I had a crappy day at work.
I know, I know. Most of you envision the life of a nurse as noble and self sacrificing. Well, I don't know about noble but I've done a fair bit of self-sacrificing for my patients over the years. Always willingly. Well, except for the time a lady insisted she needed me to squeeze between the wall and the chair she was in to scratch her....back and in raising up bonked my head on the thermostat and burst into tears. She spared me a "Are you ok?" and then pointed out the spot she needed scratched .But the reality and my years in the trenches (and I REALLY hope it's not the "years" part of it) have changed my perspective and my profession quite a bit. Nursing is getting harder. And today was no exception. I thought I'd scream if I listened to one more nurse whine, one more doctor complain, one more pass of the (*&^^ floor waxing machine!
I know, I know. Most of you envision the life of a nurse as noble and self sacrificing. Well, I don't know about noble but I've done a fair bit of self-sacrificing for my patients over the years. Always willingly. Well, except for the time a lady insisted she needed me to squeeze between the wall and the chair she was in to scratch her....back and in raising up bonked my head on the thermostat and burst into tears. She spared me a "Are you ok?" and then pointed out the spot she needed scratched .But the reality and my years in the trenches (and I REALLY hope it's not the "years" part of it) have changed my perspective and my profession quite a bit. Nursing is getting harder. And today was no exception. I thought I'd scream if I listened to one more nurse whine, one more doctor complain, one more pass of the (*&^^ floor waxing machine!Today was no exception. You know it's bad when everybody you pass in the hall says "Boy, YOU look tired." I had loads to do, complaints to listen to, a very ill man to transfer to the ICU and never got dinner.
Then I checked my voicemail. I had a message from the contest coordinator for The Suzannah, an outstanding writing contest sponsored by the NOLA chapter of RWA. My ms. THE PATRICIAN'S FORTUNE had won the competition. Just like that the fatigue, the stress everything just flew out the window! My Roman hero Damon had done it.
It's validation to have my Romans achieve such recognition. You see when I began writing in 2001....well, the very thought of a "different" time period was unimaginable to well...everyone I met. Your Romans do not have a place in publishing you foolish girl. No one would want to read them. Stay safe, write only to the market.
I listened and I learned and I shook my head politely. But I had three Roman heroes (eek..don't call Bran a Roman...he doesn't like it) who were demanding their stories be told. And so I could do nothing else. And now they are shining in wonderful contests like The Suzannah.
It's true Roman wasn't built in a day. Just one story at a time.
Can you think of a day when you thought nothing was going right and then something special happened to turn it around? If you had another chance what "different" job would you pick?
