My nursing license was up for renewal at the end of November. The Oregon State Board of Nursing (OSBN) requires an RN log 960 hours over 5 years to be eligible for renewal. And also you can't have murdered anyone, or stolen drugs, I believe. A license is good for 2 years -- just like a temple recommend -- which also precludes murder and narcotic theft. Anyway, you'd think 960 hours, i.e. about 4 hours/week, is not a burdensome requirement. But throw one year of not working, three months of maternity leave (twice), and laissez-faire scheduling (my doing) into the mix, and you end up 238 hours shy of the mark. Why did I wait until the eleventh hour to find out my cumulative hours? Ummmm. Wait. That is not the point of this post.
238 hours! That is the point. Where does a full-time mom find 238 hours to spend at work over 5 weeks?!?!? Plus, there was the possibility of being cancelled from a scheduled shift at any time - so I would need to work extra at the beginning of the month, as much as possible. Briton and I toyed with the idea of just letting the license lapse -- for about 2 seconds -- before deciding we'd go for it, for obvious reasons. And by "we", I mean, I couldn't have done it without his 100% support - since he would basically be single-parenting and cutting into his work schedule. The kids loved it, because they got to eat new recipes -- like peanut butter and pickle pizza.
I clocked in 962 hours, in fact, by 11/24 -- two hours over and two days before deadline. That pic is the online renewal form. Notice the "
Response: Yes". That felt really, really good to write. As you can tell, because I took a picture of the screen.
I learned some things during that month.
1. It's easier to go to work than it is to be a mom ... sometimes.
2. Home is where my heart is.
3. Working overtime and nights and weekends pays prettily.
4. Old habits are hard to break.
A couple weeks ago I was asked to play the organ for ward temple night. I said sure, no problem. The following Sunday, the bishop pulled me aside and notified me that my temple recommend had expired (see #4 above).
