aha! my friday reflection...on friday!

I started out a few weeks ago with the best of intentions.  To blog at least once a week, and reflect on my week every Friday.  
Well, that intention got blown to the moon by life.  I have posted just a tiny bit of what I have been dealing with for the past 2 or 3 weeks.  I've shared a bit of what my last few weeks have been like.  Suffice it to say that it has been pretty stressful.

But that is fodder for another blog.  This is my day to reflect. The prompt I chose for this week was this one:

Reflect on the following quote: "You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream" - CS Lewis

As soon as I saw this one, I knew it was the one.  THE ONE.  The quote that just jumped out at me and knocked my socks off.  At an age when most people are looking at retirement and planning what they are going to be doing with all that spare time, I was going back to school to learn to be a wound, ostomy and continence nurse.  I don't look at things I want to learn or do as limited by my age.  The only limits I have are the ones I put on myself, and I choose not to limit myself.  Every day that I wake up is a chance to learn something new, to dream a new dream.  Dreams are what give my thoughts flight, and make all things possible.  I also believe that the day I stop dreaming and planning new goals, is the day I start to grow old.  Dreams keep me young.  By young, I don't mean looks, because that is just the wrapping, not who I really am.  When I say young, I mean that my thoughts, my outlook on life, the way I approach life is ageless.  It has nothing to do with the number of years I have lived on earth  I plan to be young the rest of my life.  Goals give me something to look forward to, to strive for.  It isn't about reaching the goal that matters to me, it is the journey getting there that matters.  That is where the learning, the lesson, occurs.


And because this is May 1, and the first day of NaBloPoMo for this month, I decided I would add the prompt for it here too.  Kind of confusing to some people, but to someone who multitasks as much as I do, it made good sense to me.  The May Theme for NaBloPoMo (which I have failed at plenty of times, and decided to take a stab at again) is:

PHOTO

The prompt for today's photo is: YOU. Meaning me...so here I am:

  

me

Your computer is not playing tricks on you.  I am out of focus for a reason.  I chose to edit this photo this way, because lately it is the way I feel.  Off center, out of kilter, not quite balanced. Life is just like that sometimes, you know?  My mantra has always been:

This, too, shall pass.

And with time, it will.  It always does, because life isn't static.

...laugh, when you can't do anything else. ~cath 
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter

friday reflections

The Friday Reflections prompt that spoke to me today was this one:
Reflect on the week just gone, listing one high point, one low point, and something you have learned.

Human beings are, for the most part, not solitary by nature.  I'm not saying we don't need time alone, but we are social for the most part and want to belong to or be with others.

I have belonged to a wonderful small blogging group for about 2 years or more now.  Diverse in viewpoints and styles, we are scattered across the globe.  Belonging to the group has added a lot of meaning to my life.  I have been mostly inactive for many months now in that group, as I pursued another goal.  I popped in from time to time, read their posts from time to time, and tried to maintain at least a thread of contact until life returned to normal for me.  They were always supportive, even as my creativity dried up so I could focus on the analytical, nursing side of my brain.

I'm a registered nurse for many years now, and last August I decided to pursue certification as a Wound, Ostomy and Continence nurse.  Although I still have the certification exams facing me (three of them!), the high point for me last week was receiving this in my email inbox:

After all those months, a large amount of money put into the course, and three comprehensive finals that about scared the pants off me, I passed!  Normally I don't blow my own horn, but darn I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  And the learning experience and knowledge I gained as I completed the theory and practicum (clinical component) was invaluable.

So my low point this past week was the exhausting 7 hours of comprehensive finals I had to pass, and the high point was the email saying it had all paid off.  I've learned that no matter what your age, you should never stop pushing yourself, and reaching that bit beyond your comfort zone for the prize just almost, but not quite, out of reach.  And never give up! 

Now if I can just pass the certification tests...

Have any of you ever experienced extremes of high and low points in the same week?  Life is weirdly wonderful right now...and I am ready to rejoin my wonderful blogging group, and the people who have been so supportive of me.  Thanks PBAUs!

...it may be weird, but life is still good. ~cath
find me @jonesbabie on Twitter