On Meeting a Stranger

From To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue

With respect
And reverence
That the unknown
Between us
Might flower
Into discovery
And lead us
Beyond
The familiar field
Of weariness
And the old walls
Of habit.

I met a stranger last night. Her name is Debbie, and she's one of two realtors who came to my house to check it out for possibly listing it to sell. She was charming, friendly and efficient. In the course of filling out all the paperwork and talking about the good, the bad and the ugly of my property, she asked me what I do for work. I told her that I am a nurse currently working as a manager and then added that I manage the Life Flight emergency helicopter service at Iowa Methodist. She teared up and out flowed her story: her two teenage sons were in a horrible car crash in July of 2005 (not too far from where I live) on Interstate 35. Two young women traveling north crossed the median, hitting her boys head-on at highway speed. Both women died instantly. Both of Debbie's boys were flown to Des Moines; one was flown by my Life Flight crew. Debbie couldn't express her gratitude enough for the care her son received from my crew. Over and over..."thank you, thank you. You guys do such good work! I knew I wanted both my boys at Methodist because you have the very best trauma team around."

Some days I hate my job; I get so tired of and so bored with the same old complaints and issues. Last night, though, I couldn't have been prouder to manage my awesome team. They do such good work....and sometimes it takes meeting a stranger to remember that.