Return to Reality

9 days post holiday, and we are exhausted and need a holiday to recover from the holiday! Since our return last Thursday, it has been a whirlwind of getting organised and back into the rhythm of daily life with school and work, and trying to have some sort of family time in between! Not easy when juggling a shift worker in the family (especially if the shift worker is the one who usually coordinates everything, including meals!).

My nursing registration came through last Friday - finally! I still can't believe the hassles I had over the hyphenated surname, but at least it is done now and I am officially registered (RN 12071).

I have just finished my first full week of work, and thought I should let you all know how things are going. My placement got changed at the last minute, and I was moved to the Oncology ward rather than the chemo clinic. This means a full rotating roster including weekends, which was a bit of a shock as I had mentally prepared myself for having Mon-Fri and weekends off for the first six months! Monday, Tuesday and Wed were orientation days and then I had Thurs/Friday off, which was lovely as I had lots to catch up on and needed to spend some time at home. We really were thrust into things with returning from holidays last Thursday and work/school starting on Monday!

I have spent the last two days on the ward, working in the high dependency unit (this is where patients who have had chemo come to if they become sick, get a fever etc). In short, I LOVE it. I can't believe I can sign RN after my name finally, and that I can do medications, blood transfusions etc without someone watching over my shoulder the entire time! It's nice to be a little more independent and have my own patients to care for. I'm having a ball...although I am very tired. Each night I come home and collapse. I have started having "nanna naps" when I get home from a morning shift (an hour's sleep at 4pm lets me stay awake and actually function till 10pm bedtime!). The early starts are tough - shift begins at 7am and finishes at 3.30pm. Next week I have some evening shifts (1pm till 9.30pm). Thankfully we don't have to do night shifts for the first three months! Of course, the other bonus is that I am going to be PAID for doing what I love...can't wait for that first payslip!

Catherine and Jono are very pleased to be home and are enjoying catching up with all their friends in person, rather than just on MSN. They are both talking about 'next time' and saving up for another overseas holiday. Anura and I are both very "Europe sick" and are not really happy to be home at all - we are both very keen to explore the option of living and working overseas for a few years, and will start thinking about submitting resumes etc soon. I really need to complete my graduate year before I can move on, but after that, anything is possible! We are also missing the lovely family and friends we stayed with while we were away and wishing the distance between Australia and Europe was not quite so great.

Anyway, it is time for my nanna nap so that I can function for a few hours after dinner tonight - school uniforms to be ironed, etc etc... Does it ever end?