assimilating
A bit of LJ therapy before my day officially begins...
Before I left to come home yesterday I stopped at the hospital to check on a client and say my good-byes to my supervising midwife. There were tears, of course. I'm so grateful for her kindness, her company, and her wisdom. It will be wonderful to work together in the same practice but I'll miss going to births and home visits together in her little Honda, plotting a stop at Starbucks on the way home.
I stopped to pick up the paperwork I need to apply for a license with the SCM - it had been sent by courier to the clinic so I clutched that courier envelope as I picked up some food at the hospital coffee shop and headed HOME. When I stopped for fluid intake and output along the way, I texted Jack to let him know where I was. He replied, "Stop teasing me with updates and just get heeeeere".
I shed a few more tears on the way home and as I arrived into town. I left 6 months ago, I finished the IMPP and now I get to come home! The next time I leave I'll be going to start work as a Registered Midwife and I won't have to be separated from my family for more than a few days at a time. I still can't quite believe that I made it here, where this chapter ends but the story continues.
Jack and Charlotte both gave me hugs and kisses when I came through the front door (Julia was at school), they brought in all of my stuff from the van and I went to lay down for a while (I had been awake since 3 a.m., so anxious to be on my way home as soon as the highway reports gave me the go-ahead!). Jack and I made supper together; roast chicken, baked potatoes, baby carrots and peas, spinach and strawberry salad - yum! We started tackling an enormous mountain of laundry last night and went to bed early, only to wake up several times when Charlotte came upstairs after throwing up in the yuck bucket. Except for a tickly cough she was fine otherwise but we'll see how she's doing this morning; she may be keeping me company at home instead of going to school today.
Last night I started to have a lot of anxiety about the state of my house. Jack has done a good job at holding down the fort while I've been away but we don't have the same tolerance for clutter. Every corner and every surface in the house has a large collection of stuff that doesn't belong there, stuff that needs to be moved or tossed or otherwise handled. Jack reassured me several times that we'd tackle the clutter eventually but encouraged me to just deal with my license application, clinical summary for the IMPP, income tax stuff that I need to deal with, and the multitide of other 'priority' issues right now. It's really, really hard for me to do that when my environment is in desperate need of a scrub and an enema, so I'm trying to focus, and sometimes I have to physically close my eyes for a minute to mute the OCD impulses.
I have to give priority to my paperwork and finding a place to live in the city but I'm going to take an hour a day in one room at a time to give it some attention, and give at least the same amount of time to reconnect with my family and friends. There will have to be time carved out for studying every day too, and the usual day-to-day domestics like washing dishes, cooking, fluffing and folding. I can see see how challenging it will be to adjust to doing laundry and cooking for 4 people again. Grocery shopping yesterday was interesting because I had no idea what we had in the cupboards and freezer, and Jack wasn't sure either. I'll have to take a quick inventory before I start meal planning again. And I'm absolutely booking at least two nights away for Jack and I alone. We've earned it.
Before I left to come home yesterday I stopped at the hospital to check on a client and say my good-byes to my supervising midwife. There were tears, of course. I'm so grateful for her kindness, her company, and her wisdom. It will be wonderful to work together in the same practice but I'll miss going to births and home visits together in her little Honda, plotting a stop at Starbucks on the way home.
I stopped to pick up the paperwork I need to apply for a license with the SCM - it had been sent by courier to the clinic so I clutched that courier envelope as I picked up some food at the hospital coffee shop and headed HOME. When I stopped for fluid intake and output along the way, I texted Jack to let him know where I was. He replied, "Stop teasing me with updates and just get heeeeere".
I shed a few more tears on the way home and as I arrived into town. I left 6 months ago, I finished the IMPP and now I get to come home! The next time I leave I'll be going to start work as a Registered Midwife and I won't have to be separated from my family for more than a few days at a time. I still can't quite believe that I made it here, where this chapter ends but the story continues.
Jack and Charlotte both gave me hugs and kisses when I came through the front door (Julia was at school), they brought in all of my stuff from the van and I went to lay down for a while (I had been awake since 3 a.m., so anxious to be on my way home as soon as the highway reports gave me the go-ahead!). Jack and I made supper together; roast chicken, baked potatoes, baby carrots and peas, spinach and strawberry salad - yum! We started tackling an enormous mountain of laundry last night and went to bed early, only to wake up several times when Charlotte came upstairs after throwing up in the yuck bucket. Except for a tickly cough she was fine otherwise but we'll see how she's doing this morning; she may be keeping me company at home instead of going to school today.
Last night I started to have a lot of anxiety about the state of my house. Jack has done a good job at holding down the fort while I've been away but we don't have the same tolerance for clutter. Every corner and every surface in the house has a large collection of stuff that doesn't belong there, stuff that needs to be moved or tossed or otherwise handled. Jack reassured me several times that we'd tackle the clutter eventually but encouraged me to just deal with my license application, clinical summary for the IMPP, income tax stuff that I need to deal with, and the multitide of other 'priority' issues right now. It's really, really hard for me to do that when my environment is in desperate need of a scrub and an enema, so I'm trying to focus, and sometimes I have to physically close my eyes for a minute to mute the OCD impulses.
I have to give priority to my paperwork and finding a place to live in the city but I'm going to take an hour a day in one room at a time to give it some attention, and give at least the same amount of time to reconnect with my family and friends. There will have to be time carved out for studying every day too, and the usual day-to-day domestics like washing dishes, cooking, fluffing and folding. I can see see how challenging it will be to adjust to doing laundry and cooking for 4 people again. Grocery shopping yesterday was interesting because I had no idea what we had in the cupboards and freezer, and Jack wasn't sure either. I'll have to take a quick inventory before I start meal planning again. And I'm absolutely booking at least two nights away for Jack and I alone. We've earned it.