Groundhog Day ’16

Back when I was a better blogger I and several others in my circle of blogging friends did “day in the life,” posts.  We each gave a run down of what a typical day was like for us.  It was fun to see what everyone else’s life was like and how we each juggled work and parenting.  While we did a “typical” day I always thought it would be interesting to follow an actual day and to then follow that same day in following years.  I never got around to doing it, partially because I could never pick a day.  I didn’t want it to be a special day like a birthday or a holiday, just a regular day that I could follow year after year and see how our days and lives change.

What better day to relive than Groundhog Day?  After I picked the day I looked at my schedule and realized it could possibly be a very boring day and not necessarily an “average” day, but the goal is to follow one day each year and see how that day changes so here’s our Groundhog Day 2016…

6:20 am

My alarm goes off and my day begins.

I didn’t work the previous night so I’m getting up in the morning like a “normal” person.  The first thing I do is check my phone for any messages regarding school closings.  The previous morning I hadn’t bothered to check and we had finished breakfast and we’re getting ready to head to the bus stop when I discovered that school was closed.  No closings this morning.

I put on my coat and head downstairs with the dogs.  Izzy’s had some medical issues and typically needs to go out as soon as possible in the morning.  After standing around in the dark waiting for them to do their business we come back in and I get their breakfast.  Feeding the dogs use to be such an easy task that Annelise could do it.  Now it involves blending together two different dog foods and hiding three different medications in Izzy’s.

Leaving them with their breakfast I head back upstairs to wake Annelise.

7:00 am

Wake sleeping beauty.

She wakes fairly easily. I send her into the bathroom and then lay out three outfits for her to choose from.  She of course chooses the red outfit and with only a little bit of resistance I manage to get her dressed.  While brushing her hair I hear the clocks chime downstairs and realize we’re running behind.

7:15 am

Quickly serve up the last of a container of yogurt with a cup of apple juice for Annelise while I search for her school folder so I can send back a stack of paperwork (who know preschool had so much “homework”).   I’m suspicious that the folder my have been left at school so I decided to set the paperwork aside and worry about it later.

7:25 am

Bundle up and head out to wait for the bus.  Our timing is perfect this morning. The bus pulls up as soon as we step outside.

7:30 am

I head back inside, clean up Annelise’s breakfast dishes and pour myself a bowl of cereal which I eat while scrolling through Facebook and checking the results of the Iowa Caucuses.

8:00 am

Head upstairs.  Stare longingly at my bed and resist the urge to crawl back into it (I’m still in my pajamas).  I put some laundry baskets on my bed so it looks less inviting and sit down at my desk to study for an exam I have later in the day.

I spend the next hour and a half studying cranial nerves, the limbic system, nerve pathways, special senses and a variety of other nervous system related things.  Skip the sections on sleep  because if I can’t answer a few questions about sleep on an Anatomy and Physiology exam I have no business being in my current career.

9:30 am

I decide I need a study break before moving onto the next study topic.  I take the dogs outside and Kikapu does her yearly impersonation of a groundhog.  I’m still in my pajamas and have a brief moment of self consciousness wondering what the neighbors must think but then realize I don’t care.

 

9:45 am

I change into bike shorts and decide to spin on the trainer.  I challenged myself to participate in the VES 50 day challenge (ride one hour every day for the first 50 days of the year).  I had gotten off to a good start and the first few weeks managed to spin on the trainer everyday.  Now that schools back in session I’ve started to miss some days.  I listen to my class lecture on fluid balance while spinning.  Hoping that hearing it one more time will help cement the knowledge.  This time through cellular respiration finally makes sense and I feel relief because I’m certain this will be on the exam (it wasn’t).

11:00 am

After over an hour of spinning (and listening to lectures and reviewing flash cards).  I get off the bike and head for the shower.

Freshly showered and finally dressed I make a couple of phone calls to inquire about preschool for Annelise next year and the bundle up to head to the bus stop to wait for Annelise’s bus.

11:40 am

I’m at the end of the drive waiting.  I don’t think the bus has ever been there by 11:40, but that’s when I’m suppose to be there so I’m there.  I have my cranial nerve flashcards so I can study while I wait. The dogs wait with me for awhile but they get too interested in what the neighbor is doing so I put them back in the house.

11:55 am

Annelise’s bus arrives.  We head into the house.  I decided to make a quick trip to the grocery store for another container of yogurt (Annelise eats it practically every morning).  Annelise says she’s too tired to walk with me so I send her inside and then walk a block to the grocery store. The lecture I listened to earlier briefly discussed the effects of eating salty foods which had me craving potato chips.  I grabbed a bag and also some peanut butter cups to have as study snacks.

12:15 pm

Back home I fix a peanut butter sandwich for lunch and eat it while Annelise tells me about her morning at school.  She eats lunch at school, but usually has a snack when she gets home.  She spied the peanut butter cups in my bags and decided that would be her snack.  So I had to share my study snacks.

12:30

We head upstairs for nap time.

12:40 am

After a little bit of dawdling Annelise is tucked in for her nap and I’m back at my desk to do some more studying. I promise myself that as soon as I review action potentials and feel confident that I understand them I can take a nap.

12:50 am

Annelise calls for me. The dry skin on her toes itches. This is a common complaint whenever I put her to bed.  I’m not sure how legitimate it is but typically a little lotion will fix it.  Once she’s settled I head back to my room to study.

2:00 pm

Still studying and feeling jealous of everyone napping around me.

2:30 pm

Decide I’m as prepared as I can be, quit studying and lay down for a nap.

2:31 pm

I’m sound asleep.

3:30 pm

Alarm goes off.

I was planning to leave at 4:00 for my 4:45 exam.  But while I was sleeping it started snowing so I decided to leave as soon as I can pull my stuff together.

I change into my work clothes, pack my bags, wake Annelise and then head downstairs to let the dogs out and prepare their supper.

3:45 pm

Leave for class.

The snow is coming down.  Pretty in our neighborhood, but nearing white out conditions on the highway.

It was white knuckles on the steering wheel.  After about 20 miles the snow switched to rain and the road was a sloppy mess.  Several cars were in the ditch along the way.  Typically it’s a 35 – 40 minute drive.  It was much longer today.

4:50 pm

Walk into class five minutes late.  Everyone was already working on the exam.  The professor hands me the exam and I sit down and get started.

6:25 pm

Walk out of class feeling completely defeated.  I thought I had a good grasp of the material but feel like I was guessing on so many questions.  Some of the questions didn’t seem related to the lectures or were from areas the professor specifically said not to concentrate on.  I was so discouraged that part way through I had given up trying to figure out the answers and just filled in circles on the scan tran.

I had hoped to finish the exam early enough to have a little time to work on homework before heading to work but with the weather I knew I needed to leave right away so I get back in my car and head toward work.

7:15 pm

Stop at Subway.

I know the stop might make me late for work but I’m hungry.  I didn’t have time to eat before leaving for class and I didn’t have time to pack something to bring with me.

7:30 pm

Arrive at work just in time to punch in.

7:35 pm

Quick eat my sub before getting my supplies ready.

8:30 pm

Feel a brief moment of hope because neither of my patients have arrived.  Maybe I’ll get to go home.  I know it was quite an effort to get there and I really can’t afford to loose a shift but all I want to do is head home, cuddle with Annelise and fall asleep in my warm cozy bed.

8:31 pm

Hope is dashed.  My first patient arrives.

8:45 pm

My second patient arrives.

9:00 pm

I start my set ups and get busy working.

10:50 pm

Set ups are done.

11:05 pm

Head over to the cafeteria.  Pick up a soda and a piece of chocolate cake.  Prepare for a night of sleep scoring and CPAP titrating.

11:59 pm

Groundhog days is officially ending.  While it’s technically the end of the day I still have eight hours in my shift followed by an hour and a half drive home so it’s still going to be awhile before I can call it a day and climb into bed.