I will not be posting a picture perfect
snap of me and my kids on our idyllic Mother’s Day this year.
I awoke at 7am to the simultaneous ring of
my pager (I’m on call) with the impending news of 2 new admissions, as well as
the voice of my children asking why I wasn’t out of bed yet...No sleep in for me this year.
I ate breakfast surrounded by a cranky Toby
who is just recovering from gastro and still can’t eat and a ravenous Mia who
is now 1 week post gastro and making up for lost time while gloating about it
to her queasy brother. Needless to
say, it wasn’t the big family brunch we have had on past years.
I spent my morning rounding on
the inpatients at the hospital, answering phone calls, putting out fires,
discussing CT scans with radiologists and antibiotic adjustments with
pharmacists, and missing out on
the fun family adventures my crew was having at the lake.
When I had finally finished at the hospital I ventured out on a bike ride. Right when my odometer joyfully announced that I was at the
15km halfway mark of my ride the heavens
opened up and a down pour ensued. Quite possibly the very WORST time for
the rain to start while on a bike ride, I now had the full 15 km distance to do over again in the rain.
And then, after making a wonderful big meal
for my family for Mother’s Day, I
got called in to assist in the OR the second I went to dish out the plates.
Sound awful? Well…actually…not so fast…
So here's my picture :
Please ignore the state of all of us in
this picture. We are dishevelled; on
call hair and glasses for me, post gastro pallor for my kids. But we are smiling.
We are smiling because, for the first time
in 8 days, we are healthy. You know that innate sinking feeling of unsettledness
you get when your kids are sick? Mine
dissipated this morning. And what
follows is a joyous explosion of the heart called gratitude. Despite the bleariness, my eyes are announcing that all is right in my
world again.
Yes, I had to work today, but I’d venture to say that working in
the hospital on Mother’s day is one of the best days of the year to do so. There were cakes and treats
everywhere. Nurses gave out hugs
and patients wished me a Happy Mother’s day. I brought roses to hand out and my colleague brought
cookies. As we passed them out to
patients and staff the smiles grew.
One lady in particular, a withered soul with a wispy voice saw me
handing a rose out to one of my patients in the next bed and sweetly asked, “Is
that a …FLOWER?” I told her it was
and offered to give her one,
“Oh, YES” she said excitedly in the saddest, oldest voice ever, “I would LOVE a flower.” I put it into a styrofoam cup of water and placed it on her table. “THANK YOU” she exclaimed breathlessly, “It’s BEAUTIFUL.” She smiled so hard I thought her teeth might fall out.
I left the hospital that morning feeling
appreciated, and hoping fervently for these sweet old souls that I wouldn’t be
their only visitor today.
And then I went on my bike ride. I was indeed at the farthest point in my ride when it started
to rain, but as I ventured down a different road to make the return shorter, I
rode past a cemetery, with a long line of cars in front of it. I watched as people offered flowers, in
the rain, to their loved ones. "What could be worse than biking in the rain?" I had thought to myself only a few minutes earlier...I then
had 14km of fresh rain and solitude to reflect on how lucky I am not to have to
send or receive flowers in a cemetery this mother’s day.
And the dinner time interruption? A new mom in the waiting…a baby in an undesirable
position…my very favourite operation to assist with - - a Csection. What a privilege it is to help ease a new being into the world and
in doing so, create a mother…on Mother’s day.
It might not have been my perfect Mother’s Day. But it offered a perfect
perspective on what’s important in life.
Happy Mother’s day, Everyone. May it find you all healthy, dry, appreciated and
full of gratitude.
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