Her Last Night

Our daughter’s been a traveling nurse for a few years now. Her last assignment was in our hometown, which meant that when she drove up here to work three nights in a row, she could stay at our house. Twelve hour shifts from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. would do me in, but she loves them. Legally, she had to pay us “rent,” and she did, because she wanted to do everything RIGHT, but the best part, for us, was getting to see her more than usual.

We bought a second coffee pot so she could wake up to hot coffee. And I cooked a meal for her every time before she had to go to work, because if she got busy, she never knew when she’d have to time to grab something to eat. I sent her a “lunch box” every night she worked, too. HH teases me that I show my love for people through food, and he must be right. Because I tend to cook for the people I care about.

I have to admit, I’ve had a lot less time to write since she’s been staying with us. But let’s face it. Once this assignment’s done, I won’t get to see her that much again. And this is her last night at the hospital The hospital liked her enough to reassign her as a traveling nurse over and over again, but hopefully, Covid’s calming down, and nurses won’t be swamped anymore. As a matter of fact, for the moment, there are enough empty beds that even regular nurses are getting down-staffed there.

In one way, we’re all relieved this assignment’s over. She’s made the two-hour drive back and forth for over a year. She won’t miss it. She’s even talking about looking for a job as a regular nurse in Indy and calling traveling quits. It takes a toll after a while. I’ll miss her, but I really could use a regular routine and write more again. But all in all, I’m so glad she was part of our household for a while. I’ll miss having her pop in for a few days at a time. For all of us, it was wonderful while it lasted. And now it’s time to return to regular routines once more.