The circle

I was invited to sit at the table in the nurses rec room today. I was only looking for a working tap to quench my parching tongue but it was nice to be included. The nurses rec room is a private sanctum, and interns don't intrude on tea breaks unless something Truly Bad is Going Down. I sat there quietly sipping lukewarm water and listening to amusing stories about wrangling maternity leave and having babies. This is the second time in a couple of days that something similar has happened. I appreciate that maybe this means I'm not messing up too much on the ward. The first time it happened, one of the NUMs had just made me a nice hot cross bun and said, after I thanked her, that it was because she "looked after those who looked after ours."

There are small things in everyday that keep you going and this was one of them. A small word from one person to another takes seconds but it's enough to give things meaning. I'm starting to feel at home on my ward and I feel ready to give that extra mile if needed. Granted, I'm not on a busy team so I have quite a few extra miles to give. I'll look after those who look after mine.