Dear Nurse

*I wrote this after my 10 week hospital stay, while the girls were still in the NICU but I think that Nurse's Day is the perfect day to share it.

Dear Nurse,

I see you.

I see you coming to work early, even though you stayed late last night. I see you clocking off but then returning to a discouraged patient's room just to chat. I see you skipping meals to take care of the needy girl in room 16. I see you brace yourself when you have to enter the room of the not-so-nice-lady.

I see you taking food trays and making beds. I see you cleaning up messes that you could probably leave for housekeeping.

I see the frustration on your face when a doctor won't listen. I see the hours of charting you do on your own time.

I see the pain in your eyes when you can't help a patient.

I see you checking your watch, hoping you can get home in time to tuck your own child in. I see you taking the night shift so that you can make it to your son's Allstar game. I see you rushing from room to room, trying to fill every need you see.

I see you working 12 hours straight with a screaming woman, only to have to leave right before she delivers her baby.

I see you standing there, holding monitors in place in the middle of the night. I know your hands are cramping, and your back is aching, and you wish there was an easier way. I know that there are moments when you wonder if it is all worth it.

But it is.

And you might never see the fruits of your labors, but every day I get to hold them. Everyday I get to love on them because of you.

Thank you.