That's right. I woke up Friday morning and I just wanted to stay in bed. I had pushed my mind and body pretty hard the last few days and I was afraid I would not have the emotional strength to be a positive quiet presence at the hospital. And I was glad I had to go because if I had had a reason to stay home, I would have just slowly and quietly made it through the day... but I could not let myself stay at home because I felt like doing it... I cared too much for the other members of the chaplaincy team and for the patients who might need a quiet presence and a warm handshake. I was glad I got past the gray clouds in the morning and I felt quite content as I looked at the gray clouds Friday evening.Friday was the last day a very good friend, Brian, would be working at the hospital. He was headed for California to take two weeks' training for a new job with which he was very happy. A friend is a friend, right. And I would have just felt unreal for many months if I had not been there to tease him, thank him for the good times we had had.
He was one of those folks that got me laughing and laughing and I had those mixed feelings... I would miss him a lot but I was glad he was happy and he is one of my facebook buddies, so we had a whole lot of cyber coversation ahead.So, after a lot of challenging moments and laughing moments and just being there with people in their pain moments,
I headed for my favorite restaurant for some quiet time, a very tasty meal, and some wonderful smiles from folks at the restaurant whom I really treasure. This was one wonderful Friday filled with laughter and pain and loving... thank God!
