Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mother's Day : A lesson in Gratitude

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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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