Steppesister
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2013
- Messages
- 13,285
A is for: All Aboard!!
Life is too busy to come up with yet another clever little title for a Trip Report Series, so I'm gonna stick with what I, and many of you, know, and go with The ABC's of Trip Reporting- An Alphabetical Approach to Disney Planning. 10 to 1 the Trip Report will be called The ABC's of Trip Reporting- An Alphabetical Approach to Disney Touring. But no guarantees. I have to keep a few things up my sleeve, right?
For those of you who have been around for a while, you know me as All7ofUs. I never liked that screen-name, so recently switched it out for something that represents me a bit better. I'll explain just what that means in a future chapter. Whether you're new to my writings, or an old friend, WELCOME!!! Things can get rather wild around my threads. I'll try to keep sanity, but there are no guarantees. At all.
So, let's get this party started...
Following a dream I've had for more than a decade, I decided to go back to school and pursue a 2nd degree. 3 years ago. At 45 years old. My name is Liesa, and this is my story. I tend to be quite long-winded, as some of my DISFriends already know, so cozy up with your favorite beverage and get comfy. Or just hide your monitor and waste a little more than usual company time. I don't judge.
To begin my tale, I have to take you back, waaaaay back, to 2010, the year our family decided to move back to the US from Crapistan. We had been there almost 10 grueling, but EXTREMELY rewarding, years, and it was time to make a change. I won't bore you with the myriad of details of what led to that decision, but suffice it to say we were ready. As we were bringing clean water to filthy hospitals and schools, hanging out in yurts, and drinking fermented camels' milk, my little spark of interest in becoming an RN grew into a giant fireball of passion.
(For interest's sake here are a few snapshots of our former lives
A real yurt. Unlike the romanticized version you have roiling in your head, this one is replete with fleas, animals, cooking grease stink, and dirt floors.
A baby white camel all decked out for Spring Equinox Celebration. They are considered good luck.
Yes, she really is milking a mare. The fermented milk is fantastic.
The unique, creative, and least expensive way to diaper a baby. Yes, that really is what you think it is.
My "baby" in traditional dress...
The local architecture.
Seeing archaic and dangerous medical practice might have had something to do with pursuing that passion as well. Just a guess. I knew, just knew, that that was my calling and (to cut this dramatic re-telling short) I enrolled in our local community college soon after we returned. I had to take 5 terms of pre-requisites to even be eligible to apply to the Nursing Program, and when I did, (drum roll, please) I... didn't get in.
At first I was incredibly bummed out- like there's not enough lasagna in the entire world to console me bummed out. But not long after the rejection letter came, my oldest daughter got engaged, and I suddenly put 110% of my heart and soul into planning her wedding. I also got a full time job to pay for said wedding. There was NO WAY on God's green earth I could have gone through a year of nursing school and planned that kind of event. It was massive, and beautiful, and had nearly 300 guests. I'll post a few pictures to share the love, and in case you doubt the hype.
Anyway, in the end, my idea of perfect timing wasn't nearly as good as Someone else's. I applied again, and this time had one of the 3 highest entrance scores of my entering cohort. With new perspective, all was right in my world, and I started in Sept. of 2014- on the road to my Associate of Nursing degree. I wish it was a BSN, but there isn't a program that is within a distance I'm willing to commute to. Maybe I'll do that next with an online bridge program. Meanwhile, here is one of the very few photos I have of me in my student uniform. Hopefully, as the next term progresses I will get a few more.
Also, I realize I have given VERY few details about the trip at all. That is intentional. Patience, my pets. Patience. In conclusion, just a heads up... The next term starts back up on January 5th. I already have the next Chapter written, and will definitely get that one up. But after that, although I do have several more written, my hope is to get one chapter up every couple of weeks. That works with my exams. And well, helps me stretch this story out for a very long time. It also makes it so YOU, my faithful and fantastic readers get to go through all the ups and downs the rest of nursing school will surely bring for me. Are you ready? Fasten your seatbelts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Next up: B is for: A Big, Beautiful Family ( a super cheesy way of saying, Introductions)
I mean seriously, don't make me come back there and thump you on the head!! 
). The wedding pictures are beautiful.
Honestly, I'm not even sure I will be able to figure it out how... Hints??
It was not my own, but rather here:
But I keep telling my kids I"m going to die with my hands in the air on a coaster. I am young at heart, and am blessed to have pretty good health right now to enjoy life and I can. 
