People change

"People change and forget to tell each other"- a sad fact of life?
(Quote by Lillian Hellman)

Bless his big heart. Perry has listened to my chatter for the past 7+ months about a particular personal matter that's been on my mind. Last night over dinner, I asked him to listen as I vented about more of the mess that was slowly unfolding. He in turn whipped out the "because I care for you, I gotta say this" bit... And. he. was. so. right! I need to stop being a people-pleaser. I have a lot to get off my chest and will spend some time considering the best way to confront said person without being brash, abrasive, or hurtful. That's the last thing I want to do!

Speaking of dinner, the vegetable-of-the-day was fresh steamed green beans from our nextdoor neighbor, Howard. He brought over bags FULL of blessings! We now have a watermelon, 7 ears of corn, 7 banana peppers, 5 hot red peppers, 4 yellow squash, 2 cucumbers, 2 tomatoes, and lots of green beans :)

A lot has happened to me

...in the past month!

End of April
-On the same day, I scored a 97 on the Neuro exam (highest test score yet!) AND received a phone call from the manager on the unit where I completed my second preceptorship- she had a position open up and wanted to fill it with a new grad... and interview me!
-I GOT OFFERED THE JOB!!!

May
-My final exam was tough, but ended up with a 91 average = B. *Note: 92.5 is an A... so so close :(
-May 6th was our Pinning Ceremony at a beautiful Baptist church in N. Raleigh.


I'm the one turned around backwards ;)


Perry & I at Brio ♥ The entire family went out for dinner to celebrate!

-On Mother's Day, Perry & I treated our Moms (and Phil & Paul) to a Mudcats baseball game! We rode home with my Mom & Paul in their convertible. These pictures make me giggle.



-Bella's guesstimated birthday was May 11th. Happy 1st birthday to our baby!

-Perry has been working hard on various home improvement projects. He built a pantry in our kitchen & built-in shelves in the hall bathroom, and we started painting our interior trim from a dull sage green (dating back to the 1950s probably) to crisp clean white, painting primer on the exterior trim, and Perry sort of surprised me by taking the initiative to paint our front door GREEN!



-Last Sunday was the big Wake Tech graduation ceremony!



-Today I returned to work at Michael's! Back in 2007-08, I was a Sales Associate, then Event Coordinator, then promoted to Front End Supervisor. While I still work PT/PRN as a Nursing Assistant at the Laurels, a skilled nursing facility, I snatched up the opportunity to make some more money during this waiting period before my "real job" begins!

Coming soon in June!
-NCLEX Exam (State Boards for RN Licensure). My testing date is TBD, but please pray for me!

And in July...
-July 19th: official start date for my very first full-time job!!! I'll be at a large area hospital on an orthopaedic and oncology floor (AKA bones and cancer). I feel so blessed and cannot wait to begin my career as a nurse!

Bella

Bella is the newest addition to the Whitaker family. Perry & I adopted her 2 weeks ago from a Siberian Husky rescue. She's a one year old purebred, a big fuzzy ball of energy!

I just came within inches of losing her. Unlike Krissie & Autumn who know the boundaries of our yard and rarely venture past them, Bella's natural Husky instinct is to RUN! Down the street, around this tree, up to a neighbor's house, and into someone else's backyard. She was happy as could be. Freedom! And the other girls were tagging right along. But I was *PANICKING*.

At one point, I lost sight of them and thought for sure I would never catch her. Exhaustion and difficulty breathing set in; I'm out of shape and pretty sure I have exercise-induced asthma... I sprinted around the side of a neighbor's house and there they were. Autumn turned back to run towards me so Bella followed (thank you Fatty, for being a mama's girl!). Of course, Bella didn't make it easy. She decided to change directions again and bolted to the side.

I DOVE at her & landed on the leash. For what felt like five minutes, I layed face down, sprawled out on the ground with the girls playing and kissing all over me. It was a game to them. But I started sobbing! That was the worst feeling. I can only imagine what it's like to lose a real human child.

Now that my heart rate is back WNL, I need to wash the grass stains off my clothes & search for my keys that I threw down somewhere out there.

My dear "old" Dad

My Daddy called me tonight! Our 30-minute chat reminded me how much we don't know about each others lives despite keeping in touch with phone calls. More than 3 years ago, my Dad and stepmom Kar moved from Raleigh, NC to a tiny town in Virginia to pursue their dream of running a cattle farm. It's hard enough staying connected with folks who live in the next town! Anyway, somehow, I failed to tell my Dad about the Honda Element we purchased back in January! How did it never cross my mind?

Growing up in a divorced family, my older brother Jason & I got to spend time with my Dad on Wednesdays and roughly every other weekend. Being a physician demands a lot of time in the office & hospital, but he has always been a dedicated father. I'd like to share a sweet memory of my Dad that I will always cherish:


"Father-Daughter Breakfast"

My brother was in 9th grade (at Apex High's Lufkin Road campus) and I was in 7th grade. After spending the weekend with him, my Dad would drive us to school on Monday morning. We would drop Jason off first. With roughly an hour to spare before my school started, my Dad and I would head over to the "Riz-Raz Cafe" for breakfast :) Just a block from Apex Middle on NC-55/Williams St. (unfortunately it has since closed), it was the perfect location for a perfect start to our day! It was a diner-style, "trucker" kind of a place, but oh, how I looked forward to those mornings. We typically sat on the same side of the restaurant- probably because the other side was the smoking section, but I liked the routine of it. It was our special place & time together!

Jason, myself and my Dad flying a kite at a local park, circa 1987

I'm hoping this blog will aide in keeping Perry & I connected to our loved ones. By the way... Dad, get your computer set up in your home office! I love you ♥

Introducing...

...for the first time ever on a blog,

Mr. and Mrs. Perry Whitaker!!!



After discovering several long-lost acquaintances' blogs, I (Lauren) decided to start one in an effort to keep in touch with our friends & family. This should be fun!