Long overdue...

Long overdue for a post...

It has been a hectic start to 2011 to say the least...between classes, clinicals, running, friends, family, and the beginnings of the job search I have little time to breath. I have been working hard at balancing life but I always seem to hit bumps in my ambitious roads...

- CLASSES are not bad, still keeping my grades in check to maintain my place in Sigma Theta Tau International (the honor society I was inducted into last semester qualifying for this honor by being in the top 20% of my class) but this feet is definitely a little bit time consuming


- CLINICALS, I just completed my leadership rotation in a neuroscience ICU (weekend shift, leaving little time for a personal life) and loved every moment of it and just may have found my calling. During this experience I had several firsts...first patient death, first code, first emergent intubation, and so many more. My preceptor for this rotation was incredible and I now call her a friend! I have now moved into my Pediatric rotation which I hope I will enjoy but I don't think will be the best rotation I have ever had.


- RUNNING has still been an incredible stress reliever and a huge part of my life. As many of you know I ran my first 1/2marathon in NOLA Feb 13, 2011. I would like to tell you that every mile of the 13.1 was wonderful, joyful, and fulfilling but instead I will be completely honest and tell you it was instead 13.1 miles of HELL but I will conquer more 1/2marathons in my life and one day a full marathon but I need to forget the last 13.1 before I go at it again!!! During my training I hit a couple of road bumps...literally! I took a nasty fall on a long run which left we with scarred knuckles, an infected toenail, and then the loss of that toenail. Well I should have known that I would not just lose the one toenail that others would follow in sink...NO more infection but I have since had to remove 2more toenails for a total of 3 toenails lost (NO cute summer shoes for me...). This led to the buying of a t-shirt in NOLA that says "toenails are for sissies!"

- FRIENDS have been wonderful through all of my crazy schedules, working with me so that I can have at least some time for fun and relaxation. So Thank You!!!

- FAMILY, still living with the parents but am so incredibly grateful for all they have done for me during this season of my life! Kelly, my sister-n-law by my oldest brother Mark, helped make my 1st 1/2marathon possible by putting up most of the funding for an incredible weekend that I so desperately needed. But even more so this weekend allowed us to spend some incredible quality time together making me miss her more regularly and simultaneously making me so thankful my brother picked such an incredible woman to join our family! Also during this weekend I got to spend some time with Mark and my nephew, an always welcomed gift. JM and I continue to bond over kayaking and I continue to grow more jealous of his fun adventures!

- JOB SEARCH, during my leadership rotation I had the opportunity to meet with the director of the unit I was working in. This was an incredibly productive meeting and although No promises of a job a definite contact has been made opening doors for a future job!!!

LIFE is crazy and full of ups and downs but every day is a new day given as a gift from the Lord...so I work diligently to make each day valuable...

2011 will be an EPIC year...

2011 will be an EPIC year in the life of jillmariethomas...

and theses are the reasons why...

1. Read the Bible from cover to cover

2. Run "11" "races in 2011" including Warrior Dash with the one and only racequ

3. Graduate from nursing school

4. Pursue nursing jobs in South Africa and hopefully make a move across the big blue

5. Run my 1st half marathon

6. Run my 1st marathon

7. Pursue God in a new and different way

8. Make a difference in the lives of the people around me

9. Continuing on my journey of healthy living

10. Make friendships a priority

11. Kayak a class 3

12. Finish knitting the scarf I started over 2 years ago

13. Learn to snow ski or better yet snowboard

14. Jump out of a plane for round #2

15. Serve the Lord my God with all my heart, and all my soul, and all my mind

One "word"...

One "word"...

I recently saw the movie Eat Pray Love for the second time. While Julia Roberts character (Elizabeth Gilbert) is in Rome her friends ask her what her "word" is. Gilbert is unsure what they are referring to and so her friends give her examples...

Rome - sex

Stockholm - conform

New York - ambitions

Gilbert already on an incredible journey begins to dig within to determine her one "word;" a "word" that can unlock a city or person and his or her meaning...by the end of the movie Gilbert, after pouring through books determines her word to be...

attraversiamo "let's cross over"

So in watching this movie I found myself longing to determine what one "word" unlocks who I am...when I began digging within I realized that I had already determined my word and in fact already blogged about it...

fighter

I am and will always be a fighter...

Often or Offen..

Often or Offen...

a word in the south spoken as "offen"

One night, this little word that is used so frivorously in everyday conversation became very intriguing as racequ and I pondered the difference in the way the word was spoken and written...after much conversation we decided that we should silence letters in other words and the one that stuck for us was "awe-ome" better known to the rest of the world as awesome. This new pronunciation of this classic adjective has even made a debut thousands of feet in the sky on a recent skydiving adventure. We use it "offen" and even correct ourselves when we slip and say awesome with the "s" instead of "awe-ome"!

So, you are asking "why blog about this now?" well...today racequ asked if I remembered what word led us to the creation of "awe-ome"...I had no idea...A few hours later the phone rings with racequ providing me with the word often as the answer to the question...and so with that I decided that I needed to document this word so as never to forget its origin again!

Reigning in the mind of a fighter...

Reigning in the mind of a fighter seems to be an impossible task...





As graduation nears, once again, I have opened my future to the wealth of possibilities for the next step. I have known for so many years now that God did not ordain my life for a white picket fence in the suburbs but instead for a life of great adventure sharing his name with all I encounter. My heart never seems to be at peace unless I am in motion for the Lord. Every part of my selfish being wants to stay here in the city I love...get a great flat, furnish it with shabby chic furniture, have drinks with the girls several nights a week, fall in love, and strive to move as high as I can on the job ladder...but if I were to choose such a life I would be missing out on all the Lord has to offer. I would never be at peace with anything around me and at some point would more than likely self-destruct. Instead I am currently looking for nursing jobs in South Africa, Cape Town specifically. The Lord has already been faithful in so many ways by providing incredible contacts with a wealth of information. Though this journey will be excruciatingly long and hard I am prepared to FIGHT until success is achieved. At some point I plan to further my education more (a masters or nurse practitioner degree in public health, two great programs at Emory) but for now I will see what the Lord has in store across the big blue sea!!!

I begin with a tribute...

I begin with a tribute to the woman who reminded me that my Creator made me a fighter...

I met Patricia Fields a mere 9 months ago at the onset of a devastating diagnosis but I would quickly learn that she was a fighter. The Lord's timing is forever perfect and he knew that I needed Pat in my life at exactly this moment and in the same way he knew she and her family would need me equally as much. I am forever indebted to the legacy of a woman who may never know the impact she had on my life...

The following is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to Pat's oldest daughter...

It has been my utmost privilege and honor to have had the opportunity to know and love your mother. the things Pat taught me I believed to be unteachable and the life experiences she gave me is nothing short of priceless. I remember sitting on her hospital bed one night reading the Bible to her and thinking what an amazing privilege it is to read scripture to such a matriarch. Connie, your mother was a true woman of the faith. a mother that would not stop fighting so as to continue being the mother she needed to be. Pat reminded me to laugh in the midst of the storm and to be at peace with the plan of the Lord. She taught me to be a fighter to never succumb to what life throws at you but to be strong in the faith knowing he is forever faithful...

Thank you for welcoming me with open arms and for letting me be a part of the intimacy of the end. You will never know how much that meant to me. Pat may have proceeded us in death but she left behind the most powerful model of a Godly woman that any person would long to be privy to. I grew to love Pat dearly as well as you and the rest of the family! I know that this is simply of the beginning of a great and wonderful friendship and that I am bounded to you and your family indefinitely!

Patricia Fields thank you for reminding me I am a FIGHTER...

A fighter for those who can't fight for themselves

A fighter against the distractions of the enemy who tries to pull me away from my calling

A fighter for all that I deserve as a daughter of the King

It is the renewing of the soul...

It is the renewing of the soul that brings about fresh life and so with that, I begin my blogging journey once again...

There is so much to recount, so much new found wisdom, so much bursting from the deepest parts of me...but I will take it slow, day by day I will poor out the things I have left blank on the page for oh so long...