May Rain, Eagle Gate, Memorial Day

This month has been so rainy that I have wondered if we were secretly transported to Seattle!  It has rained almost every day this month, and several times it has come down in buckets!  Kalel, Tristan, Ashley, and I went to the local high school recently to see the play, Peter Pan, and it was raining so hard that we couldn't hear about half of the first act!  And during the intermission we noticed that there were piles of white on the grass that looked like snow.  It was hail!

We got enough rain in that one storm that one of our neighbors went canoeing in the park (the park  was designed to capture excess water and prevent flooding).   

It has really been wet, but for some reason the rain hasn't bothered me.  It has been nice to not have to water the lawn - it looks greener than ever!  

I started my new job at Eagle Gate College the 4th of May, and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE it!  My co-workers are amazing and absolutely the most friendly people in the world!  Everyone of them welcomed me with a warm hug and "I'm so glad that you are here!"  I started off driving to the Murray campus, only an 80 mile drive each way, and learning the ropes from the instructors there.  Once I started doing clinical instruction full time, I discontinued going to the school campus until August.  In the fall I will be transferring to my new campus - YEA!  A mere 40 mile drive.

I had the opportunity to teach a couple of classes - kind of student teaching - and found that I wasn't as nervous as I had thought I would be.  Even when I found that I got to teach the subject of "Sexually Transmitted Infections"!  I figure after jumping in with a tough subject like that I should be able to teach anything.  I really enjoyed teaching, I enjoy the interaction of the students, their questions, and comments.  Yes, I am always nervous when they ask questions because there is so much the I don't know, but I'm pretty good at saying, "I don't know, let's find out".  Of course, I haven't had the opportunity to give and grade tests and assignments yet, perhaps I won't be as happy when I have disgruntled students confronting me.

I am working with the students at clinicals two days a week and next week I will add one more day of clinicals.  The first day of clinicals this semester I was complaining that I couldn't wait until I was able to do classroom teaching full time and not have to do clinicals anymore.  However, it took only a few minutes of being at the clinical site before I remembered how much I love it.  I love to see the students perform and see new procedures, to see how the medical personnel all collaborate, and how they respond in emergency situations.  This year I get to read all of the journals the students write regarding the clinicals and I LOVE it!

This year is the first time in about 20 years that Kim and I have been home on Memorial Day.  Usually Kim is attending his annual carving jamboree.  This year there is a different group of people running the jamboree and they changed it to next weekend.  

We grabbed my dad and ventured out to placed flowers on the graves of our loved ones.  

We visited the graves of my mom, Kim's grandparents, Kim's friend, Randy, who died as a young boy, and then drove up to visit BJ and Kim's dad.  I was nice to visit them.  I am not a person who feels the need to visit the final resting place of those I love so I don't go very often.  But it was really nice to visit them.  I was very amazed at the great multitudes at the cemeteries!  It has been such a long time since I have gone on Memorial Day I didn't realize how many people visit.

Shandra spent the last several weeks attending classes to get her Certified Nurse Assistant license.  She will need it to apply to the Surgical Tech program in the fall.  It was fun to compare medical experiences with her!

We had a great time Skyping with Tasha the other day.  She is doing well, but I miss having her close.