Long Lost Friends

Now, where was I..?  Oh yeah, Jen's visit.  First, though, I'd like to give some background about Jen and her little family.

My friendship with Jen is pre-blog, since I didn't start writing here until the last few weeks of our time living together.  Jen and I met during the first week of our freshman year at Nicholls State University.  I actually had a terrible paring with my first roommate, but Jen's original roommate/friend from home was kind enough to give up her room so that I could live with Jen, who I'd not actually met before.  Throw the ridiculousness that was Hurricane Katrina in the mix and let's just say it's a wonder we even made it to the first level of friendship.  But we did, and after three years of living together, the title "friend" was an understatement.

Even though we were technically "adults" when we met, I feel like Jen and I grew up together over those three years (two of which we shared a room).  We muddled our way through academics, adventures in our faith, and of course, boys.  I feel like Jen played a big part in me deepening my love for the Catholic faith and I can honestly say I miss the days of going to daily mass or adoration together (remember ADORE?!?).  In fact, we were so close that Jen even trusted me enough to allow me to read her journal...including those from way back in high school.  It was kind of strange, now that I think about it.  Haha.  

Fast forward a few years.  I spent time roaming around the country (see previous entries circa 2008-2012) for a while.  Meanwhile, Jen married her high school sweetheart, Logan, in 2009, and settled in her hometown of Luling, LA.  She worked nights as a nurse before transitioning to the school setting, and experienced some pretty trying times, including the loss of her first son, Levi.  Logan established his business as a videographer and named the business in memory of Levi (12-29 Productions).  In fact, I was honored to have Logan capture our wedding video exactly three years later, on December 29, 2012.

These days, Jen and I don't get to see each other very much since we live 5 hours apart.  However, I follow her blog diligently which helps me to feel closer to her little family despite the distance.  With each blog entry or phone conversation (We need to go back to sending letters the old fashion way!), I learn more and more about marriage, mommyhood, and The Faith.  I hope one day I can only be the wife, mother, and child of God that she is.  Ok - so enough of my "worship" for Jen, haha.

Jen, Logan, and their 15-month-old, Landon, visited Monroe last weekend.  Logan was in a wedding in Ruston, so they decided to forgo the hotel room and stay at our house which is just about 40 minutes away.  We were thrilled for the company, and I'm sure they appreciated the "affordable alternative" to a hotel.

Of course, I was out at Challenge Camp until Saturday, so the hospitality role fell on him for Friday night and half of Saturday.  However, the whole family attended the rehearsal/dinner on Friday evening, so I don't suppose it was too much work for him. ;-)  Saturday afternoon, Logan went off for groomsman duties, so Jen, Landon, Alex, and I had lunch at Chic-fil-a in West Monroe.  The afternoon was pretty laid back, before Jen left to met Logan for the 5 p.m. ceremony and reception that followed.

Notice how I didn't say Jen and Landon.  Yep, that's right.  Alex and I had the honor of babysitting Landon for the evening.  Can I just say we had a ton of fun with Landon?  He fought off a nap in the afternoon, so I thought we might have a grumpy kid that evening, but no.  He was just as happy as always, and we really enjoyed playing with him.  He even happily obliged my offer to go to sleep right at 8 o'clock, and by 8:06 p.m.  Alex and I were curled up on the couch looking at each other like, "Whoa, that was easy!"  (Yeah, we know it's never really like that when you have your own kids.)

It was also fun to get some adult hang out time with Jen and Logan when they returned later that night.  We even got to attend mass together before they left (for another wedding) on Sunday morning.  For a minute there I almost felt like we lived near one another all over again.  If only that were the case... :-(

Until next time.
-Lauren

To read Jen's version of the visit, see So Many Blessings and Photo Friday:  Food, Shoes, and Fun.

It Flew By...

Wowsers. I can't believe it's been only a week (okay 8 days, again) since I've written! This last week has been such a whirlwind, that I'm not sure I'll be able to remember it all. I shall try, however...

Picking up from where I left off last, I skipped my last opportunity to attend a Shenanigans soccer game in return for finishing my disease paper about Spina Bifida on Monday. Gina and I had one of our infamous rant sessions, which was kind of nice. I really enjoy debriefing about things with her. [Speaking of which, I should call her and see how her last week is going so far...note to self.]

Tuesday was a regular work day, and I don't really remember much about it. Wednesday, however, I was given permission to leave early (not long after finishing our weekly meeting and turning in my paper) with full intentions to pack up my stuff. I wanted to buy some Idaho things to bring home with me, but had forgotten my walet at the apt, so Tesa met me downtown and we shopped at 'Taters briefly before heading home. I didn't get much done productivity-wise, before it was time to head out to the Wifebeaters soccer game. Unfortunately, they lost, but at least I got some Twilight reading done in the process, lol. And then, it was time to head back home to pack...

For a while, I was doing pretty good; I washed two loads of clothes and had packed most everything by 10 p.m. At that point, I decided to double check with Delta.com to make sure that the luggage requirements hadn't changed. Good thing I checked, too, because I found out they had changed, and (to make it simple) thus I would only be bringing home one bag of clothes. Because I was originally planning to take two suitcases, my clothing had been packed by genre (shirts, pants, jackets, etc.). With the sudden realization that I could only take one, I figured that I'd have to rearrange everything so I had a good mix of clothing, rather than leaving behind a few whole genres, and only come home with pants and t-shirts, for example. By then, I was really tired and stressed with everything going on, so I gave up and decided to sit back and read Twilight (well, Twilight # 4, Breaking Dawn) for the rest of the night, since I promised Haley (hospital school teacher) that I'd return the book before I left Boise. I resolved to finish packing Thursday afternoon, instead.

Thursday was kind of somber, with it being my last day and all. I spent a lot of time saying goodbyes (at least 8 at the hospital, and plenty more later). Gina and I just kind of sat and looked at each other for a while...in disbelief that it's all over and that I was leaving. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone at the hospital; they were so wonderful to me and became a sort of surrogant family over the last few months. I've resolved to do my very best to keep in touch with everyone, or at the very least, keep them updated with where life takes me.

I rushed to finish packing that afternoon because we had plans to go eat at some Basque restaurant downtown to celebrate (?) my going away. The restaurant was much smaller than we imagined, so we decided to eat at Bardenay instead. Jesse, Tessa, Ashley, Mike, Jason, and Kim all came out to "celebrate" (I really don't think this term is appropriate, but I don't know what else to use) with me. Joey, Jeff, and Stew were all working, but met up with us later in the evening. After dinner, we all went over to The Front Door to meet up with more people (mostly Ashley's friends) to celebrate Ashley's 22nd birthday. As usual, the festivities were pretty low key and didn't go on very long. We left early, mostly because Kim and I had a very early morning the next day. I'm sure that some of the others had class and/or work in the morning, too.

I didn't finish packing until late that night, and then I had some notes to write before I could go to sleep. By the time I was done with all of that stuff, I decided to lay down on the couch and try to get some rest, but before I could fall asleep, Stew showed up (after getting off of work and going out to see everyone, but I wasn't there) to tell me goodbye. He hung out for a while, and for this reason, I didn't go to sleep until 3 a.m...

Friday, my day began at 4:30 a.m., with final touches on packing, or better said--unpacking--as I knew my luggage was overweight so I kept shifting things and taking more and more out of it. Kim drove me to the airport, and I did curbside check in. Thank goodness she stayed with me 'til after I checked my luggage, because I ended up having to take out four more pounds of clothing so that it wasn't over weight. Bah.

Because I'd only had an hour and a half worth of sleep the night before, I slept for the entirety of all three of my flights. My layover in Salt Lake City, though technically 40 minutes, turned into only enough time for me to potty and jump on the next plane. No complaints, though, because the gates were really close to each other and I made the second flight just fine. In Atlanta, it seemed like it took foreverrrr for everything. Since there were about 300 people on my flight, it took ages for everyone to get off of the plane. Then there were a buttload of people in the airport, so I had to wait a while in line to potty and to get food. Food was an issue in itself, also, since I refused to pay ten bucks for a 50 cent sandwhich that I could make at home. Grr. I did end up with a tasty buffalo chicken sub for only six dollars though. Woot.

In New Orleans, Nannie Lois and Uncle Ray (my great aunt and uncle) picked me up from the airport. We then met Annie (former roommate from Lulling) and Brian (her boyfriend) at the Shoney's in front of Hahnville High to pick up my graduation cap and gown, and then continued heading westward toward Morgan City. In Morgan City, I sat back and relaxed for a while...it was soo nice. My mom, dad, and brother arrived around 7:30 p.m., and we all enjoyed a delicious gumbo dinner, with some yummyyyy (Idaho) potato salad. [Ironic that the potatoes were from Idaho Falls, eh?] Everyone did random things for the rest of the evening--Momma and Nannie ironing our clothes for the following day, and the guys chatting about hunting things. I passed out (in a bed for the first time in ages) soon after dinner, lol.

Saturday was a fairly early morning, for I had to be at the Houma Civic Center by 9:15 a.m., which is 45 minutes (give or take) from Morgan City. Nanna and Poppa met us at Nannie's house to ride with us to Houma. It was soooooooo nice to finally see them, ahhh, I missed them SO much. Due to a wreck along the way, I was nearly late to arrive, but it all worked out. I even had a chance see Jen, Annie, and Lauren (former roommates) and visit with some of the FACS graduates before the ceremony. I really enjoyed seeing everyone; I was really close to my roommates before, and fairly close to my classmates, too, so it was great to see everyone again.

The ceremony was only 2 hours long, despite the fact that we're the largest graduating class in Nicholls' history. Pretty sweet, eh? Bobby Jindal (current LA Govenor and future US President--you just wait!) was our guest speaker!! He's pretty much amazing, to say the least. ...Andddd, we even got to shake his hand!! Ahh!!

Afterwards, I took pictures with Jen, Annie, and Lauren before my family headed out to find some lunch to celebrate. I should also mention that Kyle, my bestest friend ever came to the ceremony. Kyle is in the seminary in Covington, and so happened to have finished school the day before, so I asked him to come to my graduation and told him that it would mean a whole dang lot to me if he came. Basically, Kyle's presence at graduation was about the greatest gift that anyone could have ever given me; it totally made my day.

After lunch at CiCi's pizza (yeah pretty much all the real restaurants had wayyy too long of a wait time), my family headed back to Morgan City for yummy homemade cherry cheesecake and celebration gifts. We hung out for a while, and then headed home to Abbeville (finally--my first time at home in 4 months) for an evening of relaxation.

Sunday was a pretty slow day. I unpacked a little, and didn't really do much else besides church with the family in the evening. Today, Monday, was slow again, minus the phone interview I had with Wonders of Washington. I feel pretty good about the interview, but won't know anything more until after January 1st. I'd write more about it but it's getting late and I'm getting drowsy, lol. In any case, the interview did a good job of getting me more excited about the prospect of the position. Lately, I've been in the Idaho mindset and not wanting to be anywhere else. I still do want to be in Idaho, but I also have to realize that I can't always get what I want, I suppose. So, therefore, I must open my mind to other possiblities...and see what happens.

And, no, I'm not done with the job hunt, or the school search. In fact, I'm on a mission to spend at least the next three weeks looking for jobs (here, there, and everywhere), and figuring out details concerning graduate school. Hopefully this time will allow for some productivity amongst the rest. I already feel like the biggest bum ever, even though I thought I just wanted to be lazy all day. Surprise, surprise, huh?

Anyhoo, I've gotta jet (unfortunately, not literally). Momma and I are running errands and shopping in Lafayette tomorrow. Joy. You alll know how much I love shopping, right? Heh. And, let's see if this whole having free time thing works in favor of more frequent blogging. We'll have to wait to find out. :)

See ya,
-Lauren

Squeeze'n it In

I know, it's been a while again, but this time I am bound and determined to get another post out before December 1st. And thus...here it is!

As always, things have been busy. I just find it so hard to balance the blogging and photo-posting with school and work assignments, job applications, this new semblance of a social life, and exploring Boise with the little time I have left. I can't even imagine that I graduate in exactly two weeks from today. Ahh!

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These last few weeks at work havnen't been overly interesting. Gina and I spent a lot of time practicing the puppet show for a school re-entry presentation. The show went pretty well, but we were both nervous, and I was slightly disappointed in my performance. At least the students seemed to enjoy it, and they were all very well behaved, which was nice. I really enjoyed the opportunity to finally spend some time with Gina, since we never work the same schedule. She's really a cool girl and I'd love to get to know her better sometime.

Oo! For all you CBC staffers out there, you will appreciate this... I got to a see a cardiac cath lab procedure for the first time ever. woot!! I've heard about the cath lab for the past three years at camp and in conversations with my heart defected friends (:-p), but never had much idea what they were talking about. As it turned out, procedure was a few hours long and rather complicated, but I did stay for a good while, so now I finally have some general idea of the cath lab stuff. Soo exciting!! ...Especially considered that this was practically the first and only cardiac patient I've seen since starting the internship. My heart will always have a special place for heart kids, though! :-p

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Last weekend (Nov. 21-23), Chris Nowicki, my 4-H friend from Georgia came to visit. (Yes, this is the guy who works miracles with Delta Airlines and flight arrangments...and yes, I love him for it. Seriously, if you want to get something done in life, being friends with Chris is the way to go.) Chris is also friends with Jeff (my first Idaho friend, whom I also met through 4-H), so he stayed at Jeff's house for the weekend, considering my apartment is already pretty cramped...and he's a guy. lol.

Friday, I made some Cajun spaghetti with the yummy sauce that Nanna mailed me last month. Jeff came over to eat and hang out before we picked Chris up from the airport at 8:30 p.m. We hung out at Jeff's for a bit, and then met up with a lot of the soccer team guys (and Tessa) at The Front Door downtown. It was one of the soccer guys' 21st birthdays so the guys were out celebrating. The festivities were pretty low-key and didn't last very long.

Saturday, Jeff and Chris came over to eat left over Cajun yumminess, then Tessa and I joined them to explore Boise for most of the day. Our most memorable stop was Table Rock, my absolute favorite place in all of Boise. It was pretty chilly out and very overcast, but the cool thing was that we could see the storm/cloud system moving across the city from where we were standing. Earlier, I'd heard from Kim that it was sleeting in Nampa, so I joked about how awesome it would be if it started snowing. Well, low and behold, we watched the clouds move some more, and suddenly IT WAS SNOWING!! Oh em gee. It was just the coolest thing ever, that it happened all of a sudden. We took some pictures for a bit and then headed down to explore more of the city. Amongst the other sites were an outdoor nature center, Simplot Hill, the Boise Depot, and Lucky Peak Reservoir. Then we returned to my apartment to play Wii for most of the afternoon, and finally went out to dinner at a hole-in-the-wall hamburger establishment called Big Judd's (sounds appropriate, right? lol.). That evening, a small group of Jeff's friends hung out at his house to watch WallE and play cards. Chris and I had some time to catch up with each other, too, which was nice.

On Sunday, the boys went out shooting with Joey and one of Joey's friends. I spent the day doing homework (my NSU assignments were due Monday) and cooking a good-bye/thanks-thanks-for-coming gumbo. Jeff and Chris came over to eat some dinner before Chris headed out to his red-eye flight home (leaving at 7 pm MST, arriving Monday at 9:30 EST--crazy). I had a lot of gumbo left, and wasn't really interested in eating it, so I invited what remained of the boys house over for dinner...so Kim, Tessa, Joey, his friend, and Stew all ate some of my yummy gumbo. Woot. I decided I'm really starting to enjoy cooking...or at least keeping my ties to Cajun food and home. :)

Originally, Chris was supposed to visit over his Fall Break in October, but when that fell through, I was really sad about the change in plans. However, he figured things out and was finally able ot visit in November. I truly enjoyed his visit, and hope he did too. Now, it's time that he visit Dawn and I in Louisiana. ;0)

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As for the Thanksgiving holiday, I worked every day this week. This was SUCH an adjustment to me, as I've always been off of work/school for the entire holiday week. At first, it wasn't so bad because it kept me busy and my mind off of missing home (not that that's a real problem lately). Later in the week, though, it became annoying because everyone else was off of school, having fun, and taking vacations. I was super jealous, to put it simply. It was slow at work, though, so I guess that was good.

Because I was scheduled to work every day, I didn't really plan on celebrating the holiday. However, as the days passed, it began to seem like I might have gotten off early enough to do something somewhat fun, at least. Thus, I accepted Nathan's invite to eat dinner with his family, so that I wouldn't be alone on such a family-oriented day. (Later, I was also invited to spend the day with my supervisor's family, as well as Jeff's. Thanks to you both!)

Fortunately, I got off on Thursday after only an hour of working--we checked on all the kids and there wasn't much going on at the hospital, so we left. hehe. Getting off super early was really helpful because it gave me the opportunity to get a lot of work done on the job applications I have been doing. Nathan picked me up around 12:30 p.m. and we headed to his parents' house in Nampa for lunch. One of his brothers' and his sister-in-law and their daughter were there, as well as his grandparents. Everyone was really nice and welcoming, and I am very grateful to have been able to spend the day with a loving family such as this one. Afterwards, we came back to my apartment because Nathan had to work (from his computer) until 7pm, but since it was slow we just watched movies for the rest of the evening, basically.

I got off an hour early yesterday (Friday), too, which was super nice. Again, it gave me more time to get some things done with my job applications. Then it was time for relaxation and more movies. Today, I've been doing most of the same--relaxing and job application details. It's soo nice that my recommendation forms finally came in, so now I can mail them...just as soon as someone with a car comes around sometime soon.

I guess I should explain the job applications in more detail, since I've mentioned them a few times in this post. For a while I've been planning to apply for the Program Assistant position with Wonders of Washington in DC. That application is due on Monday, and it's taken me forever to get things ready for it because the recommendation forms took a long time to come in the mail, and it required three essays, as well. The other job I found was a part-time position working with the 4-H Operation Military Kids program here in Idaho. I'm super pumped about that one because I'd get to stay in Boise, and with the part-time flexibility I'm hoping I would have more time to travel to cool places in the region, since I haven't gotten to do any of that these last few months. It'd be really great, too, if I could go to National 4-H Conference again...

Regardless, I am going home to graduate in ...less time than I want to remember... and I'm not sure where I'll be going from there. The good news is that you all can continue reading the blog if you're interested in keeping up with my cross-country adventures. Hehe.

Until next time,
-Lauren

P.S. Wishing everyone at National 4-H Congress the best of times this week...have fun and stay warm!

Work, Work, All Day Long...

To make this easier on myself, I now present to you, my summary paper for FACS 497: GFCS Internship... (Beware: It's 5 pages double spaced in Microsoft Word.)

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In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in General Family and Consumer Sciences: Child, Family, and Social Services at Nicholls State University (GFCS), students must complete a 480-hour internship in a related area of their choice. Because I am currently interested in earning my certification as a Child Life Specialist, I chose to pursue an internship with an established Child Life Program. This internship is just one component in qualifying for certification as a Child Life Specialist; the others components include taking ten courses in an approved area of study such as child and family development, as well as passing a national certification exam.

Child Life Programs are available in an increasing number of hospitals, most frequently those located in larger cities. These programs are typically organized by Certified Child Life Specialists and consist of two primary objectives: to help the child cope with the stress and anxiety of the hospital experience, and to promote the child’s normal growth and development while in the health care setting and after returning home. In order to accomplish these objectives, Child Life Programs utilize the following interventions: providing materials for guidance and play, preparing children for hospitalization, surgery, and medical procedures, lending emotional support to parents and siblings, advocating the child’s point of view to hospital personnel, and maintaining a receptive environment for children and their families. Child Life Programs offer a “home away from home,” and are a wonderful resource for families.

To begin the certification process earlier this year, I applied for internships with Child Life Programs across the country—10 different programs in 8 different states, to be exact. I completed a number of phone interviews featuring topics such as child development, family centered care, and my experiences within the hospital setting, volunteering, and working with children. My first internship offer came from St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho, and because I had a friend from Nicholls who was already planning to move to Boise, as well as a few native Idahoan friends, I decided to accept this offer.

Throughout the summer, I was in contact with the hospital staff, securing professional liability insurance, providing a national background check, and turning in the required paperwork. In July, my friend, her family, and I, drove 2,000 miles to Idaho, taking along with us a moving truck worth of apartment furnishings. We secured our apartment and got settled in while enjoying the humidity-free weather and gorgeous scenery along the way. A few days later, I flew home to begin work at Camp Bon Coeur, a camp for children with heart defects, as well as enjoy the rest of the summer and time at home with my family.

About two weeks before beginning my internship, I traveled to Ohio to meet with two potential graduate programs and reunite with some friends of mine. While in Ohio, Hurricane Gustav set his sights on Louisiana. After rearranging my flight schedule twice, I ended up cancelling my flight home out of concern for getting stuck in an airport with no way into Louisiana before the storm. Instead, I stayed in Ohio a bit longer and then spent a week in Michigan with a friend who attends Michigan State University. I then flew from Detroit to Boise, arriving two days later than originally scheduled.

Upon arrival in Boise, I had only two days to get settled before beginning my internship at St. Luke’s on September 8th. The Child Life staff was very understanding about the storm situation—I did not have any of my paperwork for the hospital, my school assignments, or more than a week’s worth of work-appropriate clothing. Thankfully, my suitcase filled with professional clothing was mailed before Hurricane Ike’s landfall, arriving about a week later, and I received my paperwork about a week later than that.

There are two interns here in the Child Life Department at St. Luke’s—myself, and Gina, a recent graduate from the University of Idaho. The internship is organized based on a schedule where Gina and I rotate through various departments of the hospital. My first rotation is primarily in the Emergency Department, or ED, where as Gina is working on the fourth floor, which is the pediatric floor, and includes general pediatric rooms, as well as oncology rooms and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Later rotations will also include the Operating Room (OR) and the Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI), an outpatient pediatric oncology clinic.

In order to facilitate reflective learning, an intern meeting is held each week, usually on Fridays. The meetings include both interns, as well as their supervisors, and sometimes, other Child Life Specialists or guests such as the hospital schoolteacher or parent speakers. As interns, we discuss our weekly self-evaluations which feature “high” and “low” points for the week, our performance as interns, suggestions for how supervisors can help us better, progress toward accomplishing last week’s goals, and goals for the coming week. We also turn in assignments and our daily journals for our supervisors to read and add comments. Assignments include a “What to Do When” scenario worksheet, two 5-minute “What is Child Life” presentations, two Role Observation (ranking Child Life roles) assignments, seven therapeutic play session plans (one every two weeks), a personal philosophy statement, and a 5-8 page disease paper.

Working in the ED involves an unconventional schedule, to say the least. Most weeks, I work Thursday through Saturday from 1 p.m. to 12 a.m., Sunday from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., and Monday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. However, every third week is a Monday through Friday schedule with some shorter days, so that the Child Life Specialist has one weekend off each month. For the most part, I work a total of forty hours each week, regardless of the schedule.

Typically, I begin my day on the pediatric floor of the hospital and finish it in the pediatric emergency department. My supervisor and I start by getting an updated copy of the fourth floor census sheet (list of patients, their ages, room assignments, doctors, and medical conditions). Then we meet with the other Child Life Specialists who have been working with patients throughout the morning. We discuss which patients have been seen, which need to be seen, who is allowed to go to the playroom, and any special notes such as upcoming procedures. By the time we arrive, most patients have generally been seen by a Child Life Specialist already. Sometimes, however, the floor is rather busy, so my supervisor and I help the other specialists with visiting patients, assessing their level of coping, explaining about child life services, and just making sure we are doing everything possible to make their stay in the hospital the best that it can be.

Because I only spend a couple of hours each day working on the pediatric floor, and it is not my official rotation at this time, I have not been able to build relationships with very many patients yet. The other intern and some of the Child Life Specialists spend more time on the floor working with the same children each day, where as I stop in only to say “hi” every now and then. For this reason, I have found it difficult to develop a sense of confidence for working on the pediatric floor up to this point. I have, however, completed a few patient assessments, usually with the supervision of a specialist, and a few times on my own. The assessments document important information about the patient and their family, helping us to know them a little bit better. Some topics include the patient’s age and grade in school, parents’ names, siblings’ names and ages, pets, and general interests or other information.

The majority of my time, about six hours each day, is spent in the pediatric ED. When patients come into the ED, we review their medical history, chief complaints, and acuity level. We then predict the medical course of action and services we can offer through Child Life. If a child is going to be waiting for a while, we go in and introduce ourselves and offer play materials such as books, toys, crayons, or movies. In cases where procedures are necessary (sutures, CT scans, X-rays, IVs, etc.), we prepare children for the procedures based on their age, previous hospital experience, and level of understanding. We also offer distraction and support during procedures, using spinning lights, find-it books, view-finder toys, breathing and visualization techniques, and much more.

Throughout my time in the ED, I have seen many interesting situations. My very first night, there was a little boy who came in with a fishing hook stuck in his eyelid, and on a different instance, a teenage boy was kicked in the face by a horse, resulting in a broken nose and lacerations. There have since been plenty of lacerations needing suture repairs, as well as abdominal pain requiring emergency appendectomies.

Probably the most difficult situation that I have dealt with in my internship experience has been sexual assault. In my first two weeks, there were four female patients with complaints of sexual assault. The girls ranged in age from thirteen months through fifteen years old. Sure, I knew sexual assault occurred more frequently than I was willing to admit, but now I see that it is an epidemic.

Though it has just begun, the whole internship experience has already opened my eyes in ways I never expected. Looking toward the future, I am sad about concluding my time in the ED, but excited about moving on to new experiences in other parts of the hospital. In the end, my ultimate goal is making the most of this opportunity in every way. It is my hope that experience will have afforded me the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed at a career within the helping profession, regardless of where life takes me.

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There. Now you know about work. :)
Feel free to comment/ask questions.

Adieu.
-Lauren

Go away, Gustav!

Well, here I am...hanging out in the FACS Department while I wait for Ms. Marsha to get off so she can bring me to the airport. In the meantime, I'll go ahead and write a little... What's that--a blog two days in a row? You got it, dude!

This morning, I met with Dr. Junot about the article we are writing; we want to publish the results of the 4-H study I did for my Honors Thesis. Then, I went to bring Ms. Marsha the buckeyes I made for her and ended up getting distracted by some of the many awesome people in our office. One of those great ladies, Dr. Kirkley, informed me that she will be coming to visit me in Idaho for my instructor evaluation! Yay. I'm so excited and can't wait--we'll have a blast!

For lunch, I went to St. Thomas (Catholic Student Center/Church) for the Tuesdays with Thomas, "Not on Bread Alone" free lunch. There, I met Jason and Lindsey (former roommate), as I hadn't seen them since May and won't see them again until at least December. It was really great to see everyone. Jason even took me to see the new dorm, which I will affectionally refer to as "the hotel" from this point forward. Okay, seriously people, this place is freaking' insanely nice. It truly does look like a hotel! Craziness. When I come back with Lauren on Monday, I'll bring my camera and take some pictures. You'd never even guess this place was a dorm. I mean, really.

Now, I'm just "chillin," lol. Looks like I will be getting the money for a scholarship that I apparently won in May, afterall. (It didn't show up on my fees, so I thought I was going crazy and somehow imagined winning the scholarship, lol). This is good, because it will hopefully pay for most of Dr. Kirkley's airline ticket to visit me in October.

Speaking of flying, have you guys realized there's a freakin' hurricane out in the Carribbean? Yeah, tell me about it. Stupid Hurricane Gustav has got his sights set on the Gulf Coast, but it better not be Louisiana if I have anything to say about it. Mom is worried that I will get stuck in evacuation traffic on my way home from Ohio and said something about me possibly flying straight to Idaho instead of coming home. Um, this.is.not.an.option! I don't have enough or appropriate clothing for three months in Idaho without coming home. Eek. And, if I do make it home, I better be able to make it out on Septeber 4th. Cuz, um, if not, we will have a problem, a very serious problem. So, everyone say their prayers and tell Gustav to GO AWAY!

Anxiously excited,
-Lauren

Bumin' around.

I know what you're thinking..."Even when Lauren's at home, she doesn't make time to give us updates." Yeah, yeah. I think the bigger issue here is that when Lauren's home, she doesn't do anything worth sharing.

So last week, I spent the night at Annie's (former roommate) in Luling. Dawn (my great Baton Rouge/LA Tech/4-H friend, Annie's best friend from childhood) also came to visit, which was wonderful. I hadn't seen Dawn since we worked at National 4-H Conference in DC in March, and Annie since we moved out of our apartment in May. We had a wonderful time watching the Olympics and playing Phase 10 (hehe). The buckeyes I made were a huge hit; I'll have to remember to bring more next time. ...And of course, we stayed up wayyy wayyy late talking. But that's okay, we missed each other, alright?

Graduate Day. It was sooo nice to see everyone back at school. The FACS department is such a special family for me, and everyone seemed really interested in hearing about my summer as well as sharing our internship plans. I could have stayed around forever just catching up with everyone. However, it was a day of business, afterall, and there was plenty to be done.

All 15 or so interns met with our teachers to go over the syllabus and explain the details of how to turn in paperwork, that sorta thing. Needless to say, I'm starting a month after everyone else and I really hope I remember everything I have to do. Then, we had to get signatures and turn in our application for graduation, buy our cap and gown, and see about other random, optional things. After all of that, I met up with Annie and Jen (other former roommate) for the assembly-type thing. There were speakers from the Alumni Federation and Career Services, cool door prizes (I won a Starbucks gift card--yay!), and tasty food and wine. It was really great to see Jen (and wish her luck on her recent engagement to Logan!); the three of us enjoyed our time together, the last little bit of it before graduation in December...

I've come to refer to last weekend as one filled with camp love. Mike B., the former CBC drama instructor who is currently working on his second graduate degre at Ohio State, came to Lafayette for a visit on Friday night. In honor of his visit, a group of local camp people went out to eat and played a rousing 2-hour game of Phase 10 at the pottery studio afterwards. (heh) It was great to see Mike; he didn't come to camp this year so it had been a year since we'd all seen him. Lucky for me, I'll be seeing Mike again in just a few days when I head up to Ohio for a visit of my own...more about that later.

Another camp friend was in town for the weekend, this one, however, from Camp Aldersgate! Yep, that's right, one of the Bostie Boys came down to Cajun Land for a visit. Allie Alligator (from Baton Rouge), of course, joined in on the fun. Kyle, Allie, and I had a great time hanging out, eating Cajun food (even though Kyle refused to try the gumbo at Prejean's--what a tragedy), and goofing around. We even dragged him with us to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (great movie, btw). I have to also say a very special thanks to Kyle for making Allie and I some sweet bracelets using the colors of the cabins at camp (Orange, Lime/Moss, Yellow/Khaki, Blue, and Eggplant)--they're great!

And alas, my week at home has been rather bum-like, but that's quite alright with me. Who says watching tv, reading, scrapbooking, and interneting is a bad thing? Not I. ;-) It's called "Lauren time," and I definitely need(ed) it.

Next week I'm going to Ohio to see camp and 4-H friends as well as visit two graduate schools and perhaps a child life hospital program. It should be fun. And, only 13 days 'til "I'm leaving, on a jet plane..." to Idaho! (Yeah, I just realized this is my last Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Louisiana until December. eek!)

Until next time,
Lauren

F.Y.I. (Yes, that means "for your information.")

Lately, I've been getting the same questions over and over again:
"What are you doing this summer?"
"When do you finish school?"
"Where are you interning/When are you going to find out...?"

For this reason, I've created a blog that I hope to update regularly over the summer and throughout my internship process. Please feel free to check back regularly to keep up with where life takes me. Leave comments/messages; I want to hear from everyone. :)

So, here goes.

Question 1: What are you doing this summer?

• May 9-31st...School will be over; I plan to divide my time between home and Thibodaux, realxing and enjoying my final days with The Beham crew. I may also visit a few friends in various parts of the state, time permitting. Phone interviews for internships and a special visit from my world-traveled Ohioan friend will occupy my time, as well as preparations for the rest of the summer.
• June 1-27...Allie (co-worker & friend from CBC) and I will be working at C.A. a special needs camp in Little Rock, Arkansas. We're both eagerly looking forward to this new and exciting experience.
• June 30-July 4...Potentially serving as an adult leader at 4-H Camp in Pollock, LA.
• July 5-13...The week is free, at this point. However, I'd love to travel (to say, Ohio, or Idaho?), instead. Perhaps I'll travel to check out housing near my internship site...
• July 14-19, 21-Aug 1...Heart Camp (CBC) staff training and camp session. <-- best="" ever.="" li="" place="">
• Aug 2-Unknown at this time...prepare for, pack, and move away for my Fall internship!

Question 2: When do you finish school?
The Spring 2008 semester for Nicholls officially finished on May 9 (although I finished my work about a week before that). Technically, I graduate on December 13, 2008, but I am officially finished with my on-campus coursework (!). All I have left is to do my 480-hour internship in the Fall, and then I'm d-o-n-e (1 semester early, I might add).
Question 3: Where are you interning/When are you going to find out?
My goal is to intern with an established Child Life Program (mainly located in children's hospitals). In order to secure a position with such a program, one must complete an extensive application process which often includes phone or on-site interviews.
As it stands, I have applied to 10 internship sites (hospitals) in 7 different states. Each site has contacted me to say that my application has been received, and I am currently waiting for offers for phone interviews. So far, I have scheduled two phone interviews--Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock (5-13 @ 1 p.m. CST) and Inova Fairfax Children's Hospital in Falls Church, VA (5-20 @ 10 a.m. CST).
To prepare for the internship interviews and position, I have read a textbook that child life education programs use, as well as spoken with a Certified Child Life Specialist, and discussed the process with a good friend of mine who happens to be a child life student (I heart you, Sunshine!). Hopefully it all works out positively...Wish me luck; I'm nervous about tomorrow's interview!
Alrighty, there it is. I'll try to keep regular updates with this blog so that you can all have an idea of how my summer and internship selection process is going.
Best wishes to all,
Lauren