When Nurses Share

Yesterday was the first beautiful day, after a week of clouds and gloom. I joked that I ordered it for Gerry's  birthday... it is the least I could do to one who is so kind and patient with me in my impatient desire to set sail on our gypsy adventure. His daughter Erica hosted a wonderful party for the family: barbecue ribs, potato salad, cornbread, coleslaw and pecan pie... all homemade and delicious (she definitely got her Dad's cooking talent). The girls all talked about her upcoming wedding, the boys got busy playing Kan-Jam (Gerry's favorite) and I held court with my gregarious mother-in-law... who I have become very fond of over the years. She is 83 and just recently retired from a long career in community health nursing... I am semi-retired after 25 years of nursing and 7 year stint in the corporate healthcare environment. Our favorite pastime is sharing the stories of our joint passion... helping other people in the calling that was best suited to us. She is an outgoing people person and loves directing people's actions with her knowledge and doing all the physical caring that nurses do... my stories relate to the the quiet activity of the mind where I was able to connect with families and people at the end of their life. Her stories are funny and make me laugh... mine are more reflective and make her think. She always says that I broaden her horizens with my compassionate tales. Our time together is always well spent and she encouraged me to continue to seek out some employment to fill my isolated days. I told her I would. Fast forward to the end of the evening and toasts to Gerry with Jaeger bombs, (don't worry we all had designated drivers) when Gerry limped over after a Kan-Jam defeat... with a pulled calf muscle. I massaged, and iced, and had reason for insomnia as I worried about his calls of pain from a fretful sleep. Today I am busy as a nurse, getting a real cold pack (instead of the bag of corn I had to use) buying analgesics that weren't expired, buying an ace bandage.. oh and a new phone for him since I washed his in the machine. I wonder if all that talk of nursing, somehow brought on the... never mind, it's just magic thinking again... but I am happy running, fetching, bandaging, and caring for my dear patient, perhaps as practice for a return to my calling. Ya never know.