Update on the Past Year

My last blog post was 10/07/2016. Obviously, much has happened since then. 

On December 23, 2016, I lost my Papa. Papa was my mom's dad, and I was always close with him and my Nana - from living with them for awhile when I was 3 years old, to attending church together every Sunday when I was in grade school, to Sunday family dinners and holidays at their house throughout my entire life. In 2012, he was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and had to be on oxygen continuously. He started getting worse throughout 2016, my mom was essentially his primary caretaker along with working her full-time job. On December 21, my Papa really felt like his time on Earth was coming to an end and asked for family to come and see him. He was so deteriorated at that point and it was killing me to see him suffer. The night of December 22nd, I decided to stay overnight with my mom - I slept on my Nana and Papa's bedroom floor. In the early morning hours of December 23rd he passed away. I've never lost someone that close to me so it was very difficult. My dad's parents had both died awhile ago but they lived out of town and I rarely saw them, so it wasn't the same. My Papa was honestly the most incredible person. He taught me everything I know about how important faith and family is. He was a Veteran of the Korean War and very patriotic. He worked for MetLife until his retirement in 1985, and then took another job at a funeral home, where he worked until age 85 (a year before his death). He was loved and admired by so many; we counted over 500 people between the visitation and the funeral. I miss him so much, and I'll love him forever. I am so thankful to have had him in my life for 33 wonderful years.

In January, I became certified in my nursing specialty of Inpatient Obstetrics. I had to take another exam that was similar to the NCLEX. I had much more confidence than when I took the NCLEX and I was thrilled to pass on the first attempt. Becoming certified is essentially proving that you're an expert in your specialty, it is a pretty big deal and was always a goal of mine. 

I was blessed to go on two amazing vacations this year. In April, I went to New York City (my absolute favorite travel destination) for the ninth time. I can never get enough of NYC. I went with a friend from work and we did so much. We went to four Broadway shows: Hello Dolly (Bette Midler was fantastic), Miss Saigon (with my favorite girl Katie Rose Clarke), Phantom of the Opera (my first time!), and of course Wicked (my ninth time seeing my favorite show)! We also did Central Park, Top of the Rock, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Ground Zero Museum Workshop, a harbor cruise, and tons of other things including eating tons and tons of delicious NYC food! I absolutely couldn't love NYC more and I can't wait to return.

In April, I went to Arizona with my family and extended family to visit my brother and for my graduation! I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing with University Honors and a 4.0 GPA! I completed the program in just under a year and while working full time nights at my job. It was wonderful to have my whole family together (my parents are divorced and we rarely do things together with all of us)!

In June, I got a new car and we celebrated my sister's bridal shower! Her wedding is coming up next week! I'm the Matron of Honor and very excited for her and her fiancé. 

I have another update on the way about the rest of the summer that I will post in a few days!

So excited to be back to blogging!