Finished

Tonight at 11:30 when I hear the recorded female voice say, "Clock out recorded," that will be it. My so called "Retirement" will officially begin. When you come to the end, it is amazing how short the time seems to have been. (I have learned that is true for most things.) But when I was going through it day after day after day, I wondered if it would ever be over, and when I entered my sixties, would I ever reach my goal of leaving it all behind at sixty-five and half. Now with this afternoon's shift ahead of me - my last - I can say I made it! There is no easy nursing work, and even a calm day can erupt into a crisis at any moment. Many days however, especially several difficult ones in a row, have left me exhausted, and I am not going to miss the tired legs that came with them. What I will miss is the actual work. What is at the core of the work? I was pondering this and my answer is...timing. Knowing, and listening, and having the antennae up at all times like a mother tending to her babies are all necessary, but putting them together to make it run smoothly? Timing. The days that have given me the most personal satisfaction are the ones in which I used the art of timing with an individual or the group at large to reach positive results. (If I could only adapt that sense to the rest of my life!) It has been a good run. I have finished the course, and am ever so thankful for all I have experienced and learned.