Lessons in life

Sometimes you just have to pass on opportunities that come your way.

I did that on a recent shift when the Slug brought his/her kids to the unit while they waited for Parent #2 to pick them up.

Tweener, the Slug's sporting child came in while I was eating and asked, "Is it fun to work with  my Parent (the Slug)?" Of course, I immediately quashed the urge to jump all over that one. Kids in Tweener's age group like sarcasm, but tend to feed it right back to parents when they think it's needed, especially as a weapon. Tweener decided to regale me with the "My parent doesn't do this, is grumpy at home and sometimes mean. They say Parent is a lot of fun to work with."

I remembered my New Year's resolution to get out of the gossip and downing of others, so I had a good time using those therapeutic communication skills to extricate myself.

"Well," I said, "You know, nursing, especially here at the Hotel, can be a hard job. (Tweener shakes head) Do you want to be a nurse?"

Tweener says yes, but he/she's really interested in veterinary stuff, however, he/she's not sure about drawing blood.

"You know," I said, "You might change your mind. It's not surprising that it seems scary. It's a job we have to do, but if you're good at it, you learn how to do it without hurting anyone." Tweener nodded head in affirmation.

"I'm going to go get some pizza. See ya!"

And so another placid shift passed at the Hotel and I thanked my lucky stars, even as I scraped the springtime snow off my car.

Stay tuned...