Giving

 

 

Giving

 

 

 

Can I do something? 

Do you feel like a fifth wheel?

What will make it right?

 

 

To listen is key.

Silence is a great response.

A hug is a help.

 

 

Keep tissues on hand.

Be just a phone call away.

You'll know what to do.

 

 

 



Otis Redding:  Try A Little Tenderness

 

 

Being there for those I care about has always come very easily for me.

 

Being attentive to my patients and students is a natural part of my approach. 

 

As a nurse, I am immediately ready for the unexpected and usually feel as though I am capable of developing a ready solution.

 

One of the cardinal rules of a therapeutic, healthy relationship is to help others discover (and develop) their own answers (or solutions).

 

Most of the time being present and offering a comforting ear of support is precisely all that is needed.

 

Our time and loving attention may be the greatest act of giving we can do for one another.

 

 

"Our strength is often composed of the weakness we're damned if we 're going to show.  (Mignon McLaughlin)

Friendship

Friendship

 

 

In this busy life,

If only we understand,

What it truly means.

 

 

When someone listens,

Truly takes the time to care,

Above their own needs.

 

 

Loyal, true and kind,

A mother hen of a friend,

Is my perception.

 

 

 

 

The Pretenders:  I'll Stand By You

 

 

 

When I was young, I collected friends like charms on a bracelet.  Now when I look at my yearbooks, I'm fairly sure we won't be keeping in touch.

 

 

Today, the true friends I have are wonders in my world.  To me, with a friend, one can pick up a conversation as if no time has passed, with no judgments or excuses needed.

 

To have good friends, one needs to be one in return.  Whether to listen, support or defend, this is a role I take very seriously.

 

"She became for me an island of fun, light, wisdom, where I could run with my discoveries and torments and hopes at any time of day and find welcome."  (Mary Sarton)  



Endings

Endings

 

 

A farewell is sad,

Reminding me of the night,

I feel so all alone.

 

 

Tomorrow creeps in

Not all the same, still sunlight

Persists, and I smile.

 

 

Memory of you,

Hope for what is yet to be,

Goodbyes make me grow.

 

 

 

 

 

Vera Lynn:  We'll Meet Again

 

 

These days I attend more funerals and retirement parties than weddings and baby showers.

 

Goodbyes never seem to get easier, whether planned or sudden.

 

My Mom died three days before Mother's Day in 2010.  I remember my last words to her were: "I love you, Mom.  I'm proud of you.  See you this weekend."  

 

Almost three years later,  I still look up and expect to see her.  I can hear her words of wisdom in my thoughts in all kinds of situations. I find myself using her endearing phrases, still feeling as though she is but a phone call away.

 

If life is a tapestry, then Mom had a rich and colorful pattern, filled with the unique and beautiful stitchery of her four children, their children,  and even some of their children. 

 

Endings are as inevitable as beginnings. 

 

From my beginnings, Mom showed me how to make a difference by her example.  In the end, may our lives be filled with love and pride for the legacy we leave behind. 

"If  I had a flower for every time I thought of you ...I could walk through my garden forever."  (Alfred Tennyson)