Snowy mornings

Thursday morning, as I walked to the van, the snow crunched under my feet and the moon was bright. I suddenly flashed back to high school, walking to the barn in the winter. I absolutely hated getting up early in the morning, swore at that time that I'd never, ever end up getting up that early and here I am doing it. Despite the fact that I long for my warm bed, waking up slowly and lazily, I love those crisp, cold mornings.

I can't explain it, but there is a calm and peace in the air that is unlike no other time of the day. In my mind, I could hear the whir of the barn fan, and the clunk of the calves' milk bottles after I fed them. Now I hear the fan of the car heater the crunch of snow as I pull out of the driveway.

Some things do change, there are no cows to feed or milk. My dad would probably be surprised to hear that on such mornings, I do think back to those times and can honestly say I miss them. Well, not quite miss them like I want to do them again, but they are good memories.

My mornings now are filled with those few residents who are early risers asking me "Are you my nurse today?" And being disappointed if I'm not. It still surprises me that I mean that much to my residents, because with 24 of them, divided by eight hours, that means they get a total of 20 minutes max of my time, most of which is not face to face. Somehow I have become someone meaningful in their life.

To have those peaceful snowy mornings first, and then be greeted this way is really just the icing on the cake.