Inspired

The one thing I love about my current job besides my coworkers are my patients. And I mean those that are 70+. It wasn’t always this way. I had to learn to love them by actually taking the time to sit with them and learn about them. More recently I have learned to see them with different eyes (Thanks Prof M.F.)

I’m in the Gero rotation now and being able to better understand the aging process and what things are not considered “normal part of aging” has really helped me gain better understanding of these patients and be more patient with them. Not that I wasn’t patient before but I’d always thought of my grandparents and family being in their position and how I’d like them to be treated given their situation. However, now I can put those comparisons aside and see them as who they are, individuals with lots of cool stories and wisdom.

That being said, today I took care of this 86 years old lady and she made an impact in my life. I’ve taken care of many patients her age and even older (100+ years) but there was something about her that made me feel different. Gracious. Thankful. Blessed. I was honestly having a rough day after my day yesterday and decided that maybe spending a little time talking to my patients today would help distract me a little. And it sure did. She went on and on and on about her life stories and things that she had done and dealt with. Then she said, “I could write a book about my life. Actually, somedays when I sit on the beach (she’s from down south and was in town visiting) I wish I could write about my life so that my grandkids and their grandkids can read my story”. And that’s when it hit me.

That’s why I blog.

Something that started simply as a way to document my wedding journey has turned into this amazing blog where I share a lot about my life as a married women, my husband, marriage, our children, my journey through nursing school, our travels and adventures, my frustrations, and even some personal things. There are days that I don’t blog often, there are days that I wonder if I should continue to write as I feel my content is not that of interest to many. Yet today I was also reminded of the many times I read other bloggers say that when you decide to start a blog to make sure that you stay true to yourself and always always write for you!

I don’t know how long this blog will be up for or or how often I’ll be able to write on it but as long as it’s focus continues to be on stories about my married life, I will do my very best to leave my future grandchildren something they can remember me by. Better yet, something that will allow them to know me. Like really know me and about me and what better way than through my own words :)

Thank you cute little lady for keeping me inspired.

Jamaica 2017

 

Last year was my 30th birthday and again we wanted to do something fun, exciting, and memorable. For hubby's 30th we traveled to Mexico and it was a very busy getaway so for my birthday we decided to travel to Jamaica but keep it more low key with the excursions. Although I feel we ended up with way too many pictures for such a low key getaway ;)

We stayed at the Bahia Principe Resort in Montego Bay for 5 nights and we booked an excursion to the Dunn's River Falls. That was really really fun! Our driver was hilarious and the hike up the river was pretty cool (and a little dangerous if I'd say so myself), nonetheless we did it and we have no regrets. 

The details/breakdown:

The resort grounds was beautiful. We ended upgrading to an ocean view room which was awesome. The pool was pretty big and the beach was separated by sections but available to all resort guests. Every day we picked a different section to hang out in and we would normally start the day by going to the beach after breakfast and ending the day in the pool area. The beach water was so clear and warm, it was definitely the Caribbean :) The entertainment team was not like in previous resorts we've stayed at. I don't remember them doing any day activities, yet again the pool was so big and sort of wrapped around the resort that we were probably in the "quiet side of it". The nightly entertainment was pretty cool. I personally found that some of the male staff were inappropriate. One guy in particular kept us waiting forever for drinks, he took shots himself and had his own drink that he was sipping on while he made other drinks, and he would smack other girls booty (female staff) as they walked by him. My hubby and I just looked at each other, grabbed our drinks and moved to another section. Whoever he thought he was, I found his actions and behavior to be inappropriate. Friendlyness of the staff in Jamaica was definitely not the same as in Mexico. Jamaica reminded me a lot of the Dominican Republic in many ways.

The food was good. Very similar to what we are used to eating but with different spices. I have no complains about the food but also nothing that sticks out as being amazingly good. We did have Jamaican pattys and that was good, at least the one from the resort was. Oh and the curry chicken was pretty good. We ate it almost every day for lunch. The drinks were pretty good too. I'm not a big drinker so I was fine with the first good drink I had. 

On our third day in Jamaica we traveled to Ocho Rios with this hilarious driver to climb up the Dunns River Falls. After arriving to our departure location we got on a boat that took us out to sea to snorkel. What an amazing experience. Now that water was super cold and although I as a little afraid of jumping in I ended up just joining the hubby. I've done snorkeling in Costa Rica which was my first time and a terrifying experience, as well as in DR on our Isla Saona excursion which we stopped in a natural pool to snorkel and the water there was waist deep and super clear. That was awesome.

Anyways, snorkeling in Jamaica was cool and I'm glad I decided to do it. YOLO. We then got back on the boat and ended up at the Falls. Ok, so this water was beyond cold, it was freezing. I don't think I'd make it all the way up by water but eventually my body got used to the water temperature. I loved all the pictures we were able to snap on our way up. On the way down we used the walk way. The stafff here also take pictures of you going up the Fall and try selling you a DVD at the end. We're suckers so we bought it lol.

On or ay back to the resort the boat had a party going on with Jamaican punch and pattys. The music was good. This was when reality hit. At least for me. There were a lot of young people in the boat, young like in their early/mid 20s and they were having the time of heir lives but I just kept on thinking "I can't dance like that, I can't behave like that. I'm a married woman and mother of two. This behavior is inappropriate for a woman my age", or is it? That thought really lingered in my head for quite awhile. Hubby and I did enjoy the boat ride back but in our own way. 

Two more days in the resort before ending this getaway which consisted of more beach, pool, and eating. Every day we ended up sitting next o this other couple from Boston, unintentionally, and on our second to last day there we had lunch with them and hung out on the biggest part of the beach section. They were pretty cool, I wish we would had exchanged info to keep in touch. They were really funny.

At last, Jamaican was quite the experience . I liked it but I didn't love it like I thought I would. Will we ever go back? yea sure, maybe sometime in the future but is not like I'm already planning our next trip there. My favorite part of this trip was spending time with the hubs and making great memories. 

It was a birthday for the record for sure. Just like we planned it :)

Hello 30s.