474: New Horizons

I mentioned before in a previous post that something might be on the horizon work wise for me, but at that point I didn’t want to elaborate in case I jinxed it! Well, I can now reveal that today I went for a job interview – and I got the job!

I had been feeling a little disgruntled at work one way or another, as some of you know, I have tried to address these issues but decided that it might now be a good time to spread my wings and look around to see what else is out there for me.

Despite being a creature of habit and having a fantastic group of friends that I work with, I decided that I need to challenge myself a little more and do something new. So when a job came up for what I am qualified to do (they are very few and far between), I decided to apply for it, and was delighted to be invited for an interview today.

Despite being very nervous, I managed to reply appropriately  to all of the scenarios I was given, and the interviewers were pleased by the massive portfolio I took in (Well I thought they might like to flick through it)which they did.

I thought I might not hear anything until Tuesday as we have a Bank Holiday on Monday, but I got the call 2 hours after my interview offering me the job.  I am now going to be part of the District Nursing team visiting people in their homes. This will hopefully be a new and exciting side to my career and I am really looking forward to it.

Episode 467: The Future Challenge — August 21, 2015

Episode 467: The Future Challenge

My wonderful friend Erika has nominated me for a new challenge,

Rules:
• Thank the bloggers who nominated you. Thank you, Erika
• Link back to the challenge creator, Dreams and Movie Screens so she can track your progress.
• Share 5 things about your future (jobs, kids, marriage, travel etc). Then one day you can look back and find out how psychic you really are.
• Tag 5 bloggers and put them up to the challenge.

Ok, onto my future!

  1. To progress in my career. I have an idea about what I would like to do but can’t say anything just yet.
  2. To see Miss Hap with a career of her choosing, and for her to be happy and settled,
  3. To see if one day, I could write something half decent decent!
  4. To one day own my own house even though by the time I do I will probably have to sell it to pay for my nursing home care!!!
  5. For things that are possibly in the pipeline jobs wise for myself and Mr Grump to come to fruition!

My nominees are:

The Indecisive Eejit

The Off key of Life

Home made Naturally

My Travels With Depression

Joeyfully Stated

Marsha Ingrao - Always Write

Having fun blogging with friends

sew VeraVenus

"A modern make on vintage style."

Rachael's Thoughts

Lifestyle blog featuring the fabulous North East and beyond

My Window

Sharing my thoughts, poems, travel & art

WordPress.com Apps

Apps for any screen

Learning to write

Just your average PhD student using the internet to enhance their CV

Jemverse

Life in words

Stuff and what if...

Exploring writing and the creative randomness of life. Snapshots of moments.

TEL @ CCCU

The Learning Technology Team at Canterbury Christ Church University

Aakashsoyanthone

Aakashsoyanthone

Gin & Lemonade

...with a twist.

Peacock Poetry

by Sam Allen

Tallis Steelyard

The jumbled musings of Tallis Steelyard

Diary of a Dublin Housewife

Diary of a Dublin Housewife

Carolina Russo Art

Intuitive Watercolor Paintings- FINE ART - Illustration

Two on a Rant

Rants, humor, sarcasm, and a haiku-like substance? It's hard to know what's going to come out of our minds next.

We Are Holistic

Promoting a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit

cindyknoke.wordpress.com/

Photography and Travel

pensitivity101

An onion has many layers. So have I!

Fatty McCupcakes

Rants, Ramblings, and Regrets

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