Month: July 2023

What would you change about modern society?

This is not a political post. I’ve watched several documentaries about Robert F. Kennedy. Something that always resonated with me was something he said in his campaign speech in Indianapolis after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. He said, “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another; and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.” That was in 1968 but the same is true for today. We still need love, wisdom and compassion for one another and not racism, hatred, or violence. It’s that simple.

What do you listen to while you work?

Well we aren’t allowed to play music in the nurses station. That is fine with me because I don’t want to risk listening to someone else’s music that I don’t like. It’s a distraction. I need to focus. My department is fast paced. We prepare patients for surgery. As a pre-op nurse I review patients charts and medical history with them, create a care plan, do a physical assessment, give medications and place an IV. Some of these people are really sick and most of them are afraid. They need a quiet place. I always have music playing in my head though. I listen to music in the car on the way to work. Music that makes me feel good, energetic and positive. I also listen to music with my airpods when I’m walking into the hospital to embrace my final moments of freedom.

What’s your go-to comfort food?

There are people who eat to live and there are people who live to eat. I live to eat. Here’s my perspective on comfort foods; in a given day if your day has turned into a complete shitshow and you have no control over anything else in your day, you can at least choose what you want to eat. Enter comfort foods. If you’ve read my post Ida Candy, you’ll know my favorite candy bar is Hershey’s chocolate bar so that’s my favorite comfort dessert. Pizza is my first go to comfort food. Did you have a bad day as a nurse today Jen? Let’s order you a pizza. Pepperoni please. My son and I have adopted the term “therapy pizza” for those special situations. Pizza and Ida candy. For breakfast or supper on occasion I enjoy French toast on Italian bread, cooked in butter, slathered in butter. When someone in my household is sick, feeling down in the dumps or when it’s really cold out I make my Grandma Mary’s chicken soup recipe. It’s the only thing I cook that tastes exactly like my Grandma’s.

Dogs or cats?

I’ve had both; two dogs and three cats. Two of the cats were wonderful, the other one not so much. I’ve realized I’m more of a dog person. My first dog was a black miniature poodle named Beau who got hit by a car and killed on June 26, 1978. The stupid bitch that hit him just kept driving even when she saw my brothers and I crying in the driveway. I was a child and I still relive that horrible day as if it was yesterday. I think of Beau every June 26. My husband and our two children and I adopted Cooper in May 2012. I wonder if Beau sent him to me, He’s also a black miniature poodle. They say the dog picks the personand I believe it. When I found him on Petfinder it was his eyes that drew me to him and I couldn’t let it go. He looked so rejected and sad. He was 2 1/2 and had been in a shelter for six months. So we went to meet him. My son was 13 1/2 and my daughter 10 1/2 at the time. It took me almost two hours to convince my husband we needed this dog and thankfully he agreed. In the car on the way home he put himself on my son’s lap and breathed a sigh of relief as if he knew he was coming home with someone who loved him. We discovered quickly that he had one quirk. He’s never been vicious to us but if something set him off he would spin and angrily chase his tail. Not all the time but enough for us to wonder what happened to him and why he was surrendered. During these episodes he was unreachable and his eyes looked like he was going to turn into the Incredible Hulk! It took a whole lot of love and several years of trials and errors to break that behavior but we did. He has taught us so much over the years. We bring him on vacation with us because to be away from him for a week would be impossible. He gets Christmas and birthday gifts. We sing him happy birthday. Each of us has our own special bond with him. He takes care of us. He’s a sweet boy and a loving companion to all of us. He has been one of the greatest loves of my life.

If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?

This is a fun one. I would have multiple dinner parties to better focus my attention on each group. I would invite the Brady Bunch kids. I grew up watching the Brady Bunch and it’s one of my all time favorite shows. I absolutely loved watching the Brady House get renovated by HGTV. The same goes for The Facts of Life girls; Nancy McKeon, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn and Lisa Welchel. I would invite Fleetwood Mac when Fleetwood Mac was Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie and Lindsay Buckingham. I saw them in concert in 1997 and it was the experience of a lifetime. I would be honored to cook sauce for my grandparents if they were still alive. I think of them every day and wish they could see me in this stage of my life. I would invite the two nursing instructors that were the hardest on me during nursing school. I deserved everything they threw at me and it made me the nurse that I am today. Last, I would invite an estranged friend. Our friendship of ten years ended 24 years ago because we were in different seasons of our lives and were not on the same page. I have regrets and I miss her.

What do you think gets better with age?

Looking back into my twenties, I thought I knew everything. Now I realize I knew nothing. For me, what has gotten better with age is my enhanced perception, awareness and wisdom gained from life experiences. It’s been a lifelong project. I’m grateful for what I’ve learned. One regret is that I should have been focused on writing all these years. So many wasted years of words and thoughts in my head and not on paper. Instead here I am in my early 50’s wondering how to use my writing voice. I enjoy these prompts for that reason. On a funnier note related to nursing, after 29 years I am definitely at the top of my game in my IV skills. ☺️

What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

I’m an early to bed, early to rise girl. As a pre-op nurse, my department hits the ground running at 0600. Patients going into the OR at 0730 are told to report at 0530. Brew the coffee and get going! My shifts rotate between 0530-1500, 0600-1530 or 0530-1800 so my alarm goes off at 0330 and I hit snooze afew times before I drag my sorry ass out of bed. I like to be in bed between 1930-2000 and lights out by 2100. I’m strict about my bedtime. I owe it to my patients to give them a rested nurse. I laugh to myself when my kids were younger and if they made any noise at night after I’d gone to bed my husband would ask them if they knew what they were getting themselves into by waking me up. On the weekends I’m happy if I can sleep until 0700 but that’s sleeping in for me.

What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?

I’ve been trying to decide what to write about with regards to this topic all day. When my husband played a John Denver album over dinner, I knew the answer to this. The song that always catches my attention is “Back Home Again”. There are days as nurses when the energy in a patient’s room consumes us. When I’ve had a particularly difficult day at work I feel the need to bump up the comfort a few notches. I enjoy the simple comforts of my home. Reuniting with my husband, our wonderful children and our poodle after everyone comes home from their day. The blissful feeling of a hot shower as I wash the hospital off my skin with my favorite evening shower gel the Bath and Bodywork’s Stress Relief. A family meal. I love how my bare feet feel when I slide them on the wood floors. I love the blue glow of the galaxy lamp in our living room and how peaceful our house feels when everyone has retired for the night. I cherish climbing into bed and having that hour or so to myself to pray, read, reflect before it’s time to sleep and do it all again the next day. My days off are different. I Exercise. I Read. I spend time with friends. I find something fun to do. I Cook. It depends on the day.

What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

I follow Jay Shetty on Instagram. Jay Shetty is a former monk who is now a podcaster, author and life coach. Last year he posted a video with a moving an affirmation: “I am exactly where I was meant to be. Not ahead. Not behind.” For the sake of creating harmony for myself, that affirmation has had a positive affect on how I evaluate where I am in my life when I feel stuck. Many times I have found myself comparing myself to others. Keeping up with the Joneses. Why can’t I have this? Why haven’t I experienced this in my life? Why aren’t I in this position in life? Why aren’t my kids in this position in their lives? I’m not there because this is where I was meant to be. I believe the reason why this is where I was meant to be is out there somewhere. I have faith that God and the Universe have great things in store for me and they will come to me when the time is right, not the time I want.