Nurses....The HEART of Health care!
Thank YOU...Thank YOU to all the nurses who tirelessly work long hours to make us better and brighten our most difficult days. I look back over the past years and am reminded that almost weekly I have been blessed by the smile of a nurse, a compassionate hand of a nurse, or empathetic eyes of a nurse that said; "if I could take your pain away, I would." Since I was young, I had always thought I would be a nurse, but realized that needles, blood and vomit made me so queasy that I almost passed out. I tried to get beyond it, but never seemed to have much luck. I realized later that God had blessed me with other gifts as an inspirational and humorous keynote speaker and have tried to use my gifts to make all of you nurses laugh from your toes to your soul and to inspire and encourage you to keep making a difference. Some of my best days over the past year have been in your presence at nursing events across the country where I have heard your stories from the heart that will stay with me forever. This week I reflect back on the thousands of nurses who have touched my life and thank you for the amazing work you do for others. You are the HEART of Health care! R

In the sea of darkness…I Heard
1:40am
It is spring and the windows are open a crack for the mere comfort of sleeping with a cool breeze. And as the cool breeze floats in, I am tucked in under a mound of old quilts and doze off to faint wind and smells of fresh rain. Within the hour, I wake up and through eyes that could not adjust to the darkness in the night sky, my ears become my sight. I hear them calling to one another. Softly at first as if a love song voiced throughout a choir from altos to sopranos. Within minutes, the hooting becomes fiercely louder. It is familiar and instantly recognizable. The sounds are an ushering in of spring as if cymbals were clanging. I do not see them in the dark night sky, but I hear them. The loons on the lake have returned to their summer retreat where they are seldom seen by day, but through the darkness of night, their wails in rhythmic fashion calm me and a smile purses my lips. I listen, curl up, pull the quilts snuggly around my face, shut my eyes and drift off to the sounds of the night sky.

The Firsts of the Lasts

This past weekend began the First of the Lasts. It was the winter musical production of Lumberjacks and Wedding Bells where my son took center stage. As he danced with his theatrical bride across the stage and they sang together, I could feel a bubble in my belly moving its way up inside my throat. In attempt to squelch it, I let out a gasp and squinted my eyes tightly as if the water from my eyes would miraculously push the bubble back down. All in all, I think the technique worked for the most part, but somehow the bubble nicked this mom's heart on the way down. As the final curtain closed that evening, I felt somewhat like I do when playing Pictionary. At the beginning, sand seems to move slowly sifting through the hour glass timer and as it reaches the end of the minute, the upper glass tube appears to shove sand rapidly through the narrowing into the bottom portion of the glass. The game becomes somehow more intense. Performances, musical ensembles, solo contests, piano recitals, year book deadlines and endless friends coming and going. A frazzling and precious time. Just for today I will lay the hour glass horizontally and enjoy the balance.