a very, very good day

it's no secret that i have no life to speak of outside of work and family.  frankly, though, i get out enough.  and there isn't time for much of anything else in between.  one of the perks of working in medical records is the amount of 'company' each of the three of us who work in there gets - specifically for that person.  don't get me wrong - the visits aren't long, but they're fun.  and today was great.  we had ms. hadley in for coffee.  i took some gourmet stuff in, produced by a major candy company and she was the first in line for it ;-)   jim the social worker stopped in as usual, first thing this morning and visited and shot the bull with ms. horton and me for a few minutes.  and then atkins, my old buddy who quit the prison before i did, called, asking for the fax number so she could fax her application in to the director of nursing, and would i deliver it to her personally.  of course.  atkins, i'll always be your secretary!  later in the day, as i was coming in from my lunch time cigarette break, i saw a familiar head in front of me.  kept trying to place him but it just wouldn't come into focus...and then it hit me.  it was the irreverand, as i called him years and years ago before i ever went to work for doc.  i called out to him, he turned around and he remembered me.  he asked about mom and dad, gave me a hug, we chatted in the hallway for a few minutes and then he had to catch up with the other chaplains who were probably out of the building by that time.

and then, andrews came in.  she winked at me and said, i'll see you in a few!  and she came, swooped me out of medical records and we went for a quick catch up break and chatted for a bit.

and then bryant came in, and at the same time, the hospital administrator came in and while bryant was extolling her virtues and letting lucas know that she had been contract for six long years and had done every job imaginable except for nursing, and that was debatable...well, i couldn't help it.  lucas was already pointing at me and laughing, so i said it.  i said...it's getting kind of DEEP in here, isn't it?

but see, i can tease bryant that way because she's so much a part of the family.  we had a great time laughing.  and later, on an excursion to check the mail, i saw agy walking down the hall.  and lambert.  and gillespie! all of them from the prison i left.  i hugged them all and went back to work, and that was pretty much it for the day.  and believe it or not, the day was productive.  we got in our monthly activity report without mentioning company or visits from the outside.  and we got a lot of work done, too.

and later i talked with my old friend, charles.  what a sweetie pie he is, no matter how intimidating people think he is. 

it was a very, very good day, and the only dark spot in it was finding out that gentry, who is on a leave of absence, will not be returning.  DOC has lost one of the finest nurses it ever had.