Perspective

I am a worrier by nature. If it can be worried about, it comes to me. Yesterday I was nervous about clinicals. No good reason, just that I'm so worried about messing up or hurting someone that it probably takes up too much of my thoughts leaving me a little cramped for room to do really well.
But I had a wonderful patient. I got to take out an IV, watch them hang blood & change a postop dressing. I was about to jump out of my skin with excitement.
My patient was old. Very old. But her mind was with it & she started reminiscing about her late husband. And she said something I took home with me. She missed not being able to go to church because of her arthritis. She missed what she couldn't do but she was so excited for being able to walk again without pain. She told me her husband was a great man who did everything he could for her & the children and that she never had to work a day in her life (I told her she had children so she DID work every day of her life). Then she said even in their worries about where the money would come from during the depression he told her "honey, I'll do the worryin' and you do the prayin'". Hearing stories like that puts my bad day into perspective.