People that touch your lives...

I have never been a person to hold a grudge.  We are all different.  I absolutely love my nursing profession with a passion.  Why?  Because I get to meet so many people.  Good, bad, ugly, distraught, stressed, in pain, angry, in denial, psychiatric, comical, bold, meek....my gosh, I could go on for days.  It is a real eye opener.  My profession makes you so very grateful for what you have.  Plus, as I always say, it makes you thankful for each and every day.  If you wake up with that mindset; then, every day is blessed.

This week has been another eye opener.  I have had two different people say, "God bless you." So, I guess I am doubly blessed this week.  Sometimes when I am at work a younger Ethiopian trauma doctor does rounds in my unit.  I really don't know his whole story.  I do know that he does missionary type work along with working in my level 2 trauma hospital.  I know he has always taken a great interest in me and others.  He wants to know you.  That in itself is special.  He loves my dogs and asks about them every time he sees me.  The video of Jet putting away the dishes in the dishwasher just blows him away.  He wants me to come to his house to train his boys.  LOL  I am the oldest bedside day shift nurse in my unit.  I am the only one with gray hair.  Every time Dr. Hinika sees me on the unit, he always stops what he is doing and comes to me.  He asks how I am and he "touches" my hair.  He says in his country if you touch the hair of the elder, who is given revered respect for their knowledge, GOOD things will happen to you.  So, he touches my hair, gives me a hug and then says his day is now going to be wonderful since he ran into me.  Then with a twinkle in his eye he tells the younger nurses to 'listen" to me and learn. :0)

Secondly this week, I received another God bless you.  "You are an angel in my eyes."  Now how often do you get that in your profession?  LOL  And, I wasn't even at work.  I was at home.  Wayne and I finally have a few extra funds from my father's passing to remodel the bathrooms in the house.  The upstairs bathroom is 4 X 6 and the half bath downstairs is even smaller.  The dry wall is falling apart from the walls and it's really time to do something about it.  We are so busy, we never pay any attention to the house falling apart. It's about time.  After getting 3 estimates from different construction companies we settled on the last estimate.  The construction manager is a young Israelian.  Young to us is in their 30's.  He, Jerry, (not his Israelian name) was amazed that we live on a "farm."  Yeah...a farm of all 3 acres.  But, to him, a city boy, it looked like a farm. :0) 
He couldn't believe my hobby of working the dogs on the "deer."  "I saw deer when I came up your driveway."  I loved it.  I had to explain to Jerry that those aren't deer; they are sheep.  Maybe, the Barbs look a bit like deer.  After discussing our plans for the bathrooms, he wanted to see the dogs work.  So, I took Kilt outside and she worked my 7 sheep around the property.  He couldn't get over it!  What we take for granted, was something he had never seen before in his life.  A dog taking whistles and knowing what each whistle meant.
At our next meeting Jerry brought a design person to help us pick out stuff for the bathrooms.  He guessed we would never get around to picking out toilets, etc. by ourselves with our busy schedules.  He is an intuitive man.  He was right.  Jerry has some facial scars and looks older than his 30 something years.  There is something deep and sorrowful in his eyes.  At first, I thought him a bit odd at our first meeting, but never judge a book by it's cover.  I think he is really "genuine."  Once he found out I was a nurse, he couldn't stop thanking me for doing what I do. He kept saying, "God Bless you."  I showed him a picture of my boys in the military.  He stayed late and told us his story of being in the Israeli army for 3 years on the front line.  It is mandatory that the men give 3 yrs. to their country in the Army. At 18 yrs. of age, you go to into the military, whether you want to or not. We all had tears in our eyes.  He still has a bullet lodged in his leg.  He lost two of his closest friends while at war. Friends that were closer to him than his own brothers. When he spoke of them, tears rolled down his cheeks.  Wayne and I were glassy eyed and we all ended up hugging.  We were very touched that he shared that part of his life with us.
I get that all of the time in my profession.  Family members say, "We have never heard her share that story with a stranger before."  I think it is because I am a nurse.  Compassion is what my profession is all about.  I care.  People feel that I care and share parts of their lives that they normally wouldn't.  In that respect, I so love being a nurse.
Next time, Jerry comes, he is going to bring his 2 yr. old daughter.  Jet will perform for her.  We will let her feed our "deer."  Isn't life grand!