A Nurse's Poem: The Difference A Day Makes
84Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
I was inspired to write this today, thanks to my one and only sister. She surprised me with a Nurse's Day gift, for the first time ever!
I believe this was her thoughtful way of reaching out to help me through the sadness of missing Mom. I know she misses her as much as I do; but as my older sister by 10 years, she has a caring and nurturing disposition. She gave me a pillow that said: "Live well, Laugh often and Love much".
Mom taught us the value of being good to the people who mean something to you. She even pre-selected a burial stone of a high-rise style, where we cannot leave fresh flowers, plantings or wreaths. Mom wrote me that she loved that I had given her flowers every week while she was alive. Now she wanted me to spend my money on making myself and others happy in unexpected acts of kindness.
It only seems fitting to thank the many incredible nurses that I have ever worked with, supervised or taught, today, on our special day. I am in awe of the stories I continue to hear. Nurses are heroes wearing a rainbow of scrubs and whites in our midst, when we need them the most! Having been on the other side of the bed, in a life-threatening situation, I will be forever grateful those who cared for me, with such compassion and competence!
One Year Ago
It really does seem impossible to believe
That just a year ago today,
I took Mom to the Cardiologist
To see if her Pacemaker was working OK.
The doctor put his hands on his hips.
Mom looked over as if to say, "Oh no!"
Then he grinned like a Cheshire cat, saying,
"Mrs C, you have 5 or 10 years to go!"
An Ordinary Day
Such an ordinary Spring May day,
The day my oldest nephew was born!
We lunched on our favorite crabcake sandwiches.
Who knew it would soon be time to mourn?
I drove her home that day, May 6th.
I said: "Mom, I love you, I am so very proud!"
As I kissed her cheek, she gave me a big smile,
Returning my love with her look, but never aloud.
For All of Time
Mom loved all four of her children.
Of this much, I am sure.
While she saw each of us as different,
We were all, so much more.
She wrote in her Journal
That we were her life.
To her the role of Mother was more important
Than that of even being a wife!
A Not So Ordinary Day
And these four loving children
Gathered so sadly the very next night,
When called by the youngest,
Usually strong, crying with all her might.
So hard for us all, especially this nurse.
Mom's wondrous mind, reading a book into the night!
Unacceptable, heart and brain so strong!
Yet she was ready and knew we'd be alright...
© Maria Jordan (May, 2011)
To Mom, Our Georgia Peach
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You and your Mom shared an incredible bond! May all our healthcare professionals (especially Nurses) continually remember the trust we (both patients and caregivers) place in them!
Happy Nurses' Day. Your words are a shining example of the healing ways and comfort that Nurses exemplify.
nightbear~~
I wish you a Happy Nurse's Day each and every day. I have always felt this is the way it should be. When the nurses, and those who work with us and for us, all appreciate each other's worth, those special people (our patients) get really awesome care! And sometimes those people are those we really love as well...
Thank you so much for stopping by and for all you do!
Car51,
Thank you so very much for your remarks which are both supportive to me and a wonderful reminder to us all.
I wish for you a truly peaceful and blessed weekend and thank you for your many kindnesses.
Mr Sossage,
You are most kind indeed and I always appreciate when you stop by for a visit!
May you have a most enjoyable day...
I hope you had a great day full of loving memories and hugs.
This is so beautifully written and I am so sorry for your loss. I know tomorrow will bring many memories and I hope you can dwell on the happier ones. God Bless.
Happy Nurses Day, marcoujor. I guess I never knew until most recently that there is more to the profession outside of candy striping! Thanks for all the hard work.
Thank you, Hyphenbird. Mom always urged us not to "be morbid", so we each tried to honor her memory in our own way.
I appreciate your kindness and hope you have a lovely day tomorrow.
Pamela,
Thank you for your compassionate remarks. Thanks to my husband and doggie, I will be reminded of many joyful memories we all shared with Mom through the day.
May you have a beautiful Mother's Day with your family.
Credence2,
Many of us started as candy stripers- I was no exception. Those were the days!
Take good care and thanks for stopping by!
Thinking about you during this difficult time Mar. Happy Nurse's Day and Happy Mother's Day. I am a "mother" of 4-legged kids as well :) Take care,
Sharyn
Sharyn,
Thank you so very much for your understanding and support. Being Mother to our 2 and 4 legged critters is just as rewarding (at least to me). As such, I hope you enjoyed a good day yesterday, focusing on their unconditional love and your beautiful memories.
Take good care of yourself, dear friend.
I loved this piece. Your Mom was amazing with her intelligence, wit and ability to guide you all in the right direction. Her loss is painful but her strength is what has gotten you through.
Mrs J B,
I truly appreciate your insightful and supportive feedback. And you are correct, her strength continues to get me through much in life.
Be gentle with your thoughts today.
Thanks for the blog.
Grant,
I appreciate you stopping by. Thank you & take care.
This touched me so..I am retiring as a nurse this year to be with my parents more..Brought a tear to my eyes. Very loving and thoughtful hub.This is up and Beautiful..I know your mom was so happy to have you near her..
God bless you. HAPPY NURSES DAY TODAY!!!
Sunnie
Sunnie,
Happy Nurse's Day to you "every day!" To spend time caring for our parents, who so tirelessly cared for us, is the greatest act of Nursing you can ever do, in my humble opinion.
I currently teach Nursing (older students going for their BSN). My motto is "family first" with plenty of self-care in the mix.
Thank you for your lovely comments and the labors of love you do both personally and professionally.
Such a deceivingly simple, but very profound and beautiful poem. It captures the emotions of everyone of us who have lost one or both parents. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
Beautiful tribute to your mother...beautiful poetry. I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my mother on Christmas morning 2003. She died of lung cancer. I also am a nurse and I left my home in Alaska to help my father with her care during her last months. God Bless.
Seeker7,
"Deceivingly simple, but very profound and beautiful"...
You are so amazing, because you have also described my Mom. I am so grateful to be your new friend and I thank you for your insightful remarks.
Have a lovely day, mar.
Hi Denise,
I appreciate you stopping by to read this. I am so sorry about your loss and can only imagine how difficult a time the holidays were/ can be, as I now am feeling about Mother's Day. We have much in common. I found that my Nursing background did not prepare me much for the "heart"work involved, but we do the best we can.
I am looking forward to reading your beautiful work.
Have a good week, mar.
This is such a lovely devotional hub, and somewhere in Heaven your mom is very proud of you. God Bless You Dear Heart.
stars439,
I am always grateful when you stop by with your thoughtful and heartfelt comments.
Hoping you have a peaceful day and GBY too, mar.
Hi mar, Wonderful mom and hub nurses like yourself who can put a 20 gauge needle in the first time have my eternal blessings. Thank god you came out on this side of the life threatening situation and your poems exude the sweetness of your soul my dear lady.
My dear Alastar,
You somehow knew I needed to hear this remarkable comment today. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being you and for stopping by!
Hoping you day is as beautiful as you. Thank you, mar.
.....you have such a beautiful heart and such a pure soul my friend - you remind me so much of my mum - and I know your mum was very lucky to have someone like you - a true gift - a true blessing - that we both have these memories of our best friends to carry with us the rest of our lives ......Happy Canada day (July 1) from Lake Erie where the current time is 11:27 am
epi,
Your comment reaches into my heart and soul. It humbles me that I would remind you of your mum. I thank you for being a special part of my life.
Happy Independence Day (July 4) from PA where it is a few minutes after 11:27AM (the month and date of my birth, dear man!)
Truly wonderful! I was a nurses aide for a year(until my back disagreed with the occupation). I was also married to a nurse for 14 years. There is no occupation that I have more respect for.
Thank you so much for stopping by, Yeshuan.
I am terribly sorry for your injury. As my husband was a nurses' aide when I first met him and by being in the healthcare field in general, I know how rough it can be on our physical and emotional wellbeing. Yet, to me, I have never been sorry to have chosen the profession. I learn something and am forever humbled by some patient or student each and every day. It truly is an awesome career.
Please take care of your health first and foremost, mar.
Lovely Mar. I truly enjoy the images not only seen, but felt in my heart. UP UP And very beautiful.
Johnny Love
Mr Love,
I love your visits as I have an opportunity to wish you and the joyful Jenna a most peaceful day. I am so glad you enjoyed this and will visit you soon, mar.
I was in school to be a nurse before so you pulled me in
Johnny, You surely have the inner sensitivity and intuition that it takes to make a fine nurse, which I suppose is what makes you such a powerful and expressive writer. It all starts blending at some point I have found.
Have a wonderful day with your lady love, mar.
Thank you. You do the same. I am trying to enjoy a week off from classes so i will be chilling.
You mom left a great legacy for you and your sister and following that disposition is truly a good way of living. Keep doing good. Great piece
Wise, beautiful and supportive words. Thank you so much for stopping by, ubanichijioke, and may you have a lovely day, mar.
This hub really touched my heart as you filled it with so much of your mom's love and devotion to family. She seemed like the type of woman who was always concerned about the well being of others as evidenced in this amazing sentence: "Mom wrote me that she loved that I had given her flowers every week while she was alive. Now she wanted me to spend my money on making myself and others happy in unexpected acts of kindness." It's as if she was guiding you to honor her by passing on to yourself and others the kindness that she always showed others.
Am so sorry for your loss but glad that your sister is there to share your grief and also remind you what your mom wanted for all of her children: "To Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much."
Oh Gail,
I wish you could have been a fly on the wall yesterday. I felt Mom was in the classroom as I had arranged for my family to have CPR training! We had laughs with some "old knees" (etc)... and I intend to write more about it but I considered it a big bouquet to Mom. I could not save her but maybe one day a member of my family may need to know how to save a loved one and will. I truly appreciate you stopping by this one, mar.
Oh my, what a powerful and inspiring hub that will be. Can't wait till you write and post it.
You made me chuckle with the "old knees" reference. I was with my best friend from nursing school yesterday and "old knees" were definitely a topic of discussion.
Yes, Gail, my best buddy is also from Nursing school! We have many a laugh over our many aches and changes over the years... hope you are having a great day, mar.
Such a touching tribute to your wonderful Mom who certainly encouraged you to live in the right way and pass goodness on to others. So sorry for your loss but do cherish all those good memories. As I have learned, they will help.
I did not nurse for that many years but did a lot of charity work. I recently retired my RN license. You and other active nurses are to be applauded and appreciated. Someday many of us will be in the position of needing good nursing care.
All votes up...and oh yes, I can appreciate the "old knees."
Ah, Peggy, now it makes sense. We "never" truly retire our Nurse's licenses in our hearts. I can see the connection of your sensitive and inspirational words with the work/ volunteering/ writing you have/ continue to do in your life. Thank you also for your comforting words about Mom- I know you also understand this all too well.
Have a beautiful weekend and a million thanks, Maria
Hello Maria. You have 26 Hubs, and I selected this one this evening to read. There are no compassionate words that I could say to easy the sorrow of your loss. The photo of your Mother's garden looks like heaven itself. So much beauty and love, it overflowed from her. Her children seem to be following in her sunshine.
November 27. Was it a Thanksgiving day?
Dear Mike,
Your kind words are tender, supportive and most appreciated.
I can assure you that "Miss Sammie" and I would definitely have been regulars at the Emerald Wells Cafe.
Mom loved her coffee and we enjoyed our weekend breakfast gab sessions at our local diner, she was the "sweetheart", of course! And she would have greatly approved of your gentlemanly manners, even with some "unusual customer behaviors".
You are most astute. It was actually a Monday (oh gosh, 50 years ago!) How about you...? Hugs, mar.
Good morning. Nov. 23. Turkey Day, but keep that under your hat.
Miss Sammie raised a lady so I will simply be stoppin by the Cafe to treat "you" to cup of coffee and slice of cake (or pie)...! I have a hankering for pecan pie myself?!
Mar, I almost fall off my chair - how could I have missed this one? Then I saw this was published before we've met. So sorry about your mom - Only comforting fact is that she'll live on in your heart and mind until you meet again. I agree with all above comments - you do have a heart of gold - a special attribute of all devoted nurses. I'll see you later at Emeralds for coffee :)) Oh, did I say your writing is exquisite?
Dear Martie,
While you need to get up frequently from that chair, I prefer it not be by falling, sweet lady! You say the nicest things to me and it surely means the world!
I think Mike will need to reserve a permanent booth for us "bad girls" at the cafe! He will be grateful we are good tippers!
As you wrote "Emeralds", I had a glisten in my eyes, as Mom's favorite gem/ birthstone was the emerald of May... thanks for stopping by and TTYS, Maria
My Dear Mar, This tribute is so beautiful and comes with all that loving heart that I have grown to love. Like Martie, I do not understand how I could have missed this hub before. But I am so happy to read it now. I am so proud of you for your strength of character, and you were so blessed with a loving and guiding mom in you life. Be strong sweet girl. x
Dearest Annette,
I appreciate your visit to this poem very much. I am blessed with a strong character/ value set because of the love and guidance of Mom. You are so wise and your friendship means the world to me. You be strong too, mar.
Good work, Mar. I too have a dog named Baby!
PDXKaraokeGuy,
Thanks for your visit and comment. I'm glad you agree that "Baby" is a cool name for a pooch, mar.
well, it's a cool name indeed. but also so fitting, even though my "baby" is now 12 yrs old. I wrote a Hub about her: Burial and Retrieval
What an adorable title, I will stop by to check that one out for sure, mar.
Thanks. It describes her perfectly!
Dearest Maria,
What a lovely tribute to your very smart and wonderous Mother. The poetry and pictures were absolutely irresistible and it took me a few moments to compose myself afterward. Your statement, "That we were her life" grabbed my heart strings and gave a big pull. Mom says the same thing, often. She gave up her career in nursing halfway through school to marry and have children. It was a Catholic boarding type nursing school; you couldn't be married. She tells me all the time how grateful she is for us kids. She named me after the song, "Peg of my heart." You make me realize how blessed I am to still have her nearby.
Love you my dear sista. You have my heartfelt condolences for your loss. So deeply sorry.
Peg
Dear Sista Peg,
Thank you for this beautiful feedback. It sounds like our Moms would have been great buddies as well!
I know you are the kind of wonderful daughter who does appreciate every precious moment. I love the story of your name and the woman you have become, largely in part due to your sweet Momma.
Have a lovely day. Love, Maria
mar, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed Baby :--p
Nurses are the best! Lovely job on these!
Justin, your 'Baby' remains in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks for this wonderful comment, Audrey.
It is wonderful to meet you and I look forward to checking out your writing as well.
Hope you both have a peaceful evening, mar.
Thanks., mar. She's doing great, atm
Justin,
'The difference a day can make'... and I am thrilled that your Baby is now doing great. Keep lovin her, mar.
Thanks Mar. We are too!
mar, Another lovely tribute to your mother! The pillow from your sister certainly has words to live by: Live well, Laugh often, Love much. That's a recipe for joyous appreciation of the gift of life, and your gratitude for the fullness of each day inheres in all of your writings.
One day while my sister and I were visiting our parents' graves, we were befriended by a rambunctious black lab, Gunner, and subsequently fell into conversation with his owner, Dick. As it turned out, we ascertained that his parents and grandparents had probably known our parents and our paternal grandparents. Like us, Dick had recently lost his mother. He said to us that the best tribute that we can give to our parents and to our other departed loved ones is to live our life in the way that they would have wanted for us, in the sense of living peacefully and at ease. True words of wisdom.
That, I'm sure, is what your mother wishes for you and your siblings, and you're doing that.
By the way, I love the photo of Tilghman Island. My sister Deedee (Derdriu on Hubpages) is interested in the Chesapeake Bay; I saw in a book in her collection a photo of a house style that's supposed to be specific to Tilghman in which an L-shaped house has diagonal turrets --- very interesting. I've added Tilghman to my list of Places To Visit.
Kind regards, Stessily
Dear Stessily,
Thank you for recognizing my 'gratitude in the fullness of each day'.
Thank you for sharing the magical encounter that you and your sister had at your parents' graveside with Gunner and Dick.
You will love Tilghman Island. I would love an excuse to visit, so please let me know if you are ever in the area. Hugs, mar.
Along the Same Lines
- Today - When Mom Comes to Mind
I have thought of my Mother every day and night, come rain or come shine. I know her many teachings and legacies will live on for years to come. - Poem: Strong Scent of My Mother Still
To this day, I can feel Mom's arms surrounding me with her wisdom and supportive love. Her words still provide immeasurable comfort. - Easter Meditations - A Mother's Lessons
Dear Mom, You have taught me so very much. I have not stopped learning from you since the time I was a little girl until now. Thank you for teaching me the alphabet of life. - A Daughter and Her Southern Mother - To See Loretta Lyn...
And as I looked into the full moon in God's glorious sky, I swear I could hear Mom giggling and saying: "November will come soon enough!" - Musings of a Survivor
Everyone you meet in life can teach you something, good or bad. Every day that you are alive is a special one.
Read about Ordinary Heroes
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nightbear Level 1 Commenter 12 months ago
So beautiful. I am sorry for your loss. Happy nurses' day from one nurse to another.