Monday 14 November 2016

As The Leaves Fall



Life has changed recently. Somewhat like the transition from warm, earthy late Autumn to where we are now- damp, chilly early Winter with the ever present threat of ice and snow. I defrosted my car for the first time since February the other morning. Jack Frost had visited overnight and cast beautiful swirls of glittering silver over the windscreen and I'll admit part of me was somewhat saddened as the deicer cut through and melted away his carefully constructed patterns.

Life- thankfully- has bought about a more welcome change, in the shape of work. I knew that -unlike most graduates- I was pretty much guaranteed a job at the end of my degree. I'm sure I don't need to delve into the world of the NHS for you to understand the sad predicament we currently find ourselves in, however Nurses are always in short supply and therefore I was always comforted in the knowledge that work would always be available for me. Now it just so happens that I landed myself the very job I had dreamed of since the start of my training in 2013 and I still cannot believe I managed that as it was my very first interview and my heart was thrumming like a hummingbirds all the way through. But yet, here we are!

Be brave and Believe in yourself!


I started full time work (for the second time in my life) in mid August and as you always do, I felt a little overwhelmed with the new routine, names and systems that I needed to learn and remember to ensure my practise was effective and safe. The days, weeks and months flew by until November arrived and with it a much welcomed week off.

Me and Ash took the opportunity to grab some time away for a couple of nights in Whitstable, back at the fisherman's huts that I'd stayed in before. Farming can mean that time away is infrequent and therefore precious, these couple of days in early November will be the only 'away' time me and Ash get this year and because of the brief time frame we have we always stick fairly local. 

The weather was windy and wet the first day but that didn't stop us bracing ourselves for a coastal stroll among the sailing boats which whistled and clanged in the gusts that howled in from the foaming, grey sea. It certainly cleared our heads and ensured our curly hair was suitably roughed up in time for a meal in a swanky bistro. We nibbled on local bread, mussels and skate for dinner before crossing over the road into the comfort of a village pub to compliment our already full bellies with local ale and cider. After warming ourselves in front of the fire we braced ourselves against the wind once more and headed back to our cosy hut and one of the best nights sleep I've had in along time.



  The morning after we strolled around the wonderful village (on second thoughts perhaps its classed as a small town?) of Whitstable and the many beautiful shops that stocked locally produced treasures from  artists, farmers, fisherman and writers. We stopped to have lunch in a rustic delicatessen before wandering on down to a lovely little seaside house with a shed full of clay, pottery wheels, a huge kiln and a lovely lady clothed in dusty overalls waiting to impart her knowledge of working with clay on us for a couple of hours. 

Carol was without doubt a real gem of knowledge and very patient with me as I had my very first (wobbly) go at throwing! I'm quite proud to say that I didn't do as badly as what I thought I would. Ashley (as I've mentioned before) is one of those people who is annoyingly good at most things first time. He was far more at home than I was with manipulating the clay into bowls of different shapes and sizes while I giggled my way through two ashtray like objects. I'm still very impressed with myself for achieving a couple of very shallow bowls, which I will eat cereal out of somehow!
If you ever find yourself in or around Whitstable be sure to treat yourself to a lesson with Carol, its so much fun and you might surprise yourself with your ability like I did!



We returned home with our tummies a little fuller, our hands a little dustier, our hair significantly curlier and our breath certainly saltier. I return to work later today for a night shift, truth be told I've missed work. I worked hard for three years because I desperately wanted to be a nurse and now that I am I can't describe how much I love it. It's hard sometimes and my back and hands protest after a three day block, but its worth it and when I get home at night I don't complain about how long my day has been, instead I focus on what I enjoyed and what I felt I achieved for either myself or patients.