Am I done yet

So today I had a mock graduation... not one of those meaningful, I'll remember this forever moments in life. However, it did mark the finish of my "playing nurse" and means that next time I walk onto the ward, I will be the actual nurse. When I sign my name on a chart I will be claiming responsibility for that patient. It was Aug 2002 when the first seeds of this nurse life began. I was in the hospital with my mother on a three day stint. It was the first time my mom was told her cancer was terminal. I remember how one of the nurses was doing a terrible job and I had the thought "I could do a better job than her". Then the next day, another nurse came on shift and she was great. I saw how the nurse's had immense influence on how a day transpired for the patients. They could make a day or ruin a day. I kept thinking about the two different approaches of nursing. It took several months of these thoughts percolating before I actually uttered the words, that maybe I wanted to become a nurse. I remember telling my mom and her laughing because she knew how much I hated blood, guts and pretty much anything to do with medical issues. Still, without even knowing it she taught me how to be the best nurse possible. I wish she could know that I actually carried through with the thought. It's taken 8 years for my "nurse" reality to unfold and I hope that in honor of my mom and all that she taught me I will always strive to be like that second nurse, the better nurse.