Back in the Blogger Saddle

As the old adage suggests, it's time to get back in the saddle - with this site and with my schoolwork. Today, I am sitting in the library, working on my Master's Thesis, which is on - yes - death rattle. It's funny. I've been researching this topic since I wrote that old posting and I'm almost embarassed by how little I knew back then. The professor who is helping me with my dissertation is encouraging me to get my writing published in a nursing journal when I am finished and wants me to stay on for my PhD as there is huge gap in research on this topic. I would love to get the writing published, though I'll have to think long and hard about the PhD. I've been in school at least part-time for 8 years (well, with one year off in the middle somewhere). But I am so very ready for a break. And after that? Well, I may just be done with school for the time being. We'll see.

Most of my research until yesterday had been done on-line. (Medline has been a god-send). The few hard-copy books or articles I'd read had all been handed to me by mentors. So it's kind of novel and fun to sit in a library. There is something almost romantic about wandering down the aisles of books, flipping through their dusty pages, sitting at a public desk - free from all of the clutter and computer gear on my desk at home. But of course, there is also some discomfort - in the unfamiliarity of this environ and from my dust allergy! So I have retreated to the more familiar confines of the computer lab for the past hour.

Thank you all so very much for your kind words in light of my most recent loss - my divorce, that is. You all are the best! I have so very much appreciated the comments and emails. And thanks for coming back, even with the long periods of silence.

I'm hoping writing my master's thesis will not monopolize my time too much and that I will be able to write more frequently than I have been writing. I will graduate at the beginning of June (God willing - that I finish my thesis so I can graduate) and after that, I will have significantly more time for posting.

Best wishes to you all!