No soapbox for me... not today, anyway.

You know… things are okay.

(And I mean for the word 'okay' to have positive connotations. As though I wasn't really paying attention to things, and everything around me was kind of a mish-mash of kinda-good, or not-real-great…. And then, all of a sudden… yeah. Things are okay.)

I am really excited about where my life is heading. I took the doula certification class last weekend, and loved it. Only a few middle aged hippie moms were in attendance, one even brewed her own beer and sold tye-dyed shirts…. But I was the only one who had never seen a birth. I guess I should get on that sometime and start volunteering at hospitals.

(For those of you unsure as to what a doula is: a non-clinical birth attendant. She educates, supports, and advocates for the woman in labor in order to make the birth experience the best it can be. With the medical world being as it is nowadays, with doctors having to deal with hospital regulations and not being able to take time out to emotionally care for patients, this is a really good thing for pregnant women. And yes, Dharma's mother on 'Dharma & Greg' was one. No, they aren't all hippies.)

And although I would love to get on a soapbox about how the medical system prevents even the best medical staff from caring, how Illinois is an epidural-happy state, how birth centers (happier, more natural & caring locations to give birth) are illegal in this state, and why doctors don't give options to instead tell you the choice they've made for you… but I don't feel like it. I just don't feel like getting worked up about this today. So there.

Wednesday I attended the UIC info session on the program I'll be applying for this winter. Just walking around their campus was completely energizing. It's going to be hard as hell. Think – for the first 15 months, I'm doing nothing but class and clinical practice to become an RN. That normally takes much more than 15 months. You *can't* work. The guy there said we will want to quit probably every day. It's gonna be rough – but so worth it. I am SO excited.

I've also realized that I need to save some money for this school thing. Not that I didn't know this already, but I'm just going to have to work a little harder. Do things that my parents didn't necessarily do. Like buying store brand laundry detergent. Or going back to the thrift stores for a few staple, easy-to-find garments. Or using cheaper canned veggies in soup, where you can't really tell the difference. Maybe I won't start eating ramen noodles – but lowering a few unnecessary standards won't kill me.

Anyway, I've had a surge of I'm-planning-on-conquering-the-world motivation this week. I was even so inspired that I cleaned my room. Really, I don't remember the last time I saw the floor. And I forgot how big my room can actually feel. It felt good to clean the place... very cleansing. Always a good thing. Now all I need to do is rearrange so all my sweaters fit on the shelves.



But all in all – life is okay. It's Halloween, so I get to wear lots of fun costumes. I'll go to a party or three. My grades are fine, and I don't expect that to change. I won't be able to take the GRE prep class before I have to take the thing in January, but I can study on my own and be fine. I get to go home a lot during the holidays. I got my promotion and raise before the holidays, which is convenient. The receptionist at work who was supposed to be temporary is going to stay on with us – which is great, because I love the girl.



And I can't wait for the holidays coming up. I love them. Partially because I choose to – so many people seem to *choose* to get stressed out over the holidays, and I think that's kind of sad that people can't just sit back and enjoy it all. We're supposed to enjoy the holidays. I just love the warm feeling that comes from seeing people you love and baking lots of cookies and exchanging gifts and traveling and snow.



Hmm-mmm… holidays.



Look forward, everyone.