Nursing Supervisor Takes a Holiday

I love your last few paragraphs...making a difference in people's livesis what it's all about. How kind of his daughter, while in the pangs of grief, to give you a call...

Thank you for your comment, dscrn. You truly understood the essence of the story I was attempting to convey. When it all comes down to the lowest common denominator, all we really want is someone there who cares. That's the important thing. And that daughter's kindness in calling me while in the pangs of grief was life-changing. I learned that the important thing was not WHO I was, but WHAT I was doing. This situation also changed my life, in that, to this day, I will work every weekend and every holiday. Magical things happen when the mainstream is off the clock. Thanks again.

Davey Do, that was beautiful. Thank you. Here in the South when a family member passes away the "church ladies" all get together and take food to the house. My Daddy didn't live down here, but he wanted to be buried at the old home place cemetery circa 1810. His elderly aunt lived alone in the old home place house..she was about 83 at the time. As the ladies asked me what to do about the food I said let's have it at Aunt Margaret's. It was freezing that day and actually snowed which is a rare thing, so she stayed in the house. When the ladies started arriving with the covered dishes she was thrilled. Somehow she interpreted it as Daddy's last wish. We all walked the path up to the house after the ceremony and seeing the joy on her face took away most of my pain that day at burying my father. Aunt Margaret lived another 4-5 years, and every time we'd visit she'd bring up the wonderful church ladies that brought Daddy's dinner to her house. He was buried on a Sunday (another rarity at the time) and that night my family and I went to church. I still had my black dress on, but I wanted to thank the ladies in person. I can see your patient's daughter feeling just the same way. You brought tears to my eyes and happiness to my soul with your story.

Thank you so very much for your comment, P RN. And for your own touching story. You paid homage to your father, Aunt Magaret, and the church ladies. A heartfelt thing to do in the throes of grief.Isn't this one of the great things about being a nurse? And this website? We get to share our knowledge, experiences, heartfelt feelings, and heartaches.I must pay a word of tribute here. I recalled this time in my life due to reading gladyscruz's wonderful article, "You Think She May Come and See Me Today?" It set off a flood of memories for me.And, it's like Charles Schultz said (through his character Linus Van Pelt): "Love is like jam- we can't spread even a little without getting some on ourselves."Once again, thank you. And bless YOUR heart.( I have to add this to the edit: As a child, I heard the phrase, "bless your heart". I loved it, and use it regularly. Then, as an adult, a nurse friend told me, "Down south you can talk bad about someone as long as you 'bless their heart' afterwards." Is this true? If it is, I don't mean it that way.)

Very moving. These are some of the touching moments that make me proud to be in this noble proffession. God bless you davey do

I have read that too Davey Do. I've never said it in that manner, but I'm sure that veiled criticism is hidden by many a phrase. It's probably a combination of paperback authors and truly shallow people thinking they are being subtle and clever.

Olgie- Thank you for your comment. I like your reference to nursing a being a "noble profession". To serve others in their time of need truly that. When we strip away all the personalities, politics, paperwork, the bureacracy and the bull hockey, it all comes down to serving others. Sharing stories of serving others helps to remind me of what I'm doing here. Discovering this website has given my feelings towrd my career a little boost. It's good to have a little pick-me-up now and again. Communicating with like minds does just that. I have my co-workers/friends where I work. We help to buoy each other on in tough times. And, we're good companions when there's smooth-sailing.This website is like a candy store. And I get to be the kid. I get to pick and choose the topic I want to read bout, learn, or discuss. It, too, obviously, is a buoy for many in a stormy sea. Thanks again for your comment, Olgie.P RN:It's interesting that you referred to paperbacks in connection with the phrase, "bless your heart". The nurse who made that reference reads her share of paperbacks. She probably made reference to the phrase after I used it with her. She is a very good nurse with a good sense of humor. I'm sure she meant nothing derogatory- she was probably being more humorously endearing. That's one of the things about regionalistic colloquialisms- they are often interpretted diferently by different people. I just wanted to make clear my intention. I got to learn something in the process. So now I can easily say, "Bless your heart, P RN!".Oh gosh- I neglected to comment on the portion of your statement that reads, "veiled criticism is hidden by many a phrase". I love that! It is so poetic! May I use it? It would be such a good way to identify out passive-aggressive behavior without being caustic. If not, that's okay, too. Thanks.

Davey, of course you can use any caustic or non caustic poetic or just blessed phrasings I may pass on aggressive or not. I found this perfectly awesome site that includes bless your heart, collard green sandwiches and microwave grits.......Villines Internet Humor Archive - Bless Your HeartBy the way do you push the elevator button or do you mash it?

P_RN:It just doesn't get any better than this.Thank you so much for the kind reply and the truly humorous link. I had to ask my co-worker what you meant by the "push or mash" question. To answer your question, I usually take the stairs. Both for exercise and in order to avoid answering such questions.People also still refer to "dialing" the telephone number. I don't think I've dialed a telephone since the early 1980's. We could have opened a whole new can of worms: Are people in the South referring to the act of dialing the telephone as "mashing the numbers", while people in the North are "pushing" them? Both could just refer to the act as "dialing"? However, "dialing" is an archaic action. Who knows?But, thanks for the feedback.Toodles.

KUDOS UPON KUDOS!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for your article, Davey Do. It was very moving. As a teacher, it was always very rewarding when parents would call to express their gratitude for making a difference in the academic lives of their children, or when a supervisor praised a lesson, or when a student said "thank you" or "I love you." One rewarding experience that I never, ever forgot was from a student. See, this child had never passed his science state exams, but I had seen a gradual improvement in his abilities. I tutored him afterschool, four days a week, for many months. He really WANTED to pass; he met me halfway, and when we got his results, we learned that he recieved a commended score (95%)! I told him how proud I was of him and he said, "Thank you, sir, for everything. You've been the dad I've never had." I later learned that his father had left his family for another woman when the student was 5 years old. Since then, I have made sure to treat EVERY student as if they were my own. Your article portrays the impact that a public servant can have on an individual and/or loved ones, whether as a teacher, nurse, firefighter, or police officer. I cannot wait to become the nurse I was born to be and to serve humanity with a caring heart.

Otessa:Thank you for the "kudos upon kudos". I'm interpretting that as, "I can relate and want to reinforce you". You have probably had similar experiences in your 18 year career with the various areas you have worked.Which also brings me to another point: I am relatively new to this site, so I don't know all the fine points. Kudos for example. Is there criteria for doling them out? It doesn't matter. I have my own criteria: Touch me, in some way- whether it be intellectually or emotionally. Give me something I can relate to, give me information, allow me to see a different perspective, make me chuckle, and you've got yourself a kudo. Otherwise, I say something to myself, like, "Yeah, well, that's your opinion." And we all know opinions are like lower esophageal sphincters.And now that I've thought about it, I'm going to say to you, Otessa, "Comin' back atcha!" for giving me a seque into this topic.The best to you.FMON: ( I can hear Cheech Marin, in his gutteral Latino accent saying, "AAAYYYE! F-MON!" With all due respect, of course.)We can relate. We touch others lives and they touch ours.It's interesting that you've chosen the pathway you have, transitioning from Education to Nursing. A good buddy of mine went from Nursing to Special Education. This man was a GREAT nurse. He's probably a great Educator. In his 40's, he decided to change careers, for various reasons. It would be interesting to hear your story. In 25 words or less, please. And there WILL be a test on this material.Thanks for your comment.