“Yes, Mom. I actually moved my legs and walked,” I teased her.
“Thanks for telling me, honey. I wasn’t sure anyone was going to use the trail in the winter. But I decided to scoop the snow out of the way anyways, just in case.”
“It was perfect, Dad. The path was all clear and because we had a few warm days, even the residual snow had melted off the trail. It was a beautiful hike.”
“Are you going to turn into one of those fitness junkies who eat kale and works out all the time?” Mom asked.
“I don’t think so, but would that be all that horrible? At least I’d be healthy for a change.”
I knew my mother and father were just worried about me. I had spent so many years lying to them about where I was going and what I was doing that it was hard for them to transition into actually trusting me. I didn’t blame them, though. I had set up our relationship with a lack of trust and it was my responsibility to earn it back.
“So, what’s new at work, dear?” my mom asked as we ate.
“There’s a patient who I think I helped today,” I said.
“Well, that’s good. Tell me about it.”
I loved that my parents seemed genuinely interested in what I did with my day. My father certainly didn’t want me to keep working at the rehab facility, but even he could put on a supportive face while we had dinner together as a family.
Sometimes, it really baffled me as to why I had thought my life was so horrible when I started drinking and partying all the time. I could still remember telling friends that my parents were the equivalent to Nazi guards. The memory made me cringe as it passed through my head. My parents had only been worried about me and wanted the best for me. They had put a curfew on me if I was to stay in their home and I had called them Nazis. It wasn’t the proudest moment in my life, that was for sure.
“He wasn’t coming to groups or doing pretty much anything at all. I think he was depressed. But today I got him to come to a group and he even made a collage for his mother who passed away. I think it was a lot of progress for him.”
“You are such a sweet girl, honey,” my mother said.
“I hope those people appreciate all that you do for them,” my father replied grumpily.
“Dad, I get paid to work there; isn’t that enough?”
“People should show appreciation for others, though. They better be nice to you or they’ll have your angry papa bear hunting them down.”
My father had a dry sense of humor, but my mother and I appreciated it. Sometimes, other people thought he was being serious, though, and that was embarrassing. I hated when he would make a joke and someone would just stare blankly at him, but my mother seemed to be used to it and didn’t even tell people when he was joking.
I decided not to mention the part of my story where I yelled at the patient and berated him before he decided to show up to group. Or the part where I lied to him and said I was leading the group when I was really just sitting at a table in the back.
I also left out the part of the story where the incredibly handsome patient told me I was beautiful and leaned in so close to me that I thought he was actually going to kiss me. My parents didn’t need to know those parts of the story.
When I finally got to bed that night, it felt like I had only just closed my eyes when my alarm went off. I had to work early that morning because the other tech was going to a doctor’s appointment, or dentist, or something; I wasn’t sure and I couldn’t keep all of his stories straight.
“Good morning,” I said to Kaitlin when I arrived.
I had totally forgotten that she was working the overnight shift. It was always more fun to get the shift notes from Kaitlin than any of the other nurses. She told me the truth about how people were doing and didn’t sugarcoat it like Susan did.
“I’m so tired. I think I might just fall asleep right...” Her head fell into her hands and she dramatically snored like she was sleeping.
“Did you have a good night? Other than the being exhausted part?”
“Yeah, it’s actually much more fun to work overnight. Everyone is sleeping. I could deal with so many more people if they would just stay sleeping while I worked,”
“Me, too!”
“Okay, well, we have new girl in room two. She’s puking all over the place. I finally just brought her a bucket because I was tired of cleaning up the floor when she couldn’t make it to her room. I have the doctor coming to see her in an hour because she really didn’t look well. She’ll need a little loving and attention today. Her husband dropped her off and said he would leave her if she didn’t complete the program. S
he’s been alternating between tears and vomit all night long.”
“Drug of choice?”
“Alcohol,” Kaitlin said, and we both dramatically made a face.