Year in Review 2024

Image by Annette Meyer from Pixabay

Well, better late than never, right? I admit that I have not written as much as I would have liked to throughout this year. As I normally say, there isn't a lack of things to write about, it is more that there are not enough hours in the day or energy, depending on the situation. As per my usual, I took on more things in 2024 and left little time for much else. However, a few of the decisions were made with some longer term goals in mind. So, let's take a walk down memory lane - 2024.

At the very end of 2023, one of my work positions went through a series of layoffs. I got pretty spooked by that and applied for a clinical instructor position. I was honestly surprised I got the position - I didn't think I had enough experience. I taught my first clinical rotation in February 2024 in the mental health unit at one of the local hospitals. I had students who are in an accelerated program to get the license for an RN and graduate with a Master's in Nursing as well. They all had previous experience in school with having an undergrad degree. The students were pretty self motivated and interested in the rotation. I ended up with two groups and completed the rotation in May. The student feedback was very sweet and I was quite humbled and honored at how they perceived by approach to their clinical rotations.

In the fall of 2023, I started thinking about getting out of my housing situation. When I purchased the property, the market was so incredibly on fire that I bought what I could afford and that included a property with a lot of repairs. I was given an offer by an investor company and I wasn't interested in the fall. I gave them a call back in February 2024. My property went on the market on a Monday. By Monday night, I had an offer. I closed in early April. I got the money I put into the property and had the opportunity to wipe out about 80% of debt. More importantly, I was no longer under the pressure of the renovations I would have needed to do to sell. I saw the property after the renovations. It looked really nice. Certainly nicer than what I could have afforded to do. There are a few things I miss, but overall, it was a great move. 

I live in an apartment right outside of Minneapolis. I love the location. I am near my family and I have more familiarity with the Minneapolis side of town than St. Paul, My commute is quite a bit longer, but I don't really care. I have been doing the commute for 9 months now. It's not the worse commute and I have had. I love apartment living - when stuff breaks, someone comes and fixes it. After living in a place where things broke near weekly, it is so nice to be free of the financial concern of having to fix it on my own. I moved into a luxury building which has tons of amenities I don't use. That's pretty normal. What I really wanted was an in-unit washer and dryer. Apparently, those are only available in the more luxury apartment world, 100% worth it. 

I have continued my position with homecare. I have been content with my job. Low stress, lots of giggles between my client and I. I still love overnights. Overnights do my social life a bit tough. Back in the day, I used to work with many other people who also worked nights. In homecare, it is basically me. My friends and family all work normal schedules. I get a lot of pressure from multiple sources to consider getting off of nights. Obviously, the pressure hasn't work. I still work here and I work nights. 

During the summer months, the school had reached back out to me to see if I wanted to teach additional clinical hours. I asked about potential classroom options. Initially, there were no sections  that needed coverage. In less than 2 weeks, I was in charge of 2 sections of mental health nursing for 53 BSN students. I knew the semester was bound to be rough around the edges. First time teaching the topic in that venue, redoing the curriculum that made sense to me, and A LOT of students. I spent the remainder of the summer reading the book for the class and trying to figure out how to jam so much material into a semester. 

I did get to do some fun things as well including a trip to NYC with my sister and the State Fair with my niece and nephew. Being nearly debt-free allowed for a lot of room for fun :) Don't worry, I am also building my savings account too! I hope to continue to do more traveling in 2025. I am sure that my niece and nephew will continue to hit the Fair with me. They are getting so big! It is hard to believe that we started that tradition in 2012.....12 years and counting. 

The semester started off rough. If you follow this blog, you may remember back in September I had a bizarre physical health meltdown. Four months later, there have not been any reoccurrences, nor any answers about what happened. My health has been generally stable. I made some efforts to get my weight down (-30lbs). I had started that a few months before I had this health episode. I haven't changed anything I am doing so I can't image that these two are at all related. In general, I am feeling mentally OK with what happened. I still get little twinges of fear when something feels off. Recently, I ended up at the Urgency Room after work over the weekend. At first, I think the doctor and nurse were not so sure why I was there since I wasn't in uncontrollable pain. I asked them to read my record. They read it, came back and said "yeah, we get it,." Turns out I have a hernia. Awesome. I don't need to do anything about it right now fortunately.

I limped over the finish line of school in December. It was a rollercoaster of figuring out tests, clinical, simulations, student concerns, etc. etc. I knew I had taken on too much with taking both sections. I am glad that I did it, though, because so much is now in place so future semesters will take minor tweaks instead of all new material. I will be teaching one section in the spring. I am looking forward to it. The student feedback, again, was so kind and truly humbling. They were mainly quiet during the semester so I was quite shocked that I had made such an impression. 

 This year was sober year #14. I am always happy to add another year to the list! I am behind on my tattoo. My tattoo artist gets kind of nervous when he doesn't see me for a while -- hoping that my absence doesn't mean I relapsed. I appreciate the concern! I think I need at least two more flowers added. It's a fun story to tell :) I used my personal experience at times during my instruction. I believe that was the most impactful part of my teaching in addition to the real-world experiences I have had. I really love the opportunity to combine teaching and mental health topics. I didn't find anything super challenging to teach. Mental health nursing was my strongest subject in LPN school, long before I ever got sober. 

I continue to use a therapist. I don't know that I would ever totally stop. Even if I am not in a dire need of anything, it is nice to be able to check in occasionally to make sure things are going in the right direction. My therapist and I have some disagreements on certain aspects of my life. By in large, though, she is direct and is helping navigate this overly busy mind, trying to establish some peace. She has been on me about scaling back the work and allowing for some social life to build. I did make that leap to give some new things a try. So far, it has turned out well. More details to follow.....yes, I am being vague.

I have some distinct opportunities ahead of me for 2025. These opportunities may result in some significant changes in my schedule and in my overall life. It is MUCH MUCH too early to worry about the changes. I am working to stay more in the present and not worry about things down the line. There is enough going on in the moment to pay attention to. 

I thank you for taking the time to read about some of my 2024! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a happy new year!

​Julie