Exciting Provision

I did it, I passed calculus! It was an adventure I will never forget. I don't know that I learned a whole lot about calculus in the process, but I certainly will say that it was indeed a valuable learning in experience in other respects.
In short, this is what the adventure looked like:
Four afternoons with my good friend Sharon (and her three young kids) eating "grown up candy" (chocolate truffles) making up stories about my students to facilitate learning about derivatives.
Several evenings with my dad (who incidentally told me he had gotten a 'D' in calculus his first time) eating his purple Skittles while discussing infinity and beyond.
Countless late afternoons at school hunting down any students might be lingering in the halls (there was one certain Ukrainian girl who I could always count on) to assist with matrix algebra.
A much needed but impromptu tutoring session on a Sunday afternoon with a friend's fiance who just so happened to be an engeneer.
One Skype session from Mexico City with dad.
A 2 am calculus session on a floor in Mexico City with a "Philikrainian" (Philipino/Ukrainian) student discussing probability, Democrats, Jews, Democratic Jews and/or?
Frantically sent iphone pictures of my homework assignments to my professor from an airport tarmac in Phoenix.
Locking my computer in a room where I had no immediate access to the key the night before my final. (remember there was no textbook...)
Borrowing my dad's laptop but finding out the plug-in wasn't in his computer bag and his battery was dead.
Waking up sick on the morning of the final.
The calculator died mid final and I spent a sizable amount of time calculating by hand log base 3 of 81 thus not finishing within the timeframe.

I must admit that when I finished taking the final and left campus, I was sure I had failed. Only a few days earlier I had driven to Spokane for the orientation to the PhD program at WSU. During my long drive I had listened to some audio books by C.S. Lewis and had spent some time in prayer. One thing that God had brought to my mind was this: The persuit of goals and hard work are good things. Many times the goals we work so hard to achieive are even God given, but we often miss the point and loose focus. The question that was left lingering in my mind was this: How do I make the journey of getting a PhD (or the journey of anything else) into an act of worship that honors and pleases God?
As I left campus on that final day of class, I asked myself "How do I make flunking calculus into an act of worship that honors and pleases God?" I came to the conclusion that it wasn't the "flunking of the calculus" but the reaction to the "flunking of the calculus that would be the act of worship. What reaction would be most honoring and pleasing to God?

Catching Up

Wow, I haven't posted a LONG time!
With all of the graduations, new jobs, new babies, weddings etc... I've been thinking a lot about firsts and lasts. They are milestones and worth being celebrated. Here is a photo of what my most recent clinical group did to commemorate their last day of clinical. I must admit that I was tempted to join them, or I could just go jump in the lake now...

Exciting Provision

Nope, I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, I got in to the statistics class that I needed. Did I mention that I've never been good in math?
I left class with my first homework assignment totally overwhelmed. Well wouldn't you know it, when I was working on it in my office, one the students stopped by. She just happens to be amazing in math. Suddenly, here I am getting math help from my student.
"Did you ever have a left sided brain injury, that's the area that processes math; that would explain a lot. We just learned about math disorder in our psych class." Hmm... Thanks a lot! We worked on the assignment for a over an hour and then she had to leave.
In walks another student. She tries to help and we make it to the last couple of problems before she gets to a certain part. "Hmm, I don't really remember this part very well but my little brother is totally good at it; let's call him up." So here we are with Daniel on speaker phone. He's apparently at a family gathering with lots of people and it's noisy in the background. He goes and hides in the bathroom to secretly help us with the "it's just algebra" problem. "I'll take a picture of it with my phone and sent it to you guys."
With the help of a blunt Ukrainian student, a little brother hiding in a bathroom,and an hour long phone conversation about logarithms with my dad in a parking lot; I got a 100% on my first assignment.

Thank God...

I was right, it really is exciting to see how God provides... My acceptance to the PhD program at WSU is dependant on my completion of a graduate statistics course. That means I have to take such a class THIS QUARTER. Unfortunately there is only 1 such class being offered this quarter that fits the bill and it's on Tuesdays. The problem, I work 12 hour shifts on Tuesdays at the hospital.
I've frantically looking for trades to make it work but I couldn't find any coverage for 2 of my shifts, today being one of them. This morning the assistant manager called and said she would come in for 3 hours to cover my patients while I went to class. The charge nurse arranged for my patients transfer to happen early, before my class, and another nurse took over my other patient so that Tami (the assistant manager) didn't even have to come. Yay, I owe 5SE one PhD!
Well, that might be a little premature I guess; but I certainly am very thankful that I have such supportive co-workers. Now I just have to register for the class and hope there are still spots. I have a to register as a non-matriculated student so I can't register until everyone else has.
Stay tuned for some exciting provision!

It Will Be Exciting To See How God Provides!

With the budget cuts, the State of Washington has been chipping away at our tuition credits for years. As I was researching the latest set of restrictions, I found out that my PhD program is not eligible. I have already formally accepted a spot in the cohort. The question is so I look at all of these things as doors closing, or do I just sit back and say, "it will be exciting to see how God provides?" Thus far, I'm voting for the latter.

A New Adventure on the Horizon

So much to update, so little time... Last Monday I got a letter in the mail from Washington State University. I've been accepted into the PhD Nursing program! Classes begin in June. I am excited about starting a new chapter but a little nervous as well. I recently found out that the full time position at NU that I was anticipating has been eliminated due to budget cuts. UW is also no longer letting employees cut their FTE and I need to maintain benefits. Yikes, I'm not sure if I can continue to work two 70% jobs and go to school at the same time. I suppose I should be excited for that too because then I know that something HAS to change. Good times ahead!

Me Too...

As I was sitting in the break room with the student from the previous post she turned to me and said, "I hate cancer. It never plays fair, I just can't understand it. My mom had cancer. She surgery and chemotherapy and radiation. She's in remission now but it was so scary. I absolutely hate it!"
I hate it too!
From the first time I had met her in nursing school as a close friend's mother, she had been battling cancer. Mrs. V. was an amazing lady, so full of God's grace and peace. I remember once when I went to visit my friend, I ended up sitting on their couch for hours sipping tea listening to Mrs. V talk and tell me stories about God's faithfulness in her life. In many ways she became like a second mother to me. She even tried to put me to bed once. :)
Over the past few months Mrs. V's health had declined. The cancer had spread in her brain. I learned on Sunday morning that she had passed away only hours earlier. She did leave an equally amazing daughter but she will be missed and always fondly remembered.
Boy, do I hate it too!