Sometimes, when I’m having “one of those days,” I like to
reflect on some moments in my life where I felt like I was on top of the world.
Those moments that put a stamp on your heart, and your memory, and always bring
you back to what you were feeling on that day.
Today I want to share a few moments that really took my
breath away or caused me such joy that I wish I could do them again. And
of course because you know me, there is a combination of work things and
personal things.
One of the first things that comes to mind was after my father’s surgery to remove his
cancer-infested kidney. The morning after the surgery, I brought my mother to
his hospital room. He looked up and said, “The doctor told me if I start walking,
I could get out of here faster. We are going walking!” So, if you can imagine,
my 80-year-old father was doing laps around the other oncology patients and
circling the nurses’ station.
I tried to explain to him no one liked a show off and he
might trip if he is not careful! Did he care? No way! He wanted to go home as
soon as he could!
When the doctor came back the next day, he told him he had
done 100 laps and he thought he should get to go home. The doctor looked at me
and I said, “Welcome to my world!” In the end, the doctor told him he needed to
stay for at least one more day. The look on his face was devastating but the
moment was hysterical. This is the essence of my Dad—give him a task and get
the heck out of the way!
Children’s Specialized Hospital had been nominated by NJBIZ in 2007 for being an outstanding company. The
award ceremony was the same night as one of our Board meetings and all of Senior
Staff was there. We knew we had made the top 25, but we didn’t know where we
fell in the ranking.
So, there we all were. We had been 10th the year before and
we were thinking we might move up one or two spots. But that wasn’t the case. The announcement of the rankings began; they
called 10th place, 9th place, etc, and we still weren’t called.
As we reached the final honorees it was clear we would be
named either first or second. When they announced that we were the Hospital of
the Year I remember the elation. Not that it was going to change the course of
anyone’s life, but we were all so excited and so proud to be together and
working together. I can still feel the excitement in my belly. It was a great
moment!
Lastly, I am taken back
to Alabama. In graduate school I was hired by a big executive of a paper
company to dog and house sit for them while he and his family traveled. They
had a chocolate lab and I fell in love with her.
When they bred her, I asked to buy one of the chocolate
females. She gave birth to 11 pups—5 chocolate, 6 yellow. Four of the chocolate
puppies were males and only one was female, also the runt of the litter. I
thought it was destiny! There were no ifs, ands, or buts—she was mine.
She lived for 15 years, getting me through a marriage and a
divorce. She was my last dog (so far), because it was just too hard to say
goodbye to her. I’ll never forget that first moment when I saw her, all by
herself when the others were trying to nurse from their mom. We connected; she
was mine.
I’m sure we all have a few moments that have left huge
impressions on our lives. Please share one of your memorable moments in the
comments below!
