You are currently browsing the monthly archive for April 2012.
she had never seen
someone’s eyes see only her
she had never heard
a voice both foreign and home
she had never felt
a touch meant for her alone
she had never said
such things to another soul
she had never known
until this very moment
it could be like this
*Click here for more impressions…
I walked into a new patient’s room to assess him after his heart cath. He had family at the bedside, and one man said, “Do you recognize me?” I looked at him and said, “I know your face. And hers.” Meaning his wife standing next to him.
He had been my patient a year ago. And now I was caring for his father.
The ICU has the best vending machines after the cafeteria. I took advantage of a lull yesterday afternoon to dash over to get some candy. There were no peanut M&Ms, but I spotted some Skittles. They would do. The vending machine held on my my Skittles. The coast was clear, so I tried to give it a shake. Nothing. Some people might have taken that as a sign that they shouldn’t be buying Skittles the week they finally worked out more than two days in a row. I decided that I needed two bags of Skittles. So I returned to the station for more money.
I started counting nickels and dimes when the phone started ringing. I was in a hurry to free the dangling bag before someone else did, but I reached for the phone automatically. I hate that I do that even though there are others in the station who clearly aren’t doing anything as important as I’m doing that moment. Like going on a candy run.
Feeling the pinch of time, I opened my mouth and said:
“How am I supposed to help you today?”
I froze. I didn’t just say those words. I used a tone. There was silence on the other end for a beat. Then I took an order from the physician. As I hung up the phone I turned to the nurse next to me.
“Did I just say…?”
“Oh, yeah. You did.”
“I need some candy. Now.”
layer by stony layer
she fashioned alone
a fortress like no other
year by lonely year
she retreats from pain until
joy can not find her
day by numbing day
sanctuary becoming
solitary hell
crack by gleaming crack
she wakes to find hope creeping
crawling across walls
weakened by her growing will
to reveal her truth
layer by stony layer
Click here for more impressions…
And an older piece that fits the latest prompt….
⌂ It’s my birthday week! I took off 2 shifts this week and gave myself a whole week off. Thus begins my own personal tradition of never working on my birthday again.
⌂ My little bird has been doing very well after his freak beak accident. I had to take him to the vet to get his lower beak trimmed. (Without the top beak there it was growing like crazy and curving up and over and getting in the way of him eating normally.)
⌂ Carrying my bird to the vet allowed me to discover the unbelievable cuteness of the sound of his little feet walking around in a shoebox. I might have squealed. I never squeal.
⌂ I think I’ve finally accepted the fact that my family will never not go to a buffet. I’m growing!
⌂ 37-year-old men don’t necessarily act any better than a teenager when it comes to breaking things off.
⌂ In a related note, my original birthday plans have changed. I’m winging things a bit and making sure that I do something fun every day this week. I may still go hiking solo.
⌂ “What can you do on a windy and cloudy day?” Note to self: there is such a thing as too much wind to fly a kite. However, I can never have too many memories with my sister.
