Knowing And Believing

This is not being written to make anybody cry. In fact, the friend I gave it to is very strong in her own right, as am I. We work in an emergency room. She's a nurse. We're both addicted to sour patch kids. We both have kids that we love. Really love. I mean REALLY love. We don't always love the patients; sometimes they're mean to us even though we're trying to help them. We don't always love our bosses or our co-workers or even the men in our lives.

She is a beautiful artist and we used to just color pictures and eat candy with the few minutes of downtime we would get working in the ER. But lately, downtime doesn't seem to exist. It's just patient after patient, ambulance after ambulance, trauma after trauma. And suddenly she just gets diagnosed with breast cancer and "ain't nobody got no time for that." Suddenly she's being whisked into a surgeon's office, trying to figure out how she's going to get her son to school in time while the surgeon is talking to her. This isn't some sweet warmed-over story, so don't bother with the tears. I don't really even like the word stamped on the Giving Key I gave her. It says "believe". I prefer the word "know", as I feel like "believe" leaves room for questioning. And I don't want to question whether or not she'll be okay, I want to know it. The guys at work are shaving their heads for her and the nurses are putting together a fundraiser to help her with medical bills or whatever she may need funds for.

She's really cute, actually just so pretty, this friend. And her two little boys are gorgeous, with creamy skin and beautiful hair. And one is the sensitive one and the other is the clever one. She's beautiful inside and strong and a good mother. She' s real. I do not believe this, I know it. I really like her, and when I received my Giving Key, I could not wait to take it off my neck and give it to her. I knew she wouldn't get all sentimental as that is not who she is. And I wasn't disappointed. When I gave it to her, she said it smelled funny and sanitized it,put it on her neck and said" It doesn't really fit my neck". And I smiled and didn't take it personally, because that is why I love her. She's not at all a cry baby. There's no crying in the ER, because there is no time for it. It's too busy. So, if this story makes you cry, well, then, I think you're probably looking for something to make you cry. And if you want something to cry about, then cry because we don't give ourselves time to cry. And get a stamp for your Giving Keys that says "Know", so there is no room for questioning. And get a stamp for your Giving Keys that says "Time" because I think we all need some time to stop for a even just one minute, color a picture, eat sour patch kids, shed a few tears, and clear our hearts.