Saying Adios!

So the last couple of months post graduation have been amazing, and have literally flown by. December was great, I went home to Ohio to visit the whole family, which was nice because I haven't really had a chance to spend Christmas with the them since nursing school and work at Vanderbilt began. I Basically just studied for NCLEX and HESI (nursing tests) the entire month of January and tried to slowly prepare for Nicaragua. February 20th was my last scheduled day for work in the Trauma Unit. Just the day before, my car made a huge crashing noise on the interstate and after I pulled over to check it out, the vehicle had burst into flames underneath the engine area. Thank God that everything was okay and I was not hurt, because by the time the fire department arrived the flames had reached the interior portion of the car and it was unsalvageable... It was a pretty insane Friday morning to say the least. My colleagues in Trauma threw me a massive going away party at work followed by a proper "trauma goodbye"...(the picture doesn't show the tomato soup running down my back into my pants). I have learned so much from that place and made lifelong friends. Two years and eight months is the longest I have ever worked anywhere, they will be missed greatly. On the following Monday I took my nursing boards, which lasted 5 1/2 hours and consisted of 265 questions (I couldn't see straight by the end of the test). After two days of feelings of intermittent anxiety and helplessness, I got my results that said I was officially a Registered Nurse! A couple days later I visited San Antonio with my family for the weekend and stayed in a hotel on the river walk area downtown. I had the blessing of sitting next to a local San Antonio artist on the plane. She was on her way home from Nashville after doing a week long lecture series at Vanderbilt on spirituality and creativity (check some of her work out...http://eneart.com/). San Antonio is an architecturally beautiful city with awesome tex-mex artwork everywhere. The Alamo was pretty cool also, I had no idea what had actually happened there. For those of you like me out there, it symbolizes standing up against overwhelming odds and willingly sacrificing everything for ones' beliefs. Even though the American forces were annihilated at the Alamo, they're still recognized for their heroism. I'm home in Franklin now, wrapping things up and spending time with friends. I leave for Nicaragua on the morning of the 12th (that's less than one week!!!). These last few months have been wonderful. I have learned to trust in the Father and understand that when He has a plan for you, despite your anxiousness concerning uncertainties, He will provide for and finish the Good works He has begun in you. Cheers!