While I sit here at 5:00 a.m., not being able to sleep much last night because of too much caffeine yesterday, I watch folks slowly pour into a room to eat breakfast, most of them here to participate in a baseball tournament if the weather remains fair (unlikely - the Weather Channel Doppler weather radar screen shows a line of heavy storms moving this way).
Last night, I sat in a church sanctuary and listened to several women discuss their careers. As professionals somewhat used to appearing in front of people, they probably felt they were important enough to represent not only themselves but also their career choice, nursing.
The dean of the nursing school, Dr. Birdie Bailey, congratulated the 43 students in front of her for graduating with a bachelor's degree in nursing, and mentioned that recently proposed national legislation would increase funding for nursing education and research. The speaker, Mrs. Laura Williams, was introduced by one of the students, Miss Melanie Pennington. Think of humor with a southern U.S. "country" accent in a PhD candidate declaring that nursing is a service for the safety of people, no matter whether a student chooses primary care, team nursing or management as a long-term career, and you get a good idea what Laura is like. Mrs. Vikki Pierce described the nurse pinning ceremony and announced the names of graduates as they walked forward to be pinned by family members.
Every student had a short set of words spoken by Ms. Pierce. Loads of thanks for family and Lord, mainly. Put this regional university graduation in perspective - lots of regular country folk here (including me?). How many will become professional nurses, how many become housewives, or others who take non-nursing career tracks? Does anyone know?
How long does it take for one to recover the cost of this nursing education, both financially and personally? Parents and family here take great care to record the pinning ceremony - for my bachelor's degree graduation, I felt like my family's doting was much ado about nothing, but I have no need for formal adult education, except that it did make my family happy.
One student here with four young children, much like my students/customers who say that their children feel neglected - we give our education the attention it deserves and use it to the advantage of ourselves and others (family, friends, coworkers, bosses, stockholders, etc.), who may not always understand our motives or see the long-term gains they'll enjoy for suffering short-term shortcomings.
A note of history - Florence Nightingale served the needs of the wounded during the Crimean War, a tale of lamplighting that was later passed on to students at a school, with last night's candlelighting a symbolic gesture of the Lady with the Lamp, indicating care and teamwork. The Nightingale Pledge, reflective of the Hippocratic Oath, was first used in 1893 at Hartford school (?) in Detroit, Michigan.
After the pinning ceremony, we removed ourselves to the reception hall, a place where people probably gather for religious ceremonies that include a rock-and-roll band, stage lights, etc.
During the reception, I spoke with a few people, including the dean, a professor and at least one graduate.
What I remember most is the professor who had just received her 35-year service award and a graduate who described the difficulty her father had in getting the nursing pin to stay pinned to his daughter's dress.
Beside me, a stack of brochures wait to be read, including:
- Desoto State Park, a resort atop Lookout Mountain
- Harrison Brothers, Est. 1879, Alabama's Oldest Hardware Store
- Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, An Accommodation Guide to North Alabama
- Welcome to Rogersville...a fisherman's Paradise
- The Way Life Is Supposed To Be! Florence Main Street
- Columns & Culture: History's Gracious Echoes
- Alabama Wine Trail: A Taste of Elegance
Before I dive into these tips and guides, I want to refresh my thoughts from last night, wondering why I chose this weekend to be a monk when opportunities anew presented themselves. Oh well, with my wife, mother in-law, sister in-law (widowed), nephew, niece, and niece's betrothed (as well as his extended family) all present and accounted for, my chances to slip away unnoticed were few and far between. I did step out of the reception hall and into the shadows of an unlighted area of the basement of the church where one short conversation did take place but such was it for the evening. A nibble. A bite. A taste of why monkhood is not meant for me.
Oh well, off to stir my wife and mother in-law so that we can figure out our plans, with stormy weather in the forecast and lack of sleep affecting my word usage, slang and punniness today. I doubt I'll break my fast today and welcome the temporary respite, my energy drained and my batteries on recharge. Storylines will have to wait another day to be tried on, worn out and written.
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