. secret .

I called in sick for work tonight.

Secret…. I’m not sick. Shhhhhhhhhhh…..

I was a little sick yesterday. Does that count?

I decided to start taking some probiotics (good for your belly) and yesterday I drank some without having eaten enough first. It almost made me sick. It’s fine if I have a good sized meal before I drink it, but all I had was cereal. Lots of uncomfortable tummy gurgles. I probably would have been sick if I hadn’t gone for a walk. Bleh.

So I’m using that feeling from yesterday to call in to work.

It’s not something I do on a regular basis , and it’s not something I typically do just for fun. I only do it when I can’t think far enough in advance to get the night off. I have to know my schedule like two months in advance in order to request it off… that’s just how it works. And most of the time when I need the night off, if I know after that point, I need someone to switch with me, which is usually pretty difficult to do because of my schedule.

So… I called in sick.

The reason this time is because tomorrow morning, I start a 3 day infant massage instructor course. After which I will be a certified infant massage instructor. Cool, eh? It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and I believe it’s a perfect compliment to my job as a NICU nurse. It’s also yet another step on the road to having a private practice someday.

I envision a private holistic nursing practice, with a focus on moms-to-be, new moms, and their newborns. I would counsel them in holistic self- and newborn care. I would offer them advice on nutrition and spiritual health, teach them infant massage and ways to bond with their baby, teach them chi and movement practices and other ways to move energy and take charge of their own health. (I start a two year tai chi/qigong instructor course in the fall, and I also happen to be a dance instructor with 30 years of dance experience). That’s a rough idea, anyway, there’s still a lot of fleshing out to be done. But I’m in no hurry. I’m just enjoying the ride. 😉

~ kate