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Friday, March 1, 2013

Tell them so...

Slice 1 of 31
 
Wow!  It feels great to insert the beautiful new Slice of Life 2013 SOLC button!  I love it's swirly blendy colors of aquamarine and pink together.  If you are regular reader of my blog, for the next 31 days, I'll be posting a daily slice.  Slices are just a little sliver of something that has struck my fancy each day that inspires a little writing.  (Sorry for this little sidebar)

Today's slice is all about angels and telling them so.  People come in and out of our lives all the time.  Day after day, we cross paths with many familiar faces and sometimes unfamiliar faces-some of them are angels in disguise.  For me, today was no exception.

As you may or may not know, my dad was hospitalized for 11 days in January.  He was in for congestive heart failure, pneumonia and a touch of the flu.  Thankfully, he got out ok and seems to be in "pretty good" health and spirits.  The good thing here is he's stopped smoking!  However, he's still recovering from some difficult issues and has high blood pressure as well as diabetes.  And now, we're going to follow-up appointments with the doctors who saw him during his hospital stay as well as having more tests done to see the condition of his heart and lungs.

During a testing procedure, we were blessed to interact with a nurse, Paula, who I believe was an angel to our family.  She helped my dad feel more relaxed about his testing, made personal connections with him and took the time to explain each step of the testing process to us. 

So how is she an angel?  Well, since she made my dad feel at ease, about the testing procedure, which was a debacle since he didn't realize he wasn't supposed to drink or have caffeine, she rescheduled part of the test for the next day.  She told my dad, "I rescheduled the other part of the test for tomorrow and I'll be here to help you through it."  In the mean time, we found out, she was offered the day off...uh-oh!

Did Paula take the day off?  No, she still decided to come in knowing she had promised my dad she'd be there.  Thankfully, we were able to hook-up with her again and she helped both my parents go through part 2 of the testing procedure.  If you could only see how relaxed she made both of them feel...I told her with tears welling up in my eyes, "You really are an angelThank you for making both of my parents feel relaxed and ok with going through the testing procedures."   She became teary-eyed as well and hugged me whispering, "You made my day."

The moral of the story is:  when feelings of love and appreciation come over you, tell the person who impacted your life just what they've done-because just maybe they really need to hear the message at that moment and what you say can uplift the human spirit!

#slice2013

22 comments:

  1. What a wonderful slice. I am so glad to hear that your father is doing well. No doubt, there are angels among us!

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  2. You so captured the power we as individual people have to make tremendous differences in the lives of others. There are indeed angels right here on earth helping us get through the maze of life.

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  3. This was a beautiful story and message you shared. I hope that "the pretty good" for dad gets better.

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  4. I love that you talked about how so many people can be angels walking among us... My students and I just read a book together intitled "The Fred Factor." It talks all about how to become a better person and inturn make others better as well. Paula seems like one of those people :)

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  5. I'm so glad you told her...and made her day. I pretty sure you are an angel in the classroom too Amy. I hope people tell you that. xo

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  6. I love how by expressing gratitude both the giver and the receiver were strengthened.

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  7. What an uplifting story! At the same time I feel a little tug in my heart to pay more attention to these angels in my life. Thanks for the reminder.

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    1. Thanks Jaana, I like that, a little tug at your heart

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  8. Such a lovely story. You really did make her day. Nurses seldom reseive such praise - my daughter is a nurse and she has told me stories!
    Thankfully your dad is doing well.

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    1. Thanks Beverly! Hope your daughter gets more stories like this!

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  9. Wow - what an awesome story! And Paula is truly an angel! It's so nice to hear that there are still caring, dedicated people in the world. I think your reminder to tell someone how they have impacted you is powerful as well. It doesn't cost anything to say thank you -- and look, you made her day too! A win-win for everyone!

    Happy to be writing with you, Amy!

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    1. Thanks Michelle! Happy to be writing with you as we'll!

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  10. True words and I'm glad you followed through and told her. Too often we let these blessings slip by and people never know the impact they make.
    Ruth

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    1. Thanks Ruth,
      Letting people know more often is now my mission!

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  11. People like Paula really do make stressful situations so much more manageable. I hope your father's continues to improve. Thank you for sharing!

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