My life since Thanksgiving has been a whirlwind of activity and information. I have been literally thrown into situations I didn't even see coming, but had to make decisions on quickly and do it with no small measure of confidence because other people were also major stakeholders in the outcome. Sigh. For my NICU colleagues who are thinking it really has been a whirlwind of activity on our unit lately, you are so right and it is always nice to come home and have some time to sort things out. Unless, of course, you come home to a different whirlwind. Needless to say, I found myself this past weekend both physically and emotionally exhausted.
At this point my coworkers are going "what? Wait....were you involved in admitting that huge influx of babies we just got?!?" Well, no. I was fortunate to be tucked away with my sweet little primaries, getting to spend some time preparing them for discharge and rocking them to sleep. And I'm sorry, but I didn't answer the messages to work extra that were assailing my cell phone, sometimes hourly. But it wasn't because I didn't care or because I was leaving you to tread the churning waters of multiple multiple birth deliveries. It was because I was treading the churning waters of my own storm in my non-paying job. By non-paying I mean monetarily speaking because both of my jobs have benefits that don't come with the
paycheck....fortunately for me, the night job has both!
My first stress came when our unit was slow and we were being cancelled....a lot, and people were missing large chunks of their paychecks or were watching their PTO dwindle to nothing. Many of us had started applying for second jobs (better known in the nursing world as prn). I applied for one myself, went to the interview, was even looking forward to the chance to work somewhere new (I've told you I'm Nosey, right? Like to see what's going on somewhere else....)
Anyway, by the time I got the call with the job offer, our unit had gotten busy and my life had taken a turn for the chaotic. So.....I was mortified to have to turn down the job I had sought. Mortified because the person I interviewed with wasn't just a potential boss, but is a professional friend whom I respect and admire and I felt like I was throwing a nice
opportunity back in her face. I did send her a personal note about my unexpected situation, and she did reply that she understood, but I hope I'll be able to talk to her sometime to explain in detail.
So.....my personal storm....I'm not sure when it really started. The first time I remember feeling a little in over my head was when I got the email telling me my abstract for presentation as a speaker at the NANN conference in October 2012 came. Yes, I did send in an abstract, but I never dreamed it would be accepted. I had just about wrapped my mind around this reality when Michael started introducing me to some of his contacts. I like meeting new people, especially people who are as interested in Rwanda as I am. One of the people he introduced me to was Nancy....not the Nancy I have talked about before, but a new Nancy who, it turns out, is just as fascinating as my "sister friend" Nancy.
New Nancy (no sister friend, I will not call you "old Nancy," you'll be BFF Nancy!) is part of an amazing project in Rwanda called Books & Beyond that is a partnership between the University of Indiana and a school in Rwanda that has over 2000 students and very few books. That is, until Books & Beyond was started. Basically IU students are writing and publishing books for children that are aimed at developing critical thinking skills in these Rwandan school children. What an amazing gift to give a child.....knowledge! So I have enjoyed talking and exchanging emails with new Nancy as we brainstorm about each of our projects which is what I thought was the purpose of the intro in the first place.
Never underestimate Michael.....this should be one of my mantras by now, but I still forget sometimes! He introduced me to new Nancy because she has connections that will be beneficial to me. Of course she does! And of course they will bring something new and unexpected! So started my own whirlwind.
Too late to make a long story short, but I'll leave you with a conference call between Michael, new Nancy and one of her connections that looks to be opening up an amazing partnership opportunity for me and our projects in Rwanda.....and a whole lot more work and planning. Oh, and did I mention that my poster abstract for NANN was also accepted this week, and the board of directors of COINN voted to endorse our work in Rwanda, and I have been invited to speak at a couple of organizations?.....Whirlwind, storm, monsoon.....now where in the heck are those galoshes?!?
