This is Anna writing our first post. It's hard to believe that Jameson and I started our life together as a married couple two years ago this August. So very much has happened to us in this short amount of time.
For starters, I finally graduated from nursing school and passed my RN boards! It sure did take me long enough. Jameson graduated with a degree in GIS which is how we ended up in Birmingham, Alabama. Fortunately I too landed a great job at Children's Hospital here in Birmingham where I signed onto a six-month internship program where I spent 8 weeks in three different units in order to find the one I liked the best. I am proud to now call my permanent work-home the NICU!
We've also purchased a new home! I love our new home, it's perfect for us. It is a townhome, so we can carry on with our busy lives and not worry about keeping up a yard. We also have a pool that we can use. I love the little neighborhood, I feel safe at night with the sidewalks and street lights. After we settled into our new home, we decided to continue chasing the American dream, if you will, and we adopted a puppy. His name is O'Reilly and he is a goldendoodle. He is a feisty one, but he is also very smart and a great addition to our family. So, all we are missing is the two and 1/2 kids. Time for a subject change.
I've also started graduate school to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. I'm taking online classes at UAB in hopes to graduate December of 2012. It's going to be another long haul. And then I'm hoping to go for the doctorate. I'm on the 8 year plan. Again.
Jameson and I both really like Birmingham, but despite my great job and the new friends I've made, I'm still lonely sometimes. Jameson is Jameson, and for those of you who know him, you know how quickly he makes friends, finds something to do, and plays for every league team he can sign up for at work including but not limited to softball, soccer, basketball, disc golf, and bowling. I'm serious. And for those of you who know me, you'd think the same thing, that I've probably already made a ton of friends and settled into my new life over here. That's not necessarily true. And I really do not know what has gotten into me. In my defense, my schedule has been difficult. I've been working 7 days in a row Monday-Sunday and then having the following 7 off. So naturally, my work weeks are nonstop and exhausting, but my off weeks are really boring and can be pretty lonely. I don't get to see Jameson at all the weeks I work because we work opposite shifts, but I'm hoping that my new schedule will be different.
Honestly though, I do miss my family very much. I miss playing golf with my dad on pretty afternoons and being able to meet my mom for lunch at leisure. Now I'm too far to be able to do that. I have to settle on seeing them once a month or so. I miss all my friends too. Making new friends is really hard these days, it's difficult to find couples that Jameson and I both have things in common with and actually be able to coordinate our schedules to have dinner.
I also really miss my church family. We have not yet been able to get involved like I want to in a church home. I blame this on my crazy work schedule-- I've been having to work every other Sunday, and the Sunday's I've been off have been spent recuperating. However, I really have enjoyed the few times we have been able to visit the Church of Brook Hills. David Platt is such an incredible man of God and I feel his church is the kind I want to be involved in. They seem very mission-minded and I feel that is important in my line of work. I would love to eventually go on several medical mission trips and Brook Hills is a great place to be involved and have those kinds of opportunities.
So, here we are in a new town, exploring. Exploring Birmingham, the things to do here, our calling in life, our relationship with one another, and where we will go (or stay) from here. Birmingham is a great place and we are happy, but is this our next twenty years? Only time will tell.
In the mean time, I'm hoping to get on a normal schedule at work, get involved in church, and maybe make some more couple friends for Jameson and I. Another goal of mine is to get back into shape. I'm happiest running about three miles a day and about ten pounds lighter. I've let myself get pretty lazy. A combination of these things will make Birmingham a happier place. It might even make it "sweet home." :)
I'll be seeing you. -AK
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