My mom use to worry that my girls would not have a good work ethic because they did not have a job in high school. Emily’s first job was after her second year of college. She worked in a pharmaceutical factory packing boxes in Fenton. The factory closed before the end of the summer. She worked with a lot of former Chrysler workers and they all encouraged her to finish her college education. The next two summers she worked as a nanny and really enjoyed it. That job was way too challenging in my opinion. My own kids are bad enough, no way would I want to deal with someone else’s. Kayla got a job towards the end of her senior year at Swing Around Fun Town. They love her there and promoted her to lead after her first year. She still works there on breaks and summer vacation. Allyson has been at her job for two weeks now.

Emily is working out in California now as a physical therapist. She was diagnosed almost a month ago with a kidney stone. She is in a small town with only one urologist within fifty miles. She needs surgery to remove this stone but that won’t happen for another week. However, she has gone to work every single day anyway. Some days she lays down between patients and texts me that she is dying. The doctor wants her to take the day off after she has surgery and she has told me there is no way she is dong that and plans to work. It will be interesting to see how that works out. Kayla pretty much goes in extra whenever she is asked. She trades hours with people, stays late, goes in early or leaves early as needed. She worked her last shift before starting Missouri State but then the next day she ended up going in for two hours to help out in the kitchen. So her last day was really her second last day. Allyson has already worked for someone who was sick since she had nothing else going on. So I think my mom was worried for nothing.

They say with kids they really do watch what do and not so much what you say. Brian in all the years he has worked has maybe missed five days because he was sick. He did take two months off after he gave his kidney to his father because I forced him too. With that major of a surgery he did not need to be back at work lifting all of that heavy stuff. I can’t remember exactly when I went to all of my shifts being eleven am to seven pm but its been at least five years. My hours really are anywhere from seven am until five pm just depending on how many surgeries, how many nurses are scheduled and what is going on. I pretty much trade with whoever needs to switch a day. My kids are modeling this behavior but yesterday took the cake and the purpose for this blog.

The charge nurse had called around 11:30 to say she needed me. So I was driving to work talking to my best friend Meg when my mom called. I didn’t answer but when she left a message I told Meg I better get off the phone. My mom had fallen and was pretty sure she had broken her arm. There was another nurse on call, so I called her and asked her if she would go in for me so I could go see what was going on with my mother. The charge nurse decided she didn’t need her right then but needed someone at three to cover the eight-hour shift nurse that was leaving. Amy agreed to go in for me and I would take on call. So my mom did indeed break her humerus right below where it meets the shoulder. They gave her a sling and said she could go home. It was now four pm and I was on call until five so I we went up to my floor to hang out. I did not want to get twenty minutes away from the hospital and get called back in. Well sure enough at four-thirty they paged three unexpected patient’s so I clocked in and my mom hung out in our waiting room until I got off at seven-thirty. She said she took the best nap ever on the couch in the waiting room. I got her home around eight last night and opened all kinds of food and things for her because you can’t do anything with one hand. She sees the orthopedic doctor on Monday.

Mole moral ~ The mole kids are either half crazy or have a great work ethic, since they seem to be doing what their parents do.