Christmas Memories

Seeing my niece and nephew during the days of Christmas heightened my memories of Christmas past. Very different from today, I remember having snow most Christmases. Maybe I am filling in the gaps though. That being said, the chance of seeing snow on Christmas in South Carolina is slim.

I remember though the excitement of the whole time. As I recall, we didn't get out of school until a couple days before Christmas day. I now fully understand that unlike Thanksgiving, Christmas Day marches through the calendar week. It only took me til about middle school to figure that one out. To me, Christmas time comes with memories of practicing basketball all through the holidays. As early as middle school, we were practicing up til Christmas Eve as we had games usually on December 27th. Those memories follow through to my high school days and on into college. I can remember the crisp air in the gym and the deadening sound of the basketball when I would bounce it on the cold gym floor. These memories come to me with smiles until I get to college and all of the above were true; though the time on the clock was 5 am. All of the descriptors above don't seem so neat at an hour when no one should be awake. 

Before I was an adult and had to worry about the hustle and bustle of Christmas time, I remember getting into the spirit of Christmas by helping to pick out of the Christmas tree, decorating the tree, going door to door Christmas caroling, enjoying hot chocolate by the fireside, and just enjoying time with family. When I speak of the magic of Christmas though; I am referring to my younger years when I couldn't wait to get home from midnight church service and get into bed so that Santa could come. Thinking back though I remember counting my gifts in comparison to my brother's and shaking each gift and somehow they never broke. While I was always cognizant of the true meaning of Christmas, the presents were a very close second.

As I don't have children, I cannot speak of the children's minds that I have molded. I can only speak of the young minds that I have corrupted. I can only brag about my niece and nephew that my brother and his wife have brought up. My niece and nephew are two of the most gracious children that you will ever meet. While like every child their age they are very much about the presents, they truly understand the true meaning of Christmas to their core. They were acting out the advent for me and telling lots of Bible stories. Don't tell their parents, but they have raised those kids right!

 

As I have aged; I have progressed from hoarding presents, to loving the art of giving presents more than receiving, to really just enjoying the family time and letting that be the bigger present, and fully embracing the reason for the season in hopes that someday I shall be reunited with my loved ones that have passed that I dearly miss during these precious times. 

I hope that all of you had a great holiday season and I hope to be able to answer the question of "Where are you going to next?" soon after the New Year!

 

Friendships, Heartbreak, and Adventure!

What have I learned in the last six months? I have learned that travel nursing is awesome! This is truly what I had hoped it would be and I hope the fun and learning opportunities only continue. I have learned that this job is full of nervous first days, growing new friendships, and many more sad goodbye's. I know that I will have friends all over the United States when I finish, but I didn't think about the fact that I would have to say goodbye so much. I had no idea there were so many great friends to be made out there! It was very hard to leave my home in NKY and I just love going home to visit!

Along with the goodbyes, it is hard to know where to take my travels to next. Boston is on my list of places to go, but it is still very much winter there in February. I kind of want to go somewhere warmer for winter so I can ride my bicycle. I mean I can be choosy right now, kind of. But then I think, "I am already all the way up here." What to do, what to do?

There are assignments popping up in Arizona and Texas. I do want to go west but do I want to head west now? Am I conveying my confusion enough yet? :-) I need to get my act together soon though, the first week of February is just around the corner. I can't show up in Cincy homeless and jobless! That might be tough to pass off.

My initial assignment in Arlington, I was one of only a few travelers in the whole hospital. Here at the "Hop" as I like to say, travelers are more plentiful. I have made two great friends here in Jeremy and Sylvia; a married couple from Cleveland, OH of all places! We have done a lot of things together and hang out on frequent occasions. They are leaving this week to go home for Christmas and will return on January 20th for another 3 month assignment. I like to spread the rumor that she is signing on here as permanent staff. That really brings out the Polish rage in her! All kidding aside, they have become good friends of mine and we have big plans of meeting up somewhere out west.

Well, this girl is off for Christmas and headed to SC! I am excited to see my family for a bit and shall mull over the possibilities with them. When I return I shall pay the price for my seven days off and will be working 5 days in a row. :-0 This spoiled girl in 10 years of nursing has never worked more than 3 twelve hour days in a row. And let me tell you, I hate 3 in a row! Should be interesting!

Well Happy Holidays to all of my readers! Thank you so much for following me along this journey! I am having a blast and I appreciate everyone's support tremendously! January is devoted to wrapping up my Baltimore activities yet to be conquered.

A visit to one of the pivotal Monopoly Railroads.

We all know that to win the game of Monopoly, one must first be the banker so you can cheat and slip yourself some extra money from time to time and you must own the four railroads on the board and put houses and hotels on those suckers. Logistically a property on each side of the board increases your chances of an opponent landing on your land. Let's all recollect that the four railroads are Pennsylvania, Reading, Short Line, and B&O. So it just so happens that nestled in downtown Baltimore is none other than the B&O railroad museum which stands for Baltimore and Ohio. I had no idea!

Needless to say, I had a lot to learn that day. I ventured out to the museum with two other travel nurses Jeremy and Sylvia Cupp. They are nurses from Ohio as well, the Cleveland Clinic, but I shall not judge. We had a great time. The only thing that can make a train any cooler than it already is; to see a train at Christmas.  They had the museum all decked out with lights, nutcrackers, elves, and little soldiers. It was awesome! Not that I don't think about my dad everyday, but I so wished he were here in Baltimore visiting me and he and Lu were at the museum with me. I know he would have loved it.

After reading up on the history of trains and how they have gone from using coal to now diesel and electric and how trains impacted slavery, we went out to a train yard to see dinner cars, passenger cars, and where the passenger cars were repaired. That was no small building. Actually not that long but quite tall. In the passenger car repair building we met the infamous Al Stominski. Al was quite knowledgeable of the trains here in Baltimore, but it is possible that we were his first customers available to share his knowledge with that day and it was an hour before closing time. He was a talker! We learned a lot about trains and once Al found out we were all nurses, yep you got it, we heard all about Al's colonoscopy, prostate exam, several orthopedic surgeries, and the unfortunate passing of his wife. Oh the curse of being a nurse!

What I did learn was that B&O stands for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. My question, why is Ohio so pivotal? It wasn't the state of Ohio that they were referring to, but the Ohio River. Access to the Ohio River gave access to the Mississippi and Missouri rivers which enabled the railroads to access more states. Well, somebody was smart. Another tidbit learned; passenger train cars were produced in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Lima, OH. My good friend Shannon is from Delphos, OH, which is near Lima, OH. If I recall correctly, Lima is not that big of a city. So the train museum that they just finished there must be a big attraction in that town.

Another great outing here in Baltimore! Pictures can be found in the photos section of the blog.

International TurkeyDay!

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? Thanksgiving to me means a time to gather with friends and family and just enjoy each other's company while grazing on good food; of course. I have great memories of my Dad waking early to put the turkey in the oven. He always told me how early he got up, that is. He would also make these amazing homemade yeast rolls that he would set on the counter under a kitchen towel to let them rise.  Of course, I always wanted to lift the towel to see them actively rising and he would quickly say, "SSsshhhhh! They are sleeping!" Then there was another Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's family. Also great memories of my grandpa making the most amazing stuffing ever! He made it every year. Even in his later years, he would sit in front of the stove and make the stuffing from a chair. My mom would turn out an amazing turkey and my aunt Annette would make the most amazing peanut butter pie I have ever tasted. The peanut butter pie became such a hit that I started insisting that she make two. As time relentlessly marches on and two of the most amazing men I have ever known, in my father and grandfather have passed on, traditions have changed.

This year, I spent Thanksgiving with my friends here in Baltimore, MD. It was very interesting in the weeks leading up to the big day. It was shaping up to be quite the international Thanksgiving gathering. Poland, Korea, China, Trinidad, Baltimorians, and Midwesterners were going to be in attendance. We were quite the eclectic group. The list of food to be brought to the table was shaping up to be quite interesting as well. Foods such as fried chicken, grilled salmon, collard greens and smoked bones, blueberry and cherry cobblers were mentioned dishes to be added to the traditional Thanksgiving treats. Initially, I was going on and on about how these items are not what Thanksgiving is about. Then I stepped back and evaluated all of the diversity that was going to be in attendance and had a stern talk with myself. "Who am I to tell others what the Thanksgiving tradition is to them?" So I began welcoming all of the different dishes.

We had an amazing spread of dishes. There were a few rookie mistakes made. It began with a 14# turkey for 18-20 people. I immediately called my family and asked if we should be panicking. So we added a spiral sliced ham last minute. The spiral ham was cooked with fresh pineapple wedged in between several of the slices, which for those that don't know, the acidity of the pineapple breaks down meat into paper mache'. So we also added some rotisserie chickens. One small important detail we failed to cover prior to the main event: who has ever cut a turkey? The beautiful turkey and it's sides were presented and then I asked "Who shall cut the turkey?" Nothing but silence filled the room. I turned to my good friend and fellow traveler's husband, Jeremy, and said "Well, you are the man here, show us what you got." His response, "Have you met my wife? She tells me how to put my pants on." I laughed out loud, though I know he was speaking the truth. So, I grabbed that knife and fork and tried to recollect how my mom, dad, or any character from any movie I had ever seen cut a turkey. I am pretty sure I failed on all fronts. The turkey was eaten, that is all that matters. :-)

After we sufficiently stuffed ourselves we engaged in quite a few fiercely competitive games of Catch Phrase. If you have never played this game, you should. It will bring anyone's competitive side to the surface.

All in all a very good Thanksgiving spent with very good friends. I hope all of you had a great day as well!