Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams
She had been retired for four years, and with each passing month she felt farther and farther removed from the work world that had dominated her life. It was such a pleasant life, this getting up when she woke up and going to bed when she was tired! After her husband had retired, they did most things together. They took trips together that were wonderful-- Italy and Switzerland, the southwest US... and of course to visit family. Grocery shopping. Socializing with couple friends. It seemed the only time she went out by herself was to visit her aged mother and the occasional meal out with old friends. She found herself feeling a little isolated...
When the invitation to join some former work friends for lunch came, she jumped at the chance. It had been a long time since she'd visited with these friends. They were all nurses, one was retired like she was, the other two still working. They had been part of a leadership team that had meant a great deal to her-- together they'd built a fledgling new hospital into an excellent center of healing.
They met at a local restaurant, just a short distance from the hospital so the two still working could get back to work quickly. The server who waited on them was a large woman, fairly young. She was all business, and very efficient and polite. Like all good servers, she made herself useful without intruding on the lively conversation that the group of four were having.
They talked about their families, their lives, how the hospital was faring these days. They laughed and shared a few photos. The food was really not that important to the enjoyment of the get together, but it was good.
About the time they were ready to take the checks, the server approached them. She looked at one of them and asked, "Did you work at the hospital?" Shelley nodded. The server looked again, this time at Nell and asked the same question, "Did you work at the hospital?" All four chimed in-- "We all did! Two of us still do!"
She had been approached in the past when out in public by former patients who remembered her and she always held her breath, thinking, "Did I do a good job for them? Did everything go okay? Are they okay now?" She was certain all four were thinking this as the server spoke. What if she is going to complain? Or get mad?
The server began to tell her story... of how she had her baby (on the unit Barb was leading at the time...), ended up with complications that resulted in a two week stay on the Med/Surg unit (that Lisa had led...) and a referral to the Wound Specialist (Shelley!). And Nell, the VP of Nursing at the time, had been in to visit with her several times during her stay to make sure everything was going okay. Each of the four had touched her life in some way. Their jobs had been to make sure her stay went well.
The server ended her story by saying, "Thank you for the work that you do. Thank you for your kindness. It made all the difference. What you do matters to those of us out here... God Bless You!"
Still a little misty thinking about this, she realized that what she will remember most from the server speaking to them is "What you do matters to those of us out here... " She will try to remember those words when she feels isolated and perhaps a little left behind. Kind acts of service years ago can have a ripple effect that one will rarely will ever know about. No matter one's profession, what we do matters. Not only nurses, but literally everyone... even retired people... can impact the lives of those around us in ways we can't fully know. What we do matters.
