Free Nurse Training

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As I had mentioned in a previous post, I definitely contributed to pre-training my mom for her nursing career. Let's see...my free classes included:

Lesson #1-Cleaning and bandaging 3 year old's remaining 4 toes.

Lesson #2-Cleaning and bandaging of 1st grader's eyebrow (I was talking with a little friend while walking down the hall and ran smack into a display case. Split my eyebrow open. The nurse at the school scared my mom half to death, because when she called her, she told her I had split my eye open.)

Lesson #3- Cleaning and bandaging 2nd, or 3rd grader's, moles after removal-don't remember which grade for sure. (I was playing kickball at recess and was on the base (offensively). Someone ran around the base and grabbed me around the back of the neck to slow themselves down, which ripped a mole on my neck half off-so, back to the doc's.)
Now really, I was not "clumsy"-nor "accident prone"...just played hard and wasn't scared of getting hurt-the true tomboy. It got to the point that my mom didn't even ask which kid was hurt, just... where was I, so they would know where to pick me up!

Lesson #4- Cleaning and bandaging 4th grader's leg. (Was being chased at school by a little boy, fell down, and put a gash in my leg...took 26-27 stitches inside and out to fix that one. My teacher almost fainted because she couldn't stand the site of blood.)

***By this time, I was instructing the doctor's on how to stick the needle inside the wound to deaden it and watching every step of the way. Like I said I never slowed down...after having these stitches; in about a week, I was seen playing tackle football with the boys at school during recess. This was not something that made my mom very happy, she was afraid that I would bust the stitches and have to do it all over again. She even told the doctor when we went to get the stitches taken out...hence
...
Lesson #5-Sometimes the doctor doesn't agree- he told my mom that if all his patient's healed as well as I did, he was going to tell them all to go play football! Of course, now I agree with my mom...it was pretty stupid...but, I was just a kid who wanted to have fun.

I skipped many years before having any other major mishaps. I will tell you about that in another post later. So, as you can see...my mom got lots of free nurse training by having me as a kid...and probably a lot of gray hairs to go with it. Well, free in the sense of experience, not doctor bills...

Four Year Old Arranges Marriage

Just a little background information here...my step-dad has always been a prankster and has a wonderful sense of humor. Obviously I must have recognized this the first few weeks my parents started dating. Because, after they had gone out about two weeks, I followed him into the kitchen and asked, "When are you going to ask my mom to marry you?". Now, I am almost certain my mom was totally shocked and wanted to climb under the table at that particular moment. However, forty plus years later, they are still together...so, I must have chosen well in my only attempt to arrange a marriage.

My step-dad was also loved by all the kids in the neighborhood because of this sense of humor. Children would come knocking on the door all the time. (...not to ask my mom if we could come out to play, but if our step-dad could come out to play!) I loved following him around and watching him work on cars or whatever else he was doing outside. Being the tomboy, I loved being outside! (Hated the domestic stuff...my older sis got those genes.) I was so impressed by his antics that when we went to his parent's house for Thanksgiving one year I repeated his blessing when asked to say the prayer, it went something like this...

"Bless the rooster, bless the hen, back your ears, and poke it in!"

I was so proud!!! (Again, shocked everyone...lol. Of course, mom had told him it was his fault because he taught it to me. ) I was still proud that I had remembered it correctly for him. hee hee.