Sarah Who Wanders...

 The average human makes approximately 35,000 decisions every single day! If you have been friends with me and/or following my blogs (including my historical ones -as I have been blogging since about 2013), you will know that today is not the first time I have written about choice. Nor am I the only one-here's a fave TedTalk worth listening to: The Paradox of Choice . It is also not the first time I have written about the search for the proverbial unicorn career or making all the puzzle pieces fit. If you have no idea about puzzles and unicorns, just ignore for now. 😘 Our choices define us. Our choices point to what matters to us. Want to know someone better? Watch the choices they make. Every choice may lead us somewhere different and has the potential to greatly change the course of our ENTIRE life-think of the butterfly effect or the movie The Adjustment Bureau (GREAT movie). Obviously some choices are much more important than others. For example, the outfit I have on toda...

 I am often thinking of ways to improve my happiness. This is not because I am an unhappy person, but because I want to maximize joy in my life. I tend to think a lot about career (and have devoted WAY too many years to pursuing career happiness), and about finding a calling. Not everyone pursues a vocation they feel "called to"-but I have always felt a pull to lead, to guide, to help, and to heal.  I am almost 5 months into my career as a primary care nurse practitioner. I know it is not a perfect fit----I would like to think I am pretty good about knowing what I enjoy overall, but it definitely has its ups and downs. On a particularly down moment a week ago, I started questioning myself. Did 30 months of very intense schooling and clinical (and more student loans and loads of energy, sweat tears) buy me that much more career happiness? If it did (or did not) how did I even measure that? Is there a scale?  Was I happier than when I was a teacher? Than when I was working ...

 I am in my very last few days of my 30's. I have loved being in my 30's. I have felt strong, healthy, and happy. I have felt tremendous love and support from my family and friends, and manage to have an amazing marriage. I have had a close and growing relationship with my sons. I have tackled grad school to become a nurse practitioner. In my 30's, I learned more about who I am and what matters to me. On January 1st, 2022 I will turn 40 and ring in the New Year with a new decade for me. The plan is a somewhat quiet birthday weekend in a cabin in the snow with good friends, good food, and good times. Especially after the tumult of 2020-2021, these are the things my soul longs for. Do you make resolutions each year? Resolution means:  a firm decision to do or not to do something.  While I like that wording, I tend to use goals instead. I make goals. Goals are maybe not as firm? I guess that is a distinction I need as things are always changing and evolving. A goal is instea...

 I wanted to take a moment to post an electronic version of a Christmas card from our family to all of our loved ones. 2021 has been a whirlwind and yours truly will not be getting traditional cards sent out. Unlike all years prior, we have not even taken annual family photos-though have a session scheduled soon in the snow!  2021 has been a hot mess full to the brim of blessings and change for our family. I think all of the fluctuations in family and work life (and living in general) the past 2 years have taught us to embrace the unexpected and roll with it. Below, an update for our family as a whole and each member. Isaiah James: This year Isaiah is an 8th grader and I daresay our first (sweet) girlfriend is happening! Isaiah is a boisterous soul with a wicked sense of humor and adventurous streak a mile wide. This year he is enjoying exploring art as an elective, continued piano lessons and performances, and playing soccer and baseball. He loves that Matthew can drive him a...

 Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Today is a pretty low-key day for my family as the boys are in California with dad, and we are doing a non-traditional feast of pizza, salad and drinks this evening instead of turkey and fixings. It is my mama's bday today, and that is what she wanted.  Life has been very full. In September I began a new job working as a family nurse practitioner in primary care. I plan to blog more to share an inside look at medicine.  Obviously whenever I tell a story I have changed ALL identifying details of my patient, but have left enough in to get the meaning of the encounter for you. That should go without being said, but there: a disclaimer for you.  It has been quite the journey, and I must say that most days I actually enjoy my job. Would I rather stay home curled up with a novel or be out on the lake or traveling? WELL DUH. 😎But I can't make a living doing that so there you go. I always sought finding a job I loved enough to want to go to ...

I write not because I am an open book to all, but because many of you have been following my journey from afar for years-emailing and messaging me encouragement. I have treasured that and call you friends.  As many of you know, I announced today that I will be taking a role part time in Eugene instead of the one as originally planned full time in Albany. It was with a lot of prayer and consideration. I am having to have faith that all of the pieces of this puzzle will click together to create one lovely vision. I had a lot of hesitation about the role that I had accepted especially over time and after doing my specialty rotation in psychiatry. I've spent many years trying to figure out not only who I am but what it is exactly that I want to offer the world. I knew there would be some combination of working with children, my background in education, and my passion for mental health. There are sometimes I felt like Goldilocks where nothing was "quite right." Mental health f...

 This has been the best summer of my life, and still has another month to go! Since completing my MSN/FNP program and becoming board certified in May, I have been enjoying the most PERFECTLY BALANCED schedule. I am working just 16-20 hours per week still as an RN and there is glorious time available. If this is at all in your budget ever  in this lifetime, I can truly say I have never felt healthier, happier and less stressed.  After almost 3 years of balls against the wall (I'm sorry I can really think of no other way to describe it and know the metaphor is not anatomically accurate 😏), studying and learning and putting myself out there I now have time to REST. I have time to BREATHE. I have time to cultivate new and other passions. I began piano lessons and am learning very quickly, or so my instructor assures me. BTW, she is the nicest person ever and told me she feels silly giving lessons to someone who is "a professional," to which I replied, "Why? I want to le...