Rear View Mirror
We talked tonight about All. The. Things. in our very long nursing careers. We had met over a decade ago. Time had slipped away from both of us.
We talked about The Good. The Bad. And The Ugly. How bright and shiny we used to be and how we are now — wizened and wiser.
After I left her tonight — I was overcome with a feeling of sadness. And I am not sad often.
I had spent twenty-five years of My Life in this career.
It has left me with a lot of road rash from the shields I had to carry and sore shoulders from lifting a sword to fight way too many battles.
Every. Fucking. Shift. Every. Fucking. Day.
I looked at my friend over a glass of wine tonight. She was only halfway through it all. I would be done in less than a year. I would be walking away — free to be myself again. For keeps, not just on vacations and weekends.
And I felt sadness for her. And all the nurses out there. Fighting the good fight.
Every. Fucking. Shift. Every. Fucking. Day.
Because no one else gives a shit except us. Not the administrators, not the managers, not the doctors, not the government, and not the insurance companies.
WE are the only ones out there standing up for patients and any kind of compassionate care at…
