My Biggest Accomplishment

My biggest accomplishment has to be my becoming a nurse. I graduated high school and went on to a business college. I learned bookkeeping, typing, shorthand and business law. Then I took a couple of jobs as a secretary. And I HATED it! Not my thing at all. How could I have not known that I was not cut out to be a secretary? I took all the business classes while in high school and I spent a year at business school? Did it ever enter my mind that this is not how I wanted to spend my life? Nope, not ever. Not until I was spending 8 hour days sitting at a desk.

And then I became a mother. So I spent the next few years staying home and being a mother. I am thankful for the time that I got to spend with my boys. But life took a detour and I became a 'single' mom so that meant either going back to working in an office or finding a new career.

I have blogged about becoming a nurse before, so I won't bore anyone with the details. It was the hardest thing that I have ever done. I had been out of school for almost 15 years when I decided to return . And I had two young boys at home. Their ages were 12 and 7. I was told that it would be hard. And that a lot of time was involved. And that I might not see much of my kids during this time. They were right. Because I still had to work and put food on the table. But I thought I could do it.

And I did! One of my fondest memories involves receiving my cap and pin. No, I never wore that cap again. Not many of us did. We were 'the new age' nurses. The ones with the degrees; not the diplomas. But I still have that cap. It is yellowed now, instead of spanking white. But it represents one of my biggest accomplishments. It represents three of the hardest years of my life. Time I spent away from my kids learning to save lives; or to help them end peacefully. Many, many late nights writing care plans and process recordings (I wonder if they still make student nurses do these). Many early mornings rushing to hospital and hoping the boys got off to school okay. Many times practicing CPR, IV's, catheter insertions, nasogastric tubes, and on and on.

Without a doubt, becoming a nurse is My Biggest Accomplishment.

Now I am anxious to read what others have to say. Aren't you? Let's head over here and see what their greatest accomplishments are.