A Perfect Day

I believe that perfect days exist. I have experienced a few (yes, you can have more than one). Obviously my entire trip to Europe was one perfect day, but that's not the topic for today. 

April 30, 2016 The Perfect Day.

It all began waking up for a quick workout because, lets face it, I'm one of those strange people who wakes up early just to workout before a big day. And then of course comes the showering and getting ready. My hair decided to start off the day by being nice and doing what I wanted it to. Ladies, you all know how essential that is to a good start. And then...Tyler came. How can you not have a perfect day when Tyler is involved?

Tulips in April are pretty, but tulips at Thanksgiving Point during their Tulip Festival are stunning! Oh my stars alive they were so pretty! I think this is what Heaven will look like, because I was in Heaven there. And it was so much fun walking around attempting to take selfies. 

The perfection didn't end there, though. After lunch, we watched Tangled. Seriously, how can you not watch this before going and practically being in the movie? Then dinner and we were off for a magical adventure.

Holy Hannah, was the lantern fest ever amazing! Like seriously. A-MAZ-ING. Magical. Fairytale. Dream come true. Basically every descriptive word used for Disneyland could be used to describe this. And more. I don't think those words even do it justice. I think everyone should go at least once in their life. Preferably more because you can never have enough of it. 

The line was mega long, and it was pretty windy. Windy enough that they were considering not letting us do it. But by the time we lit our lanterns it was the perfect weather. We roasted marshmallows by the fire (we meaning Tyler and I because everyone else in our group was standing in a ridiculously long line for food) and talked. But let me tell you, that fire was a little dangerous. We had to race and put out embers that landed on the blanket and other stuff a couple times. But it was soo warm. 

The music, and laughter, and talking was great, but the greatest part came as it got dark. Every once in a while people would light a lantern and that was pretty cool. But getting to see all of them going up and continue going up when it was really dark was pure magic. Plain and simple, magic. In fact, that's probably the only way that comes even a little close to describing how amazing it was. It was like we were literally being a part of the Disney movie. There really are no words that accurately describe that. Being in awe doesn't even come close, and really I was in awe the whole time. And I'm eternally grateful that I got to spend that moment with Tyler; it was beyond perfect.

On a scale of finals to summer break, that day was definitely a Cinderella perfect day. Next year, go!  

We didn't take nearly enough pictures, but the ones we got were pretty darn good. This day will go in my journal, and my future children will never stop hearing about it. Ever. Just ask me about it and I will keep going for hours. You might have to duck tape my mouth shut to get me to stop talking about it. 

I SURVIVED

I survived! I made it. It's the end of the school year of my first year of college, even though I was only a part time student. And what a crazy year it has been. I made friends with people old enough to be my parents, and somehow passed my math class with a decent grade. I bought a car, met a boy (who now happens to be my boyfriend), got a second job, made even more friends, forgot how to not be tired, had people I love pass away, taught Primary, and learned so so much.

I am so grateful for the trials and triumphs that I have gone through since August. I will always remember them. Some are pretty funny, and others quite sad. But together these moments have made up a wonderful year. 

Now, I know you're dying to know about some of the things I just mentioned. Be patient, I'm sure there'll be a blog post on most of them eventually.

For now, all you need to know is that I work part time with a home health agency, and part time at my long term care facility. I do this so I can have more time for homework and school and not have to stay up until 2 working on homework after work. 

I also teach the 5 year olds at my church. Oh my goodness they are my favorite things! I have so much love for them and I am so so grateful that I have been able to be their teacher. They are the cutest in all of Primary.

I mentioned a boy. And I know this is the part you are dying to hear about. Well, I'll keep you in suspense a little longer. *cue evil laughter* Let's just say I kind of really like him. 

:)

There you have it folks. The brief and leaving you wanting for more gossip of my life story. Maybe I'll write more in the future, or maybe I'll drive you all nuts and never talk about any of it ever again. Highly unlikely but still possible. With luck, I'll have time to write more, now that my schedule has changed around. 

Work. Again.

Lifting? Nah, that's easy. The smells? You get used to them. But favorite residents dying? Hard. Really hard. Harder than anything else in this job. It's been over a month since one of my favorite residents passed away, and I still think about him all the time and miss him. There is a reason they tell you never to get attached. But honestly, you can't help but love them. 

A couple weeks ago my English teacher gave us an assignment to write anything. There was no topic, no specific format, we just had to write something. After trying to figure out what to write about for days, my brain had an idea. At midnight. Naturally, I stayed awake to write it out. It was difficult to write, but necessary. I wrote a poem about his death, and if you want to know that I actually do have feelings, you might want to read it. I'm no poet though, so be warned. And I wrote this really late at night. 

A CNA’s Love

The hardest part of working with the old, sick, and dying

is knowing they will pass on.

I never knew I could get so attached

to someone 60 years older than me.

I didn’t realize you would be gone in an instant

or how strange your empty bed would seem.

I loved the way you called me kiddo

when passing me in the halls.

I miss the way you called me your bunny

when telling your aid who I was.

I remember the way we laughed and teased

one another while I helped you get up.

I wish I had a chance to braid your mustache

the way you joked that I should.

I will never forget the care that I gave you

or the way you liked your coffee.

There’s a special place in my heart for all of my patients

but you, my friend, left a hole with your death.

That hole may be mended but never complete

each memory a stitch filled with love and care.

My heart has become a patchwork of people

and you will always be one of my favorite patterns.

 

Work Work Work

Stories. Oh my the stories I could tell you. Someone once asked me if anything happened at work that day. Something eventful happens at work everyday. Here are some of my favorites...

I went to answer someones call light, walked in the room to the guy standing by his bed peeing on the side of his dresser. I was so grateful that his room was one of the only two in the hall with linoleum floors instead of carpet; it made it a whole lot easier to clean up.

This one Saturday was a real mess. We were already short staffed, and then one person didn't show up. So there are like a billion call lights going off and so the ADON (assistant director of nursing, one of the bosses) came over and worked as a CNA so we would be less short handed. And he's trying to help us get caught up while also being ADON and dealing with a slight crisis: the REAL game parking. Normally people can pay and park at my work since it is so close to the stadium, but there was a mix up with this, so people started parking anywhere and everywhere. They blocked this one lady in who is high on the chain of command and so she called the DON and they started getting the police to ticket the cars and tow them away. So then all the employees are trying to hurry to their cars to put on a sticky note to tell them that they work there. Basically it was mayhem. 

One particularly bad Saturday (Saturdays must be the go crazy at work day because like half my stories are from Saturdays), I walked into another person's room because a fall alarm was going off, to find him standing there peeing on the floor. And then he walked in it, and almost fell. I went from cleaning up that to helping a person get on the toilet, and while I was waiting for them to call to get off, I answered a light. This resident had to go to the bathroom and, well, let's just say I had to change their entire bedding. I was almost done with this when there was another lady yelling because she had to use the bathroom and so the nurse came in and finished cleaning up while I took the other lady to the bathroom. Meanwhile, a different nurse had to help me take that first person off the toilet because I was too busy. This all happened within about 10 minutes. 

One day, just as I got onto my shift, I was helping get his one resident dressed into a gown and when I pulled back the blankets there was a pool of BM. Literally. That was fun. 

Then, I was training a new hire and we were changing this one resident, and when I rolled her she started to have a BM. AFTER I pulled away her brief. And she had no pink pad under her (thanks day shift), only her favorite blanket, so I ended up catching it in my hand. I WAS WEARING GLOVES, DON'T WORRY!

My name is still up for debate on pronunciation at work. I've been called Kristen, Kursten, Kristine, Kristina, Krista, Crystal, Huston, Sicily, Sicil, Little Red, Little Kreesten (emphasise the ee sound), Little'in, shorty, short **** (which is randomly what some of my favorite residents call me, and they all tell me they mean it in a loving way...?), and midget. EDIT: I've also been called Kristy, Ristine (not Kristine but Ristine), and Red. My favorite was when one resident said "Huston, like Texas? Where were you born?" (I usually just go along with whatever they call me since it's easier than correcting them every time) and I replied, "Sandy, Utah." Them: "Well that's weird."

Just the other day I was in changing a resident with another aid, and we finished and went to go out of the room only to find that the door handle didn't work. We were locked in the room. Thank goodness for the radios we have to wear at work, because the nurse came and rescued us. The door was so stuck she had to use her shoulder to push it open.  

Also, I've been peed on, pooped on, had them grab at and slap my butt, almost gotten kissed, and more. Oh, the joys of working in a nursing home. Just kidding, I really do like it.  

I GOT A CAR

Do you know how to spell freedom? No? I'll tell you. C A R. And I have now aced that spelling test. That's right, I just bought a car! Woo!

Basically, I've been saving up for my mission and a car since I got my job. And don't worry, I'm still saving up for a mission! And I had enough to get a loan (because credit is important or something like that) and now I have a car. And I love it. 

                        For those of you who are car people, it's an
                '04 Toyota Corolla. I barely know what
                that is and that's about all I know about it.

It's name is Tucker. Cute, huh?! 

And of course, thank you to my parents! Thank you mom for picking me up after work everyday so I wouldn't have to take the bus, and thank you dad for helping me buy it and learn about cars (even though all of it went right over my head). And thank you both for being so supportive of me. I really do have the best parents!

I Climbed Through A Window

I had the honor of climbing through a window. At work. Yes, you heard right. I climbed through a window AT WORK. And I wasn't even doing it to get in trouble. Someone needed to get into a room and the lock on the door was jammed. So, she made me climb though the window. I know you are probably thinking that there is no way that I can reach a window, but I can. With the help of a little fence that just happened to be right next to the window. I like to think that it was from all those years of gymnastics that I was able to stand on the chain link fence and maneuver my way into the window, but it was probably just luck. ;)

At work, almost no one can get my name right. I've started keeping track of all the names I've been called. Kristen, Christine, Christina, Kursten, Krista, Crystal, and my personal favorite, Houston. Like Houston, Texas. And it hasn't been just one person who thought that's what I said once. Several residents have thought my name was Houston several times. So I basically answer to whatever. In fact, for a few residents who cannot, for the life of them, hear Kirsten right, I just introduce myself as Kristen. It mostly makes things easier, except for the fact that there is a nurse there named Kristen so then they confuse me with her. I just can't win. ;)

Basically, work is crazy but I like it. :) 

College, Work, And Pretending To Be An Adult

Europe was amazing, but unfortunately that wonderful thing had to come to a sad end. And then began the rest of my life...pretty much. 

I started college last week. But don't get all excited, I am only in two classes. And since I know you are dying to ask, it's a math class and an institute class. Math stinks, but my teacher is pretty awesome. She has this really awesome Russian accent and explains things well. It's my institute class that I have been excited for for, well, ever since I registered for it. I go to math four times a week for 50 minutes, which only left one day for institute. Lucky for me, there happened to be a class on my only free day. So there you have it, my college update. Now I can just point people to my blog instead of repeating myself ten times a day. ;)

Not only did I start school last week Wednesday, but I also had my first day of my new job. My very first job. Unless you count babysitting, then I've had a lot of work experience. I work at a nursing home, and I really like it. I work full time, Tuesday through Saturday from 2-10pm. It's exhausting. ;) So far I've averaged walking about 5 miles each day at work. And since I know you are dying to know, I'll tell you what I do there. I am a CNA, so I feed people, get them ready for bed, transfer them from their bed to their wheelchair and to the toilet and such, I change their briefs (adult diapers), get them things they need, and more. And for some strange reason I really do like it. 

Being back has made me have to pretend to be an adult. I've done my laundry, gone to my college class, got a job, had lunch with a friend like people do when they don't see them 24/7 at school, and I've filled out a bunch of paperwork for work that I have no idea what it means. Oh, and I cut my hair to donate it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. 

And don't worry, I still make to play my flute, read, exercise and spend time with my fantastic family.