Teachers, Nurses & Moms... Oh My!

May is a big month. 

Apparently this is a big week. 

According to my sources on Facebook and the google machine, this week has been the time when we spend our appreciation on teachers, on nurses, and on mothers. 

Good thing I have such a deep well of appreciation from which to draw...

Teachers...

You teach. Some of you get paid. None of you get paid enough. You teach in schools and churches and on fields and in garages and in theaters and in homes... Wherever students may be. 

You teach because you can't help it. It flows from you. It burns inside you. You crave the next "ah ha" moment. You must explain deeper, different, again... Until that light appears in the student's eyes. Then you keep going. Because you know more moments, more connections, more growth lies ahead. 

You don't give up. Even when you threaten to. No matter how hard they make it on you. Even though you seem to have more reasons to halt than to press on. Even when you no longer carry the title. You keep on teaching. It's a part of who you are. 

I appreciate how you have and do shape me. I am indebted to you for the way you invest in my kids. Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for being who you are. 

Nurses...

You care. You really, truly care. You have blurry lines between patients and family... If any lines at all. You have the dirty, repetitive, tedious, tricky, painful, constant, messy, body-fluid-filled, hands on, heart in... job. And you are needed. 

Your hours are insane. Your patience is proven. Your tears fall. Your jaw sets. Your knowledge is helpful, but it's your compassion that is truly reassuring. 

You answer questions that you're not paid for. You do the research and prescribe the cure and administer the shots. You receive texts that assume you're a premie-Down syndrome-feeding tube- pulmonology-rash-fever expert. And you answer me. And reassure me. And care for my kids, and parents, and me. Thank you for caring. 

Moms...

She who bore me is a teacher. The one whose son chose me, a nurse. How rich my life is. 

How much you have taught me... How thankful I am that the lessons continue still. How great you have cared for me... How much your knowledgable compassion has carried me. 

Your chosen professions have enriched my days. You, yourselves have shaped my life... and the lives of those who call me mom. Your grace, honesty, acceptance, cheering, support, generosity, food, housing, hugs, advice, medical supplies, child care, encouragement, road trips, phone calls, holiday celebrations, struggles, hopes, forgiveness, prayers, loyalty... and more teach me and bring me healing. 

I am who I am because you are who you are.

You are appreciated.