Time and Patience

On and off and off and on, I have realized that many of us often hear but we don't listen. We can be very busy in our minds or just plain busy overall. Either way, there have been a few times that I have been reminded at how many wonderful little gems we may miss by not taking a few minutes to truly listen and not rush off.

I work in a hospital and things are, more often than not, insanely busy. I tend to run from room to room and try to give all my patients my best care yet, at times, I get frustrated because there is so little time to just listen or hold a hand. Now, don't get me wrong, I often take way more time with my patients than I truly should, but I just realize that there must be so much I miss due to the "busy factor".

Last night, I did manage some extra quality time for several patients and got an earful! One of my ladies was extra sweet and gracious and a bit lonely. As the evening didn't seem to be slowing up at all and I was at the point of giving up on a break at all, I found myself in Room 438. I asked if she was alright and if there was anything she wanted or needed. She said she was fine and thanked me. I noticed a book on her table and asked if she would like to read some more or would she like me to turn the lights off. She wished to read. This lead to a conversation I will never forget. We talked of reading, passions, school and such. I found out that her son did not like to read early on because his passion was music. I also found out he is an accomplished musician today. His name is Collin Tilton and he has played with Clarence Clemons and Van Morrison. She absolutely glowed and came alive when talking about him! As she gushed, I LISTENED and the stories were amazing. She has his gold record from Moondance and was awaiting his call from a gig. She said He and Clarence walked down, sax to sax at 6 flags and her son blew Clarence away. LOL!