AS THE HOSPITAL WAKES UP

I am not a person to sit still. I like to be busy, and have lots of things going on. I have no problem to go from one thing to the next all day long. I might be tired at night, but I very seldom sit still. It doesn't mean I don't like to have some down time here and there, I just very seldom create that for myself.
This Tuesday morning I expected to be stuck in traffic going down to the Children's Hospital for the monthly board meeting. I typically always rush in to the big conference room with most people already sitting down and having their breakfast. This week, I am not sure what happened to traffic, but I ended up at the hospital almost an hour before the meeting.
Now what? What would I do for almost an hour? No laptop or book accompanying me this morning. So, I bought myself a cup of coffee, and sat down on one of the benches in the hospital's atrium. I started to watch my surroundings as the hospital started to wake up.
The morning hour of the hospital has always given me a sense of calmness. There are people moving around, but not the busyness you see throughout the day. I glanced over to the few families waiting to be admitted for surgery or some sort of procedure for the day, waiting to be checked in. Some of them maybe having a big day ahead of them.
I glanced over to the glass elevator in the middle, seeing some of the ICU nurses get off their night shift, chatting as they were leaving work to go to bed. One waving over to me as she left the building.
I watched the coffee shop staff serving surgeons, nurses, and doctors, and an occasional parent coffee in the early morning hour. Realizing that many of the people in line probably come several times a week to have their morning coffee.
I watched one of the volunteers enter the building to start his day, a big smile as he recognized me from an earlier visit or stay.
I had time to reflect on the hospital, and how this place has grown on me over the last couple of years. The familiar sound of the balls in the big labyrinth that entertains so many kids each day. The realization that I am going to Children's much more often these days than our Jacob does. The realization that I had been sitting exactly in this spot so many mornings as Jacob lived in the ICU, waiting for Dr. E. to walk in the building for our morning chat, her asking how Jacob's night had been. This morning she didn't walk through the doors, but one of my favorite nurses from Jacob's clinic came in, and we sat down for a chat. A big happy smile on her face that our little guy is not in the hospital right now. "It is Jacob's and your turn to get a break", she told me.
In the end, I ended rushing in to the board meeting as I always do. As I was running down the hallway, I was thinking to myself that the day when I don't need to come here anymore, I will do just this. I will drive down to the hospital without a book or laptop, and enjoy the early morning hour when the hospital wakes up.
Love, Maria.
P.S. Yes, Jacob continues to stay healthy this winter! He has been out of the hospital for 2 months now, which only has happened in the summer months before. Today, Jacob was out for a long walk in the sun! It feels like spring in the air!