Have you ever bought a book or received one as a gift and returned to it some time later realizing that it fits perfectly in your current place in life? Perhaps it fits because you can relate to a specific character or to a specific character's situation. Perhaps it fits because it relays a lesson that is pertinent to current circumstance. Or, perhaps it fills a void or offers a voice or perspective unavailable to you right now.

I have been missing my Mount Holyoke friends, wishing they were around to share womanly advice, wishing we could all grab a sandwich at tailgate and sit and talk about politics or boyfriends, or our lack of boyfriends... this void has brought me back to an old book given to me by my friend, Maureen. The book is Mama Gena's School of Womanly Arts. Maureen gave it to me as a joke, but I have really enjoyed it - AND it just so happens that Mama Gena went to Mount Holyoke and loves to explore the untapped potential of women! It's great!!

I may be adding more about my thoughts on Mama Gena in the next few days... be on the lookout.

good morning

i couldn't help it
Originally uploaded by midlfork97

I ran this morning with Cash, it was lots of fun and I just showered and got ready - my old favorite jeans fit again!! I haven't been trying to lose weight or anything; just being happy, exercising (my dog gives me a great excuse to walk many times/day), eating right (not eating out so much) and staying busy are getting me back into shape. It feels good. This picture is Cash and I hiking in North Carolina.

I just realized in reading over my previous post that I didn't make it clear why the jp quote is still appropriate. The idea that I was getting at, by mentioning that I'm now living on my own again and am feeling very inspired by school and the path that I'm headed down, is that I actually come home and have a LOT to say, just nobody to say it to! I do have an amazingly playful and loving 8 month old black lab named, "cash," but he's not too interested in who is running for president and his or HER healthcare ideas... although he does pretend to listen - ears perked up and eyes as large as these chocolate cookies - he's precious. Nevertheless, blogging seems appropriate for me, i DO have something to say.

Today, I decided to get back to blogging - I haven't logged onto blogger.com in a few years it seems and as I went to make adjustments to my template and header, etc... I realized that I still love the quote, from 'Angel from Montgomery' by John Prine - and it's actually still appropriate. Let me explain. I just recently moved away from most everyone that I know - I've made a few friends, but none quite yet to whom I can unload all unfiltered thoughts and comments. I am living on my own again, but it's different this time - I feel much more focused in my goals (I'm getting my Masters in Nursing) and I feel like, at this point, I've made huge mistakes, learned lots of nasty, painful lessons and now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'm ready to pool my energy into learning as much as I can and then working to better the lives of all the children that I may come across in the future.

I am working on a pediatric nursing route, most likely emergency medicine for a while and then transitioning either to a patient teaching/case management position or a nursing school professor. Either way, I finally feel enabled to dream of achievable goals. It's exciting.

Back to studying... pathophysiology and pharmacology - I've got finals on monday... along with lots of mardi gras parades to attend between now and then.

-j-