Time flies

Well, needless to say I have taken a LOOOOONG blogging hiatus.  I love keeping this site current, however huge busy-ness took over for a bit.  For starters, in early February, I was *finally* approved (applied in August) to sit for the NCLEX-PN.  Having been waiting to test for months (and feeling slightly desperate to obtain my LPN license before all my nursing school friends sit for their RN, to prevent massive jealousy, lol), I signed up for the earliest date available (about 3 weeks from my approval date).  But, also, having waited for months--totally unsure if I would ever be approved--I had somewhat burned out on studying.  So pretty much every free minute I had during the first half of February was spent cramming...and when I wasn't focusing on the NCLEX, I felt like I *should* be focusing on it, which rendered my efforts elsewhere (blogging, housecleaning, etc.) somewhat useless.  (Except my efforts in Girl Scouts...I have only grown more obsessive there, lol.  It seriously is possibly the best journey I've embarked on with my girls.)

Anyway, I am thrilled to say I am now a Licensed Practical Nurse, which also allowed for a step-up in my off-base clinic work--one that came with a pay increase large enough to now keep me from going into the negative if I ever need to employ an hourly sitter for work!!  I feel so grown-up now, lol.  After obtaining my license, the plan was to work and do an accelerated or online RN-bridge program.  However, I was hard-pressed to find a decent one.  Most of the in-person ones require a year of work experience, and all of the online ones I came across were not recognized as license-able curriculums in Oklahoma (and many other states).  Fortunately, when we first learned of our military transfer to Enid, I applied to the BSN program here as a transfer student and was accepted.  However, I was not in love with the clinical schedule (some rotations have a 90-minute commute since Enid is such an isolated location).  I met with the program dean last month, who informed me she would gladly reactivate my acceptance, and, by finishing my junior year in Edmond, I had knocked out most of my huge-commute rotations (saving a three-week stint of 1-2 days/week in mid-fall).  Having been through everything else these past few months, that no longer sounded very intimidating and I definitely feel up for it.  I have to take a couple online courses during the summer (which I don't mind at all) and then repeat 2 courses in the fall (Psych--because my old school's program was not enough credit hours, and Research--because they want all seniors to do the project tighter), but I can definitely handle that.  Plus, I LOVED Research and can certainly stand to brush up my mental health nursing skills a bit.  Particularly if I am accepted into the scholarship/commissioning program I recently applied for through the Public Health Service, which involves an externship as a nurse for the Bureau of Prisons.

My oldest also turned 6 in February, so we enjoyed a family celebration and a rock-star makeover celebration with friends.  We also just wrapped up Girl Scout cookie season--what an experience, particularly as a leader!  And we gained a new family member from the pound (a white terrier mix named Butters).  He is an absolute sweetheart and great with both other dogs and kids (including non-family-member kids!)--which is a breath of fresh air after living with Tunia for 7 years.  We adore Tunia, but it is so nice to have an animal that kids can actually pet when they come over, and a dog who enjoys the dog park.  Butters and Tunia are quite the pair as well.  The girls like to pretend Tunia is Butters' mommy...which makes for some interesting converstations, since, despite this supposed maternal bond, Tunia is still very food-possessive and barks or gently nips at Butters if he goes near her when she's eating.  This prompted my oldest to ask, "Mom, why is Petunia trying to eat her baby?!"  Love the things these girls say!!  :O)

The biggest thing going on right now, of course, is Matt's training.  His flight is scheduled to track-select (split amongst helicopters, T-38s [fighters] , and T-1s [cargo/UAV pilots]) at the end of this month, and two weeks ago he was starting his final dozen flights.  He breezed through the instrument (non-flying) section of the syllabus, but during this portion of the training, the students accrue zero flying hours.  From there, Matt went right into formation (flying aerial patterns coordinated with another student pilot).  This is arguably the most challenging part of the T-6 curriculum, as it assumes a solid grasp on prior pattern-work, aircraft safety, and difficult new skills that require great situational awareness and flexibility as you are working with and close to another plane.  Matt battled motion sickness his first day back flying, and then flight problems (combination of forgetting earlier work he believed was habit by this time and lack of situational awareness).  For as long as I have known Matt, he has been an *extremely* focused individual.  He tends to focus on one thing at a time and tune out all other stimuli.  There were many times in our 9 1/2 years together where I have thought he was intentionally ignoring me or choosing not to pay attention.  However, after seeing him struggle with these same problems during pilot training, he has definitely earned himself a little more credibility.  :O)  He has a strong tendency toward focusing on one aspect of the flight, without scanning to take everything in.  Understandably, this has resulted in some major safety violations, and unfortunately he must meet with the Ops Group Commander and the Wing Commander next week for an interview/evaluation that will determine if he can remain in training or will need to be reclassified into a different career field (the latter is not uncommon, this tends to occur at least once per class, and Matt's class has already lost 3 students--two who chose to drop and apply for reclassification, and one who failed out academically).  He has been out of the flight room for the past week, working mostly at base details, volunteering (today he is working at the special Olympics), and preparing for his review--while also staying as up-to-date as possible on his class syllabus, for an easier transition back to training if he is reinstated.

So, we've had a lot going on.  Mostly good, but this past week has been rough, particularly on Matt.  We know some guys who have been through this process and the uncertainty and disappointment take a lot of strength and prayer to overcome.  I am really impressed with how Matt has handled this situation so far and we are really trying to just give the problem up to God.  He has certainly guided us through many obstacles en route to Matt's commission in the first place and we are optimistic to see what route He has in store for our family.