First and 10

There are only about 18 hours left before my new adventure begins, and I’m so excited I almost can’t stand myself. I am restless, unsettled, a little anxious, and I have to recant my earlier statement: I’ve NEVER looked forward to starting a job as much as this one. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve (oh, please God, let me be able to sleep tonight!!) and can hardly wait to get going in the morning. So it makes sense that I’m a bit over-amped right now……I feel as though I’m playing in the Super Bowl, I’m on the 50-yard line, it’s first and 10, and I’ve got a whole new set of downs to try for a score.

For those who don’t pay attention to football, I apologize for the gridiron metaphors, but for the first time in years, I feel like a winner. They don’t let just any old washed-up nurse be a quarterback; what I did in my career counted. I have years of experience in all phases of long-term care, and I was at least halfway decent in every position I played. The only place I really went wrong was in trying to recapture the glories of my floor-nursing days…..especially when I was so banged-up from stints with other teams.

But hindsight is always 20/20, and I’m glad I tried one last comeback, if for no other reason than to prove to myself that the active phase of my career was truly over. I can’t count the number of times I’ve stood at the goal line and been dropped for a loss. I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen again; sometimes my opponent breaks through my offensive line and I get sacked. But with good coaching and lots of practice, maybe I can learn better how to protect myself against the blitz and develop the confidence I need to improve my passing game.

Everything is in place to score a big touchdown: my head is fully in the game, I’ve got a whole platoon of cheerleaders on the sidelines, and the opposing team is getting tired. Go me!