Tonight I went out to celebrate the retirement of Mama Flor.
I rarely go out. For lots of reasons. If you work long days that are difficult like I do, the most natural thing in the world, on your weekend, is to want to spend time enjoying staying 'in'.
Everyone who was there was wonderful. I enjoy my coworkers very much. And everyone looks so different outside of their scrubs!
Sometimes you don't recognize them. That's because long hair gets all piled up in the hat all day. For me, it makes mine somewhat wavy--the hat--so in a way it's a good thing. But people tonight said, 'I just want to pet your hair, to touch it'. Two people said it, and they were two separate times. And many people touched it, too. My hair goes all the way down my back, but at work it never shows.
Tonight I had a dilemma.
I had to buy a drink to make the toast to Flor.
I went to the bar. Two of my friends were there. I confessed I didn't know what to order. They let me take a sip of theirs. It had mango in it and blueberries. I didn't like it; it was too sweet. They took their drinks and left.
It was just me and the bartender, and two guys on barstools staring at me across the bar. It was shaped like a letter 'L', and I was on the short part.
I don't know what to drink. I don't go out. I am a mom...I said, plainly.
When I went out I used to drink ketel one red bull, but that seems old-fashioned.
The bartender asked me what kind of taste I want. We decided on fruity but not too sweet.
The next thing he said startled me.
Have you ever heard of St. Germain?
It was surreal. You mean THE St. Germain? I started thinking 'is this a SIGN???'
He explained that St. Germain is a liquor that is from elderberries. It is usually put into champagne (like a Kir Royale, which is champagne with cassis). He said if you mix it with pineapple juice, vodka and soda water it's really good.
So I had a St. Germain cocktail that was made just for me.
He said that will be eleven dollars.
I gave him a twenty. He brought me the change. I said, Wait! Would three dollars be nice for a tip? I don't know how much is enough these days...
And his face relaxed; I had caught him off guard.
Yes, that would be a very nice tip. he said, and he smiled. I knew he meant it.
Bars aren't for me.
But my kid likes to watch Bar Rescue.
I saw that he gave me a long pour on the vodka.
I made it just in time for the Toast.
Flor's dream as a child in Columbia was to come to the United States. She worked fifty years, and sometimes ached so bad because of the arthritis, her daughter said in the toast--but she never complained. She was always smiling and cheerful and ready to work. Because of her work, there was food on the table, clothes to wear, and a roof over their head. Plus, they had the opportunity to attend private school, something that was a dream of their mother too.
Flor cleans the O.R. --everywhere from inside the room (they get messy), to the break rooms, to the bathrooms. Pre-op and PACU too. There is a lot of responsibility with that job. It must be done right. Or else people get infections. Even the temperature and the humidity are tightly controlled to take care of it. She checked to make sure all that was okay too.
Everyone danced for three hours after the toast.
The D.J. was a surgical technician, the one who inspired me to write 'What Sam Wants'. His name isn't Sam. But he had his boy helping him with the music for us to dance.
They played my 'Happy' song by Pharrell Williams.
O.R. is family.
I saw breast cancer patient R.N. dancing with her surgeon who cured her. I saw the sleep apnea diabetic surgical technician get up and dance with his wife. The receptionist who is shy got up to dance. A few were the life of the party--it wasn't me! LOL--but everyone had fun being together for a night.
I hope this helps the next time you are facing having an operation. The entire O.R. is staffed by people who know each other as a team. They enjoy each other, and work well together as a cohesive unit. And when someone leaves the O.R., for example, with retirement, we bond together one last time, as ohana, just to say Aloha Nui Loa to our own.
Aloha and Mahalos,
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
P.S. Did I give Reiki? You bet. Galactic Reiki to the guardian angel of everyone in the room.
Peace.
