No, You Can't Call Me Doctor

I have begun the last leg of this academic tour in life, I am in my second quarter of a three year doctorate program in nurse-midwifery. And no mom, I will not be doctor-nurse Jane, but I do appreciate the humor.

To everyone who is confused by this title, I will help you out. But just so you know, I was confused too until after I had been accepted into the program, and finally decided I better learn what all this alphabet soup really means for fear of an extended family member asking and me not having any idea of how to respond.

Currently I have a degree in nursing, a bachelors degree, and a nursing license to practice: alphabet soup = BSN, RN. This translates to "a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing and licensed by the state of Washington as a Registered Nurse."

Now I am pursuing a higher ed degree in nursing, specializing in midwifery. The degree is a DNP, or Doctorate of Nursing Practice, and the license is CNM, or Certified Nurse-Midwife. It is a doctorate of practice not a doctorate of philosophy (PhD). The DNP is replacing the masters in nursing, MN. It is simply a new level of education for all those familiar ARNPs or Nurse-Practitioners out there who we know we all see for our primary care because family physicians are becoming fewer and farther between.

It'll be a journey, but it's surreal to be studying birth, officially, finally, gloriously. Bottom line, I will  be a midwife.

Seven

Been pretty busy lately... we bought a home. That's 'Diva with our "Sold" sign from the street. When she went for first sniffs I said to her, "G, you will be here forever, because I will bury you here, this is your sacred ground." She seemed cool with it. She has since made official her fav spots, including a ceremonious scratching of the surface in an exquisitely climate controlled dirt patch.

Our first night home: Joe declined to be misled by my optimism that we would get the keys any earlier than June 17th, but we did, so late on the 16th we brought over sleeping bags, some art, some guitars, the dog and a bottle of champagne. We probably should have slept on a floor with radiant heating, but our new living room will never seem as spacious and unbelievably ours as it did that first night with nothing in the house but us. 

Yesterday, weeding the veggie starts before work I heard something in the hill above the rock wall. I ran upstairs so that Joe could simply look out the bedroom window and see a beautiful deer with her polka-dotted fawn twins walk past. 

This is my happiest place on earth.

Other news keeping me very busy: I just started graduate school.

Mother of Many

Winner of the UK's BAFTA Award for animated shorts, I was able to purchase a copy and have it mailed to me.

Yesterday was Midwives Day, and it's Nurses Week, and my good friend Marian gave birth today!

Happy birthing, happy mother's, happy families; in honor of upcoming Mother's Day.

xoxo