30 days can seem like a lifetime; sometimes it almost is.
After spending 30 sometimes-dark days in hospital, surrounded by dozens of gifted and caring doctors and nurses dedicated to their daily job of saving lives, I’m happy to report that we’ve walked from the dark into the light.
My Mom worked in a hospital as a nurse most of her life, in every capacity from ER to hospice. She was a kind and gentle soul, never rattled by anything, always concerned with helping others, and had a way of keeping life in perspective. I’d sometimes ask her how her night shift went as she was cooking my breakfast for school, and she’d casually reply,
“It was a good one; motorcycle accident, gunshot, and an overdose, but we didn’t lose anyone last night. I bet you’d like some bacon with your eggs.”
I listened, but didn’t really understand her response, so I chose to eat my breakfast as my mind quickly drifted from our casual interchange of life and death to the more important matters of youth; sports, girls, and rock ‘n roll.. ok, mostly girls who liked rock ‘n roll.
As Mom cleared the breakfast table, she subtly returned to my initial question of life and death,
“You know, life is all about choices. Sometimes we get busy, and we forget about the things in life that are really important; so don’t. ”
When you’ve traversed that precarious path with a loved one, you realize there are no guarantees in this life. All we really have are time, choices, and consequences, and only one of these can we control.
And on the matter of choices, I was right about rock ‘n roll. Mom was right about the important things; about bacon, and about life.
After spending 30 sometimes-dark days in hospital, surrounded by dozens of gifted and caring doctors and nurses dedicated to their daily job of saving lives, I’m happy to report that we’ve walked from the dark into the light.
My Mom worked in a hospital as a nurse most of her life, in every capacity from ER to hospice. She was a kind and gentle soul, never rattled by anything, always concerned with helping others, and had a way of keeping life in perspective. I’d sometimes ask her how her night shift went as she was cooking my breakfast for school, and she’d casually reply,
“It was a good one; motorcycle accident, gunshot, and an overdose, but we didn’t lose anyone last night. I bet you’d like some bacon with your eggs.”
I listened, but didn’t really understand her response, so I chose to eat my breakfast as my mind quickly drifted from our casual interchange of life and death to the more important matters of youth; sports, girls, and rock ‘n roll.. ok, mostly girls who liked rock ‘n roll.
As Mom cleared the breakfast table, she subtly returned to my initial question of life and death,
“You know, life is all about choices. Sometimes we get busy, and we forget about the things in life that are really important; so don’t. ”
When you’ve traversed that precarious path with a loved one, you realize there are no guarantees in this life. All we really have are time, choices, and consequences, and only one of these can we control.
And on the matter of choices, I was right about rock ‘n roll. Mom was right about the important things; about bacon, and about life.
