A Morning at the Clinic

Today I had an appointment for a physical. No big deal, I figured that I'm a girl of a certain age and perhaps some baseline lab work should be done, etc...no biggie. Well, my assigned doctor is deployed. In lieu of an M.D., I saw the "team" P.A. (physicians assistant). Now, generally I never have a problem seeing a Nurse Practitioner, I feel that they are advance practice NURSES. They knew what they wanted to be and just furthered their training...they stayed on the nursing side of things and believe in healing and patient care.

The P.A. is a totally different animal, they do exactly what their job title states...assist physicians. They didn't want to go to med school or nursing school. They do not have to carry the big insurance policies and they are minimalists. Specifically, the Family Medicine P.A. Not really a specialty, the modern name of "general practice"...a little of this and a little of that. Let's be clear, "general practice" means NOT A SPECIALIST and not an interest or foothold in anything tangible like pediatrics or endocrinology.

Now, back to my appointment...I was immediately handed a questionnaire that I promptly filled out about my health history. I was escorted to a room by 2 young men, corpsmen, where I was weighed, vital signed and asked more personal questions regarding my health. (A little weird). Then, I was escorted to the exam room where I was told to have a seat and wait for the "doctor". Well, she couldn't have been much older than Abbie! She acted very young, hardly made eye contact and questioned me like I was an idiot. When I informed her that I was a nurse, she changed her tune a little and then told me about how she could never work in obstetrics because of her past experience during her training rotation. She even went as far to tell me that she made her obstetrician induce her labor early because of her fear of something bad happening, and admitted she was hysterical! (Very professional, yes?) Her doctor probably did it to be finished with her!

I had a skin tag removed under my arm. She told me it would be very painful, and then told me she had no tolerance for pain...huh? It was frozen off...again, no big deal. While I was waiting for the corpsmen to get the freezing agent, I overheard them talking in the hall...f bombs everywhere! When I said something about it, she shrugged and said, "that's corpsmen for you."...again, huh?

I did try to obtain a waiver to be seen by a private physican. I was told that I have to live 30 minutes or more away from the clinic. I live 29 minutes away, and no exceptions are allowed. Sigh.

Are We Ready?

This has been the last week of "freedom" for my kids. School starts Wednesday for Abbie and Paul, so they are trying to eek out every last moment of summer vacation.

Here's my take on it...Enjoy!

Home! Home! Home!

Yeah! We made it back to New Bern after traveling up and down the eastern seaboard for the last 10 days...I'm exhausted. We made excellent time with the new I-795 and avoided the little local 2 lane 17 South! I was thrilled, only 6 hours with a stop for lunch, gas and a quick grocery stop. We ran into a typical "severe" NC thunderstorm as we approached Craven County and I nearly had to pull over, but opted to press on and my big Triton V-8 agreed!

The caterpillars are still alive and have all climbed to the top of the butterfly house...they are HUGE...nearly 3 inches a piece! I expect to find then all in chrysalises by the morning.

We are nearly unpacked, a chicken is in the oven and I am sipping a glass of Riesling.

Back to "normal" tomorrow, right???

Winding Down...

Our "vacation" up north is in the home stretch, literally. Our week in New Jersey was a blast, to include the zoo, a day excursion to The Garden State Plaza, a day "down the shore" at Seaside Heights. (We only visit the boardwalk, not the beach.)We visited my husbands family in Bronxville, NY for a wedding shower...and the week culminated with the celebration of my parents 40th wedding anniversary (a couple of weeks early). They renewed their vows in Church and celebrated with a family dinner.

We are now on our way back to NC via Haymarket, VA. We will be here for a couple of days and head home on Wednesday. I need a day to get organized and ready for work this weekend and the beginning of school the following week for my older kids...where did the time go?

On a side note...I seem to have a traffic magnet on my car. Everywhere I go...traffic appears, either construction, shore, accidents, etc...WTF?

New Jersey...

Here we are in NJ, the Garden State. I grew up here, so I'm always a little touchy when people poo-poo it. Yes, the Turnpike is stinky and the only part of the state that resembles a garden is the farm behind my sister-in-laws house. I love the malls, I love the fact that I can have authentic food of any culture at my fingertips and most of all, I love the proximity to The City...that's New York City.

Today we went into The City to visit the Bronx Zoo. We took the lower level of the GWB (George Washington Bridge) and went through what seemed like a thousand overpasses and tunnels and bridges...my kids were amazed! I totally take for granted this common denominator that I grew up with. Charlotte loved seeing the skyline, and believe it or not...she enjoyed the Cross Bronx Expressway! Abbie asked why metal bars were on all of the apartment buildings and stores. My kids were definitely shown some cultures and ethnicity's that are not in New Bern, NC.

People were walking around with containers of fresh cut mango, empanada shops, the Italian section, Arthur Avenue, city buses, cabs, the pretzel vendors, "discount" handbag and movie vendors. The actual travelling to and from the zoo was more educational than the zoo! It was hot, crowded, stinky and not at all what I remembered from the last time I was there, maybe 10 years ago...I was a bit disappointed. All in all we still had a good time, I managed to walk off the extra desserts I have been eating while "on the road".

Spa Day...sort of.

Today I had the opportunity to get my hair cut at a salon that specializes in curly hair! Wow! I left the kids with my mother-in-law (love her), and headed to Tyson's Corner.

My stylist was named Enrique...curly hair specialist. After a good cut, some deep conditioning, a lesson on how to style and care for my new doo, and 6 months worth of hair product...I'm all set for the humidity of NC. For the first time in 2 years I left the salon looking somewhat normal and not like a 1980s Miss America contestant from the Bible Belt.

We're in VA!

Yeah! We made it to Virginia yesterday, late in the afternoon. I've decided that Sunday is the worst day to drive in the summertime. We were stopped in traffic at 3 different spots and lost an hour! When you have a 5 1/2 hour drive with 4 kids and the dog, adding an hour is like having a root canal without Novocaine!

Tomorrow morning we will be heading up to NJ...land-o-malls! One never appreciates tax free clothing until you have to pay tax on clothes...thank you NJ!