I wish I had more time to update you, but my goodness life is a whirlwind right now. Last night I went to David’s for the evening and it was the first time we’d seen each other in four days. We watched DVDs of “The Office,” indulged in chicken fried rice, and worked on wedding favors. I really needed a night like that.

The wedding is in eight days – wow, my heart just started pounding – and somehow I think everything is going to come together. There are still a bunch of details to get out of the way, but thankfully I have this weekend off. Although I do have to work three days next week.

Speaking of work, it has still been really tough lately. Everyone is saying that our patients are sicker than ever, we are almost always full, and we don’t have enough nurses. Some days it feels like an ICU, except that in the ICU each nurse only has two patients, while we have four, five, sometimes even six. At the beginning of this week one of my patients died who I’d been with for three months. Yesterday another one I’d become attached to was transferred to hospice. She was in so much pain that she couldn’t even concentrate to say goodbye.

My days “off” right now are not restful; they are chock full of errands and tasks to complete. Here is what I did on my last day off, Tuesday, for example:

• Final gown fitting
• Pick up ring
• Pharmacy
• Buy makeup
• Work on favors
• Haircut and updo trial run

Not to mention that the traffic since Ike has been exponentially worse than ever due to many stoplights being out and free tollways. Sooo…

All this to say that I can really use a vacation. Luckily I have one coming up!