TL;DR: I started a new job last month. Scroll to the end if you want to skip all the stuff I've had to come to terms with in order to begin rebuilding my life.

The long version:

I've said it before, but Eric and I would sometimes talk about death and dying and I would tell him that if he died, I'd go back to school and finish my R.N. He thought this was bananas. "You can earn more doing branding, illustration, and web design. And you can work from home. Why would you go back to school?"

It was a complicated question. I really enjoyed graphic and web design. But I'd wanted to be a nurse since I was in preschool. I was able to take a technical program in high school and certify as a medical assistant and went off to college certain I'd graduate with a nursing degree, maybe going on to become a nurse practitioner or certified nurse midwife.