My graduation photo from WKU School of Nursing. December 1981. I have somewhere a photo of GSPN graduation day June 1978. I've been at this nursing thing 35.5 years. I'm 54 years old. Both are a long time! I was the only nurse most nights on a busy 22 bed med-surg post CCU floor at Bowling Green Warren County Hospital in September 1978. I was 19 years old and as green as they come. That fall I decided to go "back" to school and in January I started at WKU. My first class was anatomy and it's lab. I did ok so I kept going. Challenged out of Nursing 101. In ways that was great but in ways it made it harder. I had to learn how they wanted care plans papers etc. other students already knew! But I also knew all that was busy work. Back then we didn't have care plans on paper in the 'real world'. We have them in the computer now. And all that was to help us learn. Anyway. It finally came: graduation day. Actually I only participated in the pinning ceremony if the nursing school, not the WKU graduation line. I don't regret that at all. But I remember the excitement of graduation and having known I did it myself. I worked full time as a LPN while in RN school. I paid it as I went. I had no debt after graduation. Unfortunately, times have changed!! I digress! My parents and brothers were coming. Pinning was in DUC in the theater. I was in stage with my classmates looking out over the crowd. I could see them clearly. They weren't there. No one. I cried through the ceremony. My classmates thought they were tears of joy. And they were a little. But mostly because every one of them had someone there. But me. My papaw had just died about a month before, feelings were still there from that and out of town family had stopped by that couldn't make it to his funeral. Instead of telling them they were on the way to my graduation, they kept quiet. It hurt my feelings at first. But then I understood. I had already had one graduation from nursing school and they were there. So it was ok. But today my nephews wife graduates from BG Tech Nursing School. So memories came flooding back. It's the same school (GSPN) with a different name and a degree now and RN instead of LPN (they got that after one year) but I'm proud of her and I want her to know that. I plan to attend her graduation today! I'm sure Jeffrey and their boys and her mom will be there too. But, just in case I don't want her to not have anyone there!
Happy Graduation Ashley! Love you!!
I love all y'all!❤️
To be continued......
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