Reconnections...

Sometimes, the unexpected just happens. I like it that way. Too much planning can ruin something….I think.

And today has been one of those days. I went to a seminar today, an update on the latest “best practices” in wound care. I always learn something at these seminars. The body of knowledge that I am responsible for, as a registered nurse, is staggering. So, seminars are a welcome opportunity to gain new knowledge and learn new guidelines.

Something else always happens when I attend these seminars: I reconnect with my profession. I always come away from these opportunities with a renewed sense of belonging and pride in my chosen career.

Today, I was able to talk to a couple of dear friends that I have not seen in years, literally! I asked one of them how old her baby is now…..and was amazed to learn that he is a fourth-grader! I guess it has been a while since I last saw her.

The seminar room was set up with round tables, each with places for eight people. I sat with three other nurses from my home health agency, a physical therapist and occupational therapist from our outpatient wound care clinic, and an LVN who is the full-time caregiver for her mother.

We had a delightful time at lunch, “talking shop” with each other and including everyone at the table in the conversation. Several people dropped by the table to visit with old friends. The OT sitting next to me asked me if I know a particular PT, and I do, since we work together. More than that, the OT at the seminar is friends with that PT from the agency, whose best friend is the wife of the salesman who sold me my Prius.

That’s how it is in Podunk.

Connections abound in a small town. Sometimes. And sometimes, not. My high school class had a reunion and I didn’t know anything about it until after it happened. One of my new patients has a son who graduated from high school with me, and he had been in town to attend the reunion. And I missed it.

So, I went online over the weekend and joined Classmates. When I got home today from the seminar, I had an email from a long-ago friend, who saw my profile on Classmates, asking me to be “friends” with her. I sent her a long email in response. And of course, I accepted her friendship request.

I also had a voicemail from my son. He invited me to go out to dinner with him and my two grandsons. I was glad to accept because I haven’t seen him, or the boys, in almost a month. We met at a local Mexican restaurant that is owned by a gentleman whose son was on my grandson’s baseball team last summer. The owner stopped by our table to inquire if the boys are playing football this fall, and of course, they are.

And so, a day of learning became a day of reconnections….with knowledge, with pride in my career, with old friends, old classmates, and my sweet little family.