10 Years as a Nurse! My Babies & Dreams

Yesterday was 10 years of becoming a nurse!!! Is motherhood not full of the unexpected, the sacrificial, yet the completely beautiful? A gift of social media is watching other mothers’ authentic stories of that mix unfold. My favorite hashtag retelling them is Leah Darrow’s  #babiesanddreams. 

July 22, 2010. I remember the pit in my stomach as I walked away from the computer screen flashing the last board exam question. I remember the fun celebrating with my fiancé when I received those passing results. This was my dream!

I remember my first year in the ICU. Ventilators, deaths, cardiac arrests. Shift work. The thrill of the hospital. My love affair with stethoscopes and scrubs. My pride in the certifications I’d receive. 

I remember working through my first pregnancy as I started graduate school, and happily planning that part-time application after his birth. 

I remember my shock with the women’s health content we were being taught, and the excitement of discovering NaproTechnology. Dreaming of all I could do as a pro-life provider. 

I remember my first year as a mom, thankfully dropping off our son at my moms and in-laws as I completed my education. Learning to juggle pumping and nursing in between. 

I remember quitting my first NP job as we were building our first house and growing our family. I remember struggling with my identify those first “unemployed” years with two little kids at home. 

I remember the letter that I needed more clinical hours to re-certify my NP license, and the frantic search to not let it expire. I remember my gratitude for finding work in hospice and a local nursing home. Seeing God’s hand as He used me to advocate for the sanctity of all human life, from natural conception to natural death.

I remember our fourth positive pregnancy test the week of the first Covid outbreak. Weighing our risks, and deciding to stay home. Knowing that this is a season.

July 22, 2020, My dreams have come true, have changed, have matured. My babies have fueled my love for healthcare and education more than I ever thought possible! That’s the power of motherhood. Do not doubt. Your hidden years at home, your long working hours away. God uses it all!

“The world doesn’t need what women have, it needs what women are.” - Edith Stein