Thursday Thoughts

I'm heading out tonight to a going away party for one of my buddies at the hospital who is moving on to bigger and better things. Someone asked me a few nights ago when my last night was, and it got me to wondering just what that would feel like. I'm not quitting (yet), but these are people I've been working with for 21 years. They're more than coworkers; they're family. Granted, the friend who is leaving hasn't been working there that long, but she was already one of the gang.

I know there are a lot of places where the nurses don't get to know each other very well. It's a job and that's all it is. I don't really see how that can be when you spend 12 hours with them three nights (or days) a week. That's more time than some people spend with their own family, and we've gone on vacations together, celebrated birthdays and holidays, and watched our children grow up, get married, and have children of their own.

That's why I won't be having a going away party, because I'm really not going away, and I hope I never have to. They're my friends, my family, and I love them all dearly.

Which is something to think about.