Will the happy nurse be there?

For the most part this blog will follow me in the next year preparing to retire.
Some of you may be thinking, well that is good for her, but I am a long way off.
How do I get by now, when I don't know if I can take it any more?

Here is something I wrote to myself about 10 years ago.
I still think of it often, and hope it will help you too:

...When my daughter was little, many years ago, there was a nurse
in my family practice office that I will always remember.
Heavy set, middle aged, rather plain but always pleasant and smiling with my sick child.

After a while when I had to take my daughter to the doctor she would say -
"Is the happy nurse going to be there?"

Well, maybe she has a pleasant stress free life,
I thought. She must have it better than me.

Well, to my surprise I found out she didn't. The "happy nurse"
herself was undergoing cancer treatment. The "happy nurse"
endured a buy off of her clinic from a small business to a large
for profit HMO and hospital group. You know what? She must
have survived the cancer because she turned up a year ago in a branch
office, just as smiling, helpful and cheerful as ever.

Sometimes when I drive to work, I think about her. She may not
get a 5 star evaluation. She may not have perfect heath, or even a good figure.
She may not have a romance or stable employment.
But she does bring light, joy, humor and hope to all she touches.
And isn't that what healing is all about?

My favorite movie is "Patch Adams".
(Now available to rent on DVD or VCR.)
It was about a doctor who chose to infuse humor in his work life...

Patch says it is not hard to offer others humor.
You did not need to be a comic or don a clown outfit.
His definition is:
"Humor is a smile on your face
a twinkle in your eye
and a willingness to greet."

Doing life in a state of grace communicates wordlessly and perfectly.
Truth is simple, and peace is fun, joy is contagious.

So don't hold back your unique wonder and innocence.
Remember the advice of Henry David Thoreau:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away."