Come walk with me

 It's been something like 3 years since I've posted here.  How freakin bizarre.  But man, has a lot changed.  So allow me to reintroduce myself.

My name is Allison, but those closest call me Allie.  I have a new last name.  I married my love in Feb of 2023.  If you know you know, but the gist is we dated wayyy back but he didn't think he wanted to be married or have kids and he knew I did.  We went our separate ways but always stayed friendly.  They he realized what he lost -ha!  It's a VERY simplified story, but if you know it you know the entirety is beautiful (but along long winded).  ANYWHO.....

As I mentioned in my original post, I wanted to be a L&D nurse, more specifically maternal care.  Given that the interwebs live forever and I don't need my kids reading some of the less than pretty history, I'll just say that after months of researching, in August of 2021 I enrolled in an online accelerated nursing program.  The plan had been to work as long as I could.  'In November of 2021 (the night before Thanksgiving to be exact) I quit my job.  That's a whole other sh*t show of a story but my life is more important than keeping up with their demands.

Luckily because I knew I'd eventually have to quit, we started my LLC in July of 2021 right before I started my courses.  Overnight I went from salaried to consultant.  I was VERY fortunate in that endevor and it kept me going for a while, but as of Jan of 2024 I stopped working all together so that I could focus on school.

I am set to graduate in exactly one year.  Insane!  But there's another dream (not related to broadway) that I've had for a number of years-to walk the Camino de Santiago.  You can read about it here.

Photo credit of the Cathedral to American Pilgrims on the Camino

Of course when my sweet husband found out about this, he was all in.  I swear, I've never had someone so supportive of me in all my 46 years.  Plus, even when I doubt myself he reminds me. 

At present, the game plan is to finish nursing school on April 26, 2025 with a goal of sitting for the NCLEX somewhere around May 7th, after which I'll head off to walk the French Way for the next 5ish weeks.  Obviously, there are a lot of balls in the air.  I won't be allowed to sit for the NCLEX until I graduate and the board of nursing provides me with an ATT number, after which I have to schedule the exam blah blah blah.  Plus, my kids get out of school mid June.  It will be the last year my oldest is in middle and my youngest is in elementary, and my gut tells me they'll want me here for that, in which case I won't leave until mid-June.  The challenge with this is:

1) I don't want to go stir crazy

2) I need to get back to start working and make some income!

3) Summer, albeit mild, is still hot where I'm headed.  I'd prefer May for milder temps

4) July/Aug is when most of the Europeans will be there which just means it could be busy.

But, what will be will be.  I've come to accept that if I have to take a bus to skip a leg or have my bags transferred ahead, that's ok.  My Camino isn't about doing it perfectly to an outsider; it's about being what I need.  And, I have my stone ready....but that's a story for another day.

In the meantime, I'm keeping a video journal for myself too in the hopes of capturing the whole journey, even before I depart.

Buen Camino!