Whitney Johnson lives in North Fort Worth with her husband of 11 years Joseph and their three kids: Emma, Karter and JD. She enjoys crafting, reading and cooking. The Texas Tech alumna has been a registered nurse in labor and delivery at Baylor Grapevine for 13 years and has worked as a nurse practitioner for eight years.
5:50AM Up, sort of. Scrubs on and morning ritual complete (face washed, hair washed, teeth brushed, etc).
6:30AM In car, headed to work. Have to listen to “Bo and Jim in the Morning” on KZPS because laughing at this hour keeps my sanity in check during crazy morning traffic.
6:50AM Turning on my computer to survey the morning schedule. Begin sorting the stacks of charts on my desk into two piles: now and later. Ironically, when I left the day before, the stacks were gone, but now they appear as though a chart fairy has gifted them to me. I’m the nurse practitioner for Dr. Doreen Moser, an OB-GYN. We’re a small but busy office in Grapevine. Before my first patient, I fill my favorite Nalgene water bottle to get ready to get going.
7:15AM First patient is ready and I’ve tackled several charts, so my “now pile” is dwindling. Today is starting off right – mostly on time.
8AM Must have my favorite protein shake – super-cold, chocolate-flavored – and catch up on patient calls. It’s not quite as early, so I leave a few phone messages and talk with patients and review more labs and charts.
10:20AM Snack time (Costco trail mix), and hopefully, I get a bathroom break. Had fun this morning with two new moms-to-be. It’s always exciting to show them their first pictures of their babies. Someone always asks, “It isn’t twins, right?” My job is very cool. 12:20PM Super-busy today. I’ve seen 13 patients this morning for visits for pregnancy, annual exams, weight loss counseling and gestational diabetes education. Finally, I get to sit down and catch up on charting.
1:10PM Charts are done. Labs are reviewed. Today, I work in the morning so I can pick up my two youngest kids at their preschool at 2pm.
1:25PM Lunch from unnamed drive-through and off to Lowe’s for paint samples and to look for a diamond drill bit for craft I’m working on. Lowe’s doesn’t have the drill bit I want, but I do get a pretty red paint for a pantry door project I’m about to start.
1:55PM Pick up Things Two and Three from preschool. Both are hungry and excited to talk about their day. Thing Two can’t stop yelling at me, “Mommy, I used water today and painted the sky.” She insists that I look at the picture while driving down the freeway. Thank goodness for mommy mirrors in cars. It is of course a masterpiece and will probably be displayed on the fridge the minute we get home this afternoon. Thing Three is starting to nod off en route to get Thing One. They wear him out at school … thank goodness. It’s so sweet to watch him nap. I love this quiet time in the car with them. Got to get back to Keller from Grapevine. Thankfully, the DFW Connector is almost complete. Traffic is being merciful today.
2:25PM I’ve arrived in time to sit and wait for school to get out. The car line is chaotic at best. Luckily, it starts to move quickly. Quick stop for car snack for Things One, Two and Three then off to piano lesson for Thing One. If we’re all really good, then we get a happy-hour snack and drink at Sonic. (There was a time in my life when happy hour did not involve iced tea, children or sitting in a minivan. I’m just sayin’.)
4:45PM Piano lesson complete. Pharmacy drive-through for medicine and then home to make dinner.
5:30PM Home. Dinner tonight is sautéed spinach with tomatoes (from produce co-op last week) and a reheat meal from a freezer swap moms’ group. (Each group member makes 10 of the same entrée to exchange with nine other mommies.) The produce co-op is great for the value and volume; I get a laundry basket full of fruit and veggies for $15 every three weeks. Freezer meals are an absolute lifesaver on crazy days like today. Start load of laundry.
6:10PM Hubby arrives home just as we’re sitting down to dinner. Thing Two does the mealtime prayer, which always warms my heart. A 4-year-old praying is so sweet.
6:40PM Time to start dishes while hubby bathes Thing Two and Thing Three. I supervise Thing One’s shower. Pajamas on and teeth brushed. We start to select books for reading time. With a 2, 4 and 8-year-old, we have a wide variety of books. (We just converted our formal dining room into “The Library” to corral all of our books. It’s still a project in progress.) Tonight we have a Dr. Seuss book and a book about tractors.
8:05PM All three kiddos to bed, tucked in, prayers done and kisses goodnight.
8:25PM In the kitchen with hubby, trying to pack lunches for tomorrow. Talk about calendar with hubby, grab a few berries from the fridge for snack and finish dinner’s iced tea. Put load of laundry into the dryer that I started earlier.
9:30PM Winding down and getting ready for bed. House Hunters International is on. (I only watch when they have expensive homes on the show.) Settle into bed to watch the show and zzzzz until tomorrow.
Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the Fort Worth area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by FortWorthChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.
Published January 2014
