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Samuel Clemmins, A K A Mark Twain.

Just the hearse drivers. ha ha My life has been full and I have been privileged to have held jobs in so many different careers - all of which have made me the person I am today. But, when I first became a first responder, age became my biggest enemy. Well, fear of age. I'm too old to do this full time. I'm too old to work a 24 hour shift. I'm too old to go back to school. Heck, I'm too old to be smart enough to keep up with the young farts getting in to this business. Guess what? I'm not too old. And, with my background, I have the patience and wisdom to get through a call...calmly. With a little more experience under my belt, I'll be able to add "assuredly" to that sentence. People look at me with reverence. Even as a newbie, my patients feel comfortable with me because they think I've been doing this for years. Finally, gray hairs pay off. Look at me now. I graduated the full program in record time after not having taken a full load of classes in 20 years and with good grades. Yes, the 20 year-old students grasp the material a little more quickly than I at first glance...but I have the ability to take multiple concepts and merge them together. 24 hour shifts...heck. I work 48 hour shifts. It may take me a little longer to recover, but I eat/drink/live healthy, so I'm not worried about burnout. And, (I know...never start a sentence with "but" or "and") I have enough of a background that I can bring more than just my medic skills to the table. I hope this will make me more of a value-add to my service. As my husband says frequently, everything happens for a reason.