Today I was struck by how temporary this life is. And that might sound strange because, for most of us, life is the longest thing we will ever do. And there is certainly some truth to that. But today, when I was working with my 97 year old patient, I was struck by how temporary this phase of my life is.
She asked me how my weekend was; a question I get asked a hundred times on Mondays as there is no better conversation starter. I filled her in on the daily ramblings of my 48 hours of bliss. I told her about this new guy I've been seeing, the awesome dinner we went to on Saturday night and my musings following the Super Bowl. I looked up from my clipboard and saw this twinkle in her eye.
"I remember those days" She smiled and tilted her head ever so slightly to the right as she drifted off into what "used to be". She told me a few stories about when she met her husband, how beautiful their small farm wedding was and how the biggest blessing in her life is her 34 great/grandchildren. Her laugh lines told as much of the story as her words and I was mesmerized by her wisdom.
She told me not to take this time in my life so seriously. To approach each day as it comes and not worry about the next. She said the most important thing is to spend time with people you love, have conversations that matter (the weather is never an interesting topic to chat about) and sleep naked as much as you can while you still have a body you're proud of! I laughed so hard at the last one and then she added:
"And most importantly laugh until you cannot feel your face"
I love it. Hands down the best conversation I have ever had with a patient. Its days like this that make my job so worthwhile.
No comments:
Post a Comment