Tuesday 26 March 2013

Study time

Studying is hard; all of us at University have competing claims on our time, it's freezing, and I find the mechanism of the kidneys just really difficult to understand.

Thermal tights and a hot water bottle
Thermal tights and a hot water bottle for my feet - reading textbooks makes me COLD!

But then, at the same time, it is also one of the most satisfying things I've ever done.  Sometimes I sit with my cup of coffee and a textbook and wonder at my luck.  I am allowed to be here, learning these strange things and talking about my experiences with other student nurses.  When I was 20 I never thought I'd be doing this at 40.

Studying
You need a healthy snack if you're reading about cardiovascular disease

I'm finding the juggling hard right now - there is so much reading I need to do, and I urgently need to prepare for exams that are looming fast.  Domestic life massively reduces what time is available to me and so juggling could easily become an exercise in resentment.  However, I refuse to let it.  Everything that matters to me will get done.  We all end up prioritising what's important to us - it's just that for everyone that list of priorities is different. 

For me, at the moment, what's important is making good home-baked bread, understanding pharmacology and how to look after someone with acute kidney failure, making sure the children have a relaxing and interesting Easter holidays, getting some perspective on my exams, knitting a couple more rows of sock every night and putting dates in the diary to spend with family and friends.

It will all get done.  It always does, somehow.  Even blogging.

Flask of coffee
Fuelled by coffee
 

6 comments:

  1. Oh the flippin' loop of flippin' Henle. How I hated it and its ions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think you're an inspiration missis Mc, I barely manage to drag my arse out of bed each morning and I don't have half of the responsibilities you do! keep going girl, you're doing brilliantly xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. When training we would turn bits we couldnt get to stick in our befuddled brains into songs, rhymes..well, andything frankly...my class will never for get Aposition ala the Rolling Stones....good luck

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well done for managing everything that you have on at the moment :) It's hard work but it will all pay off soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this post. I struggle with juggling and I'm barely even juggling everything. I'd like some of your calm and perspective in a bottle, please.

    Also, your banana bread recipe. You were tweeting about banana bread, and it made me realise that I'd lost my recipe and the online replacement turned out to be incredibly ropey.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stick at it. You're doing brilliantly. At all of it.

    ReplyDelete

Even though I often do not have the time to reply to everybody, I really appreciate all your comments so much - thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts on what I've written.