Proud Of My Big Sister

Just wanted to mention how proud I am of my big sister in a post. My big sister and only sibling, started her family and got married right away. She was able to stay home with her kids and raise them and support her husband as he furthered his electrical career while she took care of the house/home/children. She stayed home for 17 years. In those same years, I wanted to do the opposite and so I went to college, partied, traveled, worked every place under the sun to put myself through college, etc. Then I met my now husband, we worked in our careers, bought a house, remodeled it from roof to foundation, got a dog (which WAS our baby until we had a baby), traveled some more and really enjoyed ourselves for awhile. All this time my sister was still taking care of her family. Then about the same time our lives took a total switch. My sisters kids were getting older and I was pregnant and about to become a stay-at-home-mom. She was taking classes in junior college and about to start the nursing program to become a nurse. Since that time, she finished her nursing degree, all while still taking care of her house and family and kids who were in middle and high school on the side. OY! I could not have done that. On one hand I was glad that I got all my schooling out of the way before starting my family, but on the other hand I was amazed that she was able to do hers with a husband/house and kids too! Not that it was a joyous cake walk for her, it made things so much harder BUT she did it. We just attended her graduation this spring just weeks before her daughter graduated from high school AND her son graduated from middle school!!!

With the current state of the economy, it was hard for most graduates to find a job. Pickings were slim if there were any. She did end up finding a job at a brand new assisted living place (a mansion) with less than 5 patients on the midnight shift. Needless to say, as the patients slept, she was bored out of her mind. She wanted to get into a hospital ER and experience all the action. Nobody was hiring and if they were, it was not new grads. THEN, one day she told me that she found a big hospital that had an opening on the med-surge floor. She interviewed and GOT THE JOB! She had some tests to take to get her RN before they officially hired her. Then she aced those (of course) and got hired. She loves it! There is so much to learn on the job even after all that schooling.

You know, I never doubted that she could do it but knew that it would be so hard for her to do with a family. I struggled going to college with no family. She did it though. And to be quite honest she did it well. She got really good grades, she was always VERY good in school. I never was unless it had to do with art. Oh, and there is no way I could ever be a nurse. Kudos to her for that. I cannot imagine taking care of people that were sick or dying. I am wayyyyyy too emotional. AND ooooooh, some of the things she has told me about that she has to deal with. Gross! Another reason she is the nurse of the family and I went to art school. I could never deal with all the blood and guts of that type of job. I am very proud of her and she amazes me. I really never knew if she would go back to school or what she would end up doing after staying home all those years. She did it and I love her!