Changes

Today we got the fall addition of the Chronicle in the mail.  I guess it's official . . . James is going back to school at the U.  He'll be starting up in a couple of weeks to begin a program wherein he'll earn his Masters of Nursing with an emphasis in Care Management.  I think he's excited or maybe nervous.  I never really know with James.  I know he can do it, but I just hope he can do it without a lot stress.

To add to the changes, James also started a new job this week.  He will be working as a floor nurse at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute or UNI.  The benefits of the job are that the hours are very regular and there are no graveyards. He works three 12-hour shifts on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with the occasional shift on Sunday.  He's a float nurse, so he'll rotate floors and work with patients from pediatrics to geriatrics.  He doesn't have to wear a typical scrub uniform and can instead wear "business casual."  He's been at training and orientations this week and begins his regular schedule next week.  The benefits of the new job will be that he should have plenty of time during the week to focus on his school work, it will give him some much needed hospital experience, totally new patient experiences, and in a year he'll get half tuition!

He's enjoyed working for First Choice Home Health and I think he is really going to miss some of the people he works with, but it was definitely time for a change.  His job was pretty grueling and he brought home more work than a teacher.  He was never finished and never had any time off.  He'd work late into the night or wake up at three in the morning to try to get caught up.  He'd pull out his computer on Saturdays and Sundays and spent most of our Colorado/New Mexico vacation on his computer.  He'd put 100 miles on his car in a day and never leave the Salt Lake valley.  He'd be assigned the most difficult patients and be called on difficult situations.  I am looking forward to him having a job that doesn't require him to bring work home every day.

I'm also looking forward to maybe James picking up the kids from school one day a week (or one day every other week) and letting me stay late to get caught up on things so that I can bring less home and he can have some quality time with Molly and Jack.  Though I am teaching on one of my prep period's this year, I am hoping for a much less stressful school year.  I am not teaching as many different classes, I'm not teaching U.S. History, and I'm not teaching any new classes I've never taught before, except for a Math Lab homework class (but that class shouldn't require a whole lot of prep time).  

Anyway, that's what's happening around our house.  Wish us luck!